Chapter Forty-Nine: The Speechless System

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any particularly impressive protective equipment available right now—nothing that can truly withstand the tearing and clawing of the infected. Even if such gear exists, it likely only protects certain body parts; achieving full-body defense seems nearly impossible. At least, there’s nothing like that in the Solitude Gathering Zone. Still, this knife I’ve just acquired feels like an unexpected blessing.

I can’t let the thousand gene points I just obtained go to waste—there’s a chance to advance another physical ability. I summon the gene ecological chain interface and select advanced speed enhancement.

“[Advanced Speed Function Upgrade]: Consumes 1,000 gene points.”

“Upgrading… please wait…”

“Upgrade successful. Remaining gene points: 6.”

I feel a wave of weakness and aching wash over me, but thankfully, it’s not as painful as I had imagined. After a few dozen seconds, I recover my senses.

I try throwing a punch in the room. I nearly dislocate my own arm from using too much force. For a moment, I’m stunned. The punch feels as if my arm has become weightless, like air itself. I can even hear the rush of wind from my fist, and I see afterimages trailing its path.

I guess my punching speed now would outclass any boxing champion from the Old Era by at least two or three levels. Still, when it comes to speed, the legs are the most obvious improvement. I need to test just how fast I can run now—after all, two fast legs are enough. If a third leg got faster, that would be a problem. If that happened, I’d have to find a way to downgrade the ability.

“Reminder to host… you’d be dead.”

“What?!”

Damn it! I swear I’ll tear apart this ridiculous ecological chain!

“Reminder to host, I’ve never seen anyone like you. Most people would do anything to avoid degeneration, yet you’re hoping for it. Do you understand?”

I fall silent. There’s no point in arguing with this thing—it’s not even a person. Still, some things need clarification. After a moment’s thought, I ask in my mind, “If I upgrade all my abilities to the advanced level, what kind of power will I reach?”

“Reminder to host, the resulting level won’t be particularly high.”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

“First-tier physical abilities on the gene ecological chain are just the basics; they exist to strengthen your body so you can adapt to later, more advanced powers.”

“Wait, I can more or less guess that. But what do you mean by ‘not particularly high’? Even if I hadn’t unlocked the gene ecology, my strength would still be considered elite in the world.”

“Reminder to host, that might have been true in the Old Era. But a year and a half has passed since the Collapse Era began. Driven by desperation, humanity has achieved incredible feats. In some places, they’ve already developed gene serums that enhance physical abilities.”

Gene serums? I’m not unfamiliar with the concept—even in the Old Era, such things existed. But back then, they were mostly painkillers or stimulants, not something that could fully enhance physical performance.

“Reminder to host, current high-intensity gene serums can at least grant someone power comparable to your present level. However, they come with side effects—mainly a drastic reduction in lifespan. So, compared to your side-effect-free abilities, there’s still a significant gap.”

Lying in bed, I stare into the darkness, lost in thought. This gene ecological chain seems to know a lot. Why do I feel like it’s intimately familiar with everything about the Collapse Era?

“Please do not doubt me, host. My mission is to guide you in unlocking the truth. I have no ulterior motives, and I’m certainly not some behind-the-scenes manipulator out of an Old Era web novel. Only when you unlock the second-tier ecological interface will you experience a world-shaking transformation—then, you’ll truly surpass ordinary humans.”

“However, as you advance, the infected and mutants will also grow stronger, evolving and mutating as they consume. The spiked infected you previously encountered was already a mutant. You must continue improving your abilities—don’t let yourself get lost in comfort.”

After hearing these words, I felt as if a tidal wave surged through my heart. I realize now that treating this as just an artificial intelligence is foolish—it’s far more than a mere smart program.

But as it said, if I want to know more, I must keep moving forward, keep unlocking the secrets of the gene ecology. Perhaps this is my only pursuit and joy in the Collapse Era: surviving while searching for entertainment, uncovering the truth behind it all.

“By the way, how many levels can you ultimately unlock?”

Silence—endless silence. For two or three minutes, the gene ecological chain gives no reply.

Is this really so hard to answer?

I ask again. At last, its voice echoes in my mind, but it’s full of uncertainty, as if even it doesn’t know.

“Reminder to host, there should be five tiers.”

“What do you mean, ‘should be’? Even you don’t know how many levels you have?”

Silence.

Fine, I’ll drop it. This thing seems on the verge of crashing—if I push further, I might break it.

…

Ever since returning with that batch of weapons a few days ago, life has been relatively peaceful for once.

As for the matter of the decoy grenade, I had Huo Bing investigate, and just as expected, the security cameras had blind spots. There was no way to identify who threw the grenade. There’s no choice but to set it aside for now—where there’s a first time, there’s bound to be a second. We don’t know their intentions yet, but clearly, their last attempt failed. They’ll probably try again, so we just need to stay alert.

The most urgent matter lately has been arranging for medical staff to treat the sick in the lower district and selecting new scavenger team members.

I don’t know what kind of compensation Huo Tian offered, but the families of the fallen team members are now deeply grateful to him and have voluntarily moved into the lower district.

Moreover, many people in the community are eager to volunteer for the scavenger teams. Naturally, the selection is overseen by Shen Dong, the team captain. Though his thinking can be a bit erratic, he’s strict when it comes to choosing people. Having served in special operations and determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps, he prioritizes physical fitness and character above all else. Anyone with a bad record in the gathering zone is immediately eliminated from consideration.

As for Huo Tian, being both the head of the community and a wealthy businessman from the Old Era, he even has access to lab-made cold weapons. He knows more than most.

I once asked him about survivors in the Collapse Era. What he told me was much the same as what I’d already learned. Solitude Gathering Zone, though a genuine large-scale settlement by population, is weak in terms of combat power. There’s no heavy firepower, no advanced technology, and it would be an easy target for other gathering zones.

It’s worth noting that many settlements have already turned to cannibalism.

People’s behavior is regressing to something like the primitive era—bestial, raw, bloody. I can’t even imagine how, knowing they’re eating human flesh, they can bring themselves to do it.

During my training, I ate all sorts of disgusting and bizarre things. Once, on the verge of dying from dehydration, I even squeezed liquid from elephant dung because it contains a lot of water.

But I could never eat human flesh. As long as a person retains even a shred of humanity, they would never do such a thing.

There are still many in this world who would rather starve than consume their own kind.

Cannibalism is like an addiction—once you cross that line, there’s no turning back.