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Let the recommendation votes surge and carry us higher!! …… The Black Snail Worm’s greatest ability is control!

Any creature, once invaded by it into the head, can have its body seized and controlled! Ye Chen recalled the corpse of the Purple Extreme Demonic Ox from earlier and his heart stirred.

He looked at the Black Snail Worm and asked directly, "Any corpse will do?" "As long as the nervous system and other tissues inside the skull are undamaged!" the Black Snail Worm considered. "Generally speaking..." "The higher the corpse's integrity, the greater the power that can be exerted.

The lower the integrity, the more arduous the control, and the less power can be displayed." The Black Snail Worm said, "Our Black Snail Worm clan can only control other creatures up to 10 times our own physique!" Ye Chen was momentarily stunned. "So, if you can control that Purple Extreme Demonic Ox, which possessed the strength of 100 men, does that mean you yourself have reached the strength of 10 men?" The Black Snail Worm nodded.

"I have evolved by devouring the blood of some powerful monsters." Ye Chen understood. The Black Snail Worm before him was equivalent to a Black Snail Worm King!

A thought struck him, and he carefully stored the creature away. He left the kitchen and returned to his room.

That night, Ye Chen waited quietly. The next day, dawn broke on the horizon.

Mo Feng emerged from the basement, holding a set of surgical knives and a blue bottle containing a white liquid. He entered Ye Zhu's room and put on a pair of white gloves.

"No risk, right?" Ye Chen was somewhat nervous. Mo Feng gave him a detached glance, shook his head, and said, "I'll do my best." Ye Chen turned to glance at his sister Ye Zhu's pale face, knitted his brows, and then, along with Bai Long and the others, left the room to watch from the window nearby.

The surgery commenced... Two hours later.

The operation concluded. Mo Feng walked out, glanced at Ye Chen, and nodded.

"Success!" Joy surged through Ye Chen, and he rushed inside to stand by her. He checked her breathing—stable—and her pulse—normal—before finally letting out a breath of relief.

…… With his sister Ye Zhu’s condition improving, Ye Chen finally relaxed. He found Mo Feng in the basement, pulled out the Black Snail Worm, and asked, "Is there an antidote that animals can take, which needs to be administered periodically, or else they face a life-threatening dose?" The Black Snail Worm’s voice shrieked in Ye Chen’s mind, "What, what are you planning?" Ye Chen projected his thoughts, "This is necessary to prevent betrayal.

As long as you are obedient, I guarantee your safety." "Shameless!" "Hmm, I think the dosage should be tripled!" Mo Feng looked curiously at the Black Snail Worm. "What is this?" "A peculiar insect," Ye Chen casually replied.

Mo Feng looked back at him, turned, and pulled open a drawer. From it, he retrieved a set of bottled elixirs—more than a dozen vials, each a vibrant, beautiful color.

He asked flatly, "Which one do you want?" Ye Chen wondered aloud, "Are these all antidotes? What are their effects?" "This first one is called Purple Rose.

If the antidote is not taken within three days, the entire skin will slough off, the blood will turn dark blue, and death will come through agonizing pain." "The second is called Flower Burial. If the antidote is not taken within a month, the body will itch uncontrollably until the victim descends into madness and scratches themselves to death." "The third is called Beautiful Blood.

If the antidote is not taken within one month, it induces a powerful cannibalistic hunger, causing the victim to devour anything edible nearby, ultimately consuming their own body piece by piece until only the skull remains..." "The fourth one..." Mo Feng narrated the names of the various elixirs like an indifferent sales guide. The effects of the elixirs became increasingly violent further down the list.

Both Ye Chen and the Black Snail Worm shuddered, their hearts pounding in fear. "Why on earth do you research so many such poisons?" Ye Chen looked at him strangely.

Mo Feng answered casually, "For experiments." "Don't make me consume these ghastly things!" the Black Snail Worm trembled mentally. "I submit!

I submit one hundred percent! Please, please don't make me eat these..." Ye Chen looked at it with a semblance of pity.

"No choice, you’re just unlucky. Let’s start with the 'Flower Burial' vial!" "No!

Don't!!" The Black Snail Worm screamed like an abused child. Ye Chen suddenly felt moisture in his hand; a lot of viscous fluid was oozing from beneath the creature.

He was momentarily stunned. "Did you sweat yourself into fear?" The Black Snail Worm felt like crying but had no tears.

"Where is your mouth? I'll feed you," Ye Chen said, looking at its small, fuzzy body.

