Chapter One Hundred Sixteen: Second-Level Advancement

"What do you mean by that?"

Cao Fusheng keenly sensed that there was more to his words, as if he had actually encountered a Level 5 zombie. Since the dawn of the Wasteland Era, no log had ever recorded the existence of a Level 5 zombie; the very concept was nothing more than a baseless theory concocted by survivors. Currently, the most powerful known zombies were Level 4, which possessed human-level intelligence and behavior comparable to that of a young adult. They were vastly superior to Level 3 zombies. The only thing they lacked was speech; it seemed that the ability to speak was a talent lost by every zombie—except for the freak standing next to him, Bai Ye. However, now that things like "Synthetic Zombies" and "Half-Finished Zombie Beasts" had emerged, a Level 5 zombie no longer seemed like a mere fantasy, just something no one had yet witnessed.

After they exited the underground pipes, Cao Fusheng voiced his thoughts. If a Level 5 zombie had truly appeared, it would be earth-shattering news. But no matter what, Bai Ye refused to say another word, merely claiming that Cao Fusheng was overthinking it and that he had spoken without any real intent.

"Oh, right, let me tell you another secret. Do you know why I didn't finish you and your little lover off back at the chemical plant?" Bai Ye said with a playful tone.

Cao Fusheng had assumed that, at the time, Bai Ye lacked the ability. He had been far weaker back then, and given his and Huo Bingran's skills, it would have been quite possible to kill him.

Bai Ye’s eyes grew deep as he whispered, "I know you must be wondering how someone like me at that time could talk like that, let alone threaten to wipe you out. That was only part of it. I truly wasn't certain I could kill you while keeping myself safe, but what truly chilled me to the bone was that dog of yours."

"Xiao Ye?"

"Is that the dog's name? Heh, perhaps it was my imagination, but I felt that if I ever truly pushed it to its limit, I would die on the spot. Your pet isn't just a simple mutant; I know it can grow in size and consume zombies, but that isn't why I felt a lethal threat from it."

Cao Fusheng frowned and pondered for a moment. Xiao Ye was indeed different from other mutants. He had never seen any other creature with the ability to change its body size at will. Bai Ye seemed to have no reason to lie to him, so Cao Fusheng tucked this observation away. He didn't intend to probe further—everyone had secrets, let alone a mysterious companion like Xiao Ye. Having spent so much time together, it was at least clear that Xiao Ye had no malicious intent and had helped him on many occasions, even when it was covered in wounds.

"I have to go. Let's part ways here; I have urgent matters to attend to." Cao Fusheng stared at Bai Ye, feeling a complex mix of emotions. He had never imagined he would spend so much time talking to a zombie.

Bai Ye nodded slightly. "As if I’m not in a rush myself. I have things to do, too. I won’t walk you all the way, lest you suspect I’m trying to send you to the afterlife. Let’s meet again sometime."

Cao Fusheng took one last long look at him, then turned and ran in the opposite direction. He had to reach the others as soon as possible to see how far the situation had escalated.

Bai Ye watched Cao Fusheng vanish into the distance after only a hundred meters. He sighed, then raised his Wave God Sniper Cannon, carefully aiming at the figure with its back turned to him. Several minutes passed, and even after Cao Fusheng had disappeared from his line of sight, he did not pull the trigger. He simply slung the sniper cannon over his shoulder with a self-deprecating smile.

"I will remember you. I have a feeling that next time we meet, it will inevitably be a fight to the death."

***

After reaching the street corner, Cao Fusheng gasped for air, cold sweat streaming down his face. It was caused both by his rapid sprint and the lingering sense of killing intent from behind. He knew that scoundrel Bai Ye had likely been aiming at him with his gun, but he couldn't turn back; he had to steel himself and keep running.

If Bai Ye had truly fired, he believed he had a ninety percent chance of dodging it. But the remaining ten percent was a gamble he couldn't afford to take. Within ten steps, Cao Fusheng dared to say his fists were faster than any gun, and even within twenty steps, he was confident that a firearm could not stop him. But beyond that limit, even he had to avoid the edge of the blade.

"Bai Ye, next time we meet, I fear our words won't be so kind. Will it be your death or mine?" Cao Fusheng muttered to himself.

Suddenly, a melodic chime sounded in his mind.

"Detected that the host has completed the random task [Escape & Kill & Face]. Calculating rewards..."

"Congratulations to the host for completing the prerequisite for a major follow-up mission. Received 3,000 Gene Points."

"Reminder: The host's current Gene Points now satisfy the requirements to advance the Level 2 Gene Ecological Chain..."

Remaining Gene Points: 10,750.

Cao Fusheng’s spirits soared. He met the requirements for Level 2?

"Gene Ecological Chain, begin advancement now!"

"Advancement in progress. Due to the significant growth of the system and the unlocking of new abilities, this advancement will take 24 hours. Please wait patiently."

Cao Fusheng: "..."

Twenty-four hours? It was questionable whether he would even be alive to see the results of the advancement. After all, there were less than 20 hours left until the Sky Pillar mission!

Cao Fusheng did not dare stop. He hid in the shadows, killed a lone zombie, and smeared its entrails and blood all over himself. While this method was useless against high-level zombies or mutants, the zombie tide, though terrifying, consisted mostly of low-level creatures. As long as he didn't have the bad luck to run into something troublesome, it was a convenient way to move.

Moreover, the moon had not yet risen, meaning the zombies had not yet been strengthened; their movement speed remained sluggish, and they couldn't reach a full run.

"Shu Qing, Chu Wei! Where are you?"

"..."

"Shu Qing?"

"..."

Damn it!

"Shen Dong! Gao Yi!"

"..."

Cao Fusheng’s emotions finally began to fluctuate. He felt a vague sense of unease. Why couldn't he reach any of them? Could something have happened to all of them at once?

Cao Fusheng hadn't received a specific destination and didn't know where they were supposed to rendezvous, so he had no choice but to head toward the New Mart Building first. Otherwise, blundering through the city center like a headless chicken would only lead to a faster death. Looking at the howling zombie tide before him, dense and seemingly endless, Cao Fusheng felt his scalp tingle. Even ignoring the fact that these were man-eating, hideous predators, even a million pigs would be a terrifying sight to face.

"Captain Cao... can you hear me..."

"Captain... Cap... Cap... tain..."

Cao Fusheng hammered the walkie-talkie in his hand. Was his equipment malfunctioning? Why did it sound like there was interference? It seemed the lack of response earlier wasn't because of them, but because of the device. But where would such signal interference come from in this place?

Forget it. Every extra minute spent outside was another minute of danger. Entering the building would be relatively safer!