"I won't eat, I won't eat!" The Black Snail Worm shrank back fearfully. Having absorbed human cells, it naturally possessed human thought processes and understood the torment awaiting it without the antidote.

"Do you need me to help feed you?" Mo Feng picked up a pair of pliers from the drawer. Before Ye Chen could speak, he felt his hand lighten.

The vial of elixir had already been snatched by the Black Snail Worm. It pried off the cap, extended all its tiny tendrils into the bottle, and instantly absorbed the liquid.

Ye Chen was astonished. "Quite cooperative," Mo Feng commented, setting down the pliers.

Ye Chen felt a wave of internal awkwardness. Afterward, Ye Chen left the basement.

On the way back, he told the Black Snail Worm, "Tomorrow I will find you a powerful monster corpse. From then on, hunting zombies will be your responsibility." Ye Chen already had a plan: providing the Black Snail Worm with a powerful monster corpse to assist in hunting zombies would dramatically increase efficiency.

After all, a monster's sense of smell was superior to a human's, and with its large physique, one swipe would leave the ground littered with corpses. In terms of group assault...

Humans were ultimately weaker than monsters. However, if technological power like laser cannons and nuclear weapons were employed, they would become formidable.

But those were ultimately auxiliary weapons. When the Ice Age arrived, all external auxiliary weapons would be useless; personal strength would be the sole foundation for survival!

"Today, you all follow Mo Feng to hunt zombies, but don't stray too far." Ye Chen arrived in the main hall, briefly greeted Zhuge Fan, Bai Long, and the others, and then headed to Ye Zhu’s quarters to check on her. Seeing she hadn't woken, he turned, locked the door, and walked out.

Although leaving his sister alone in the research facility offered less security than keeping her by his side, Ye Chen trusted that Bai Long, Mo Feng, and the others possessed enough intelligence not to commit the foolish act of harming Ye Zhu. First, the research institute had ample food; there was no need to kill Ye Zhu for sustenance.

Second, staying together under his care increased their collective chances of survival! Under these two conditions, harming Ye Zhu offered no benefit; no one would commit such a senseless act.

"Where are you going?" Bai Long looked surprised as Ye Chen headed out alone. "A very dangerous place," Ye Chen replied casually, turning and walking out of the main building.

The sky was dim, filled with gray-white clouds, occasionally crossed by a few strange birds flying by... After leaving the research institute, Ye Chen reached the street he had passed the previous night.

He immediately noticed monster skeletons scattered among the debris by the roadside, gnawed down to bare white frames—they appeared to be mutated rats. "There are so many monsters; humanity will be wiped out sooner or later," the Black Snail Worm suddenly remarked.

Ye Chen asked dismissively, "Who told you that?" The Black Snail Worm snorted. "So many creatures globally have evolved and mutated—countless ants, countless mosquitoes.

This is not something humanity can resist. And then there are the marine creatures; once they evolve further, they will come ashore, and humanity will be completely finished." Ye Chen responded calmly, "Don't underestimate humanity!

While there are many powerful entities among the monsters, there are also humans with special constitutions who can evolve once a month, just like the monsters. To my knowledge, in the first month of the apocalypse, a lion could evolve to possess the strength of 100 men!

And those humans capable of evolving ranged from 80 to 120 men's strength in that first month. Combined with their ability to gain strength by killing zombies, their rate of improvement is absolutely no slower than the monsters'!" "Moreover!" "Even though the apocalypse has struck, many of Earth's resources still exist; they are merely temporarily abandoned due to a lack of management.

For example, the nuclear weapon stockpiles, laser cannons, atomic bombs, and other large-scale weaponry of many nations, as well as numerous powerful laser guns." "The resources originally intended for China's 1.3 billion people are now only serving two to three hundred million. The resources each person can access are immense!" "Once base cities are established, if every person carries an assault rifle and a rocket launcher, hunting monsters will be no difficult task!" "Furthermore, humans can awaken into a superhuman mode—this is the fundamental basis for humanity's rise!" Ye Chen listed these points.

Although, on the surface, monsters were numerous and humanity seemed disadvantaged, most scientists in the viral research institutes had passed on their knowledge about the apocalypse to their apprentices and friends before dying. Once this secret was revealed, everyone would know that killing zombies increased strength.

They would flock to the military to acquire weapons to hunt zombies! At that point, zombies would not be humanity's threat, but rather food!

The only catastrophe would be the swarms of insects... In his previous life, Ye Chen had witnessed an ant swarm sweep over a high-level base city.

As they passed, the city walls crumbled like dirt, and countless people perished—that was true terror! However, if such a situation arose, base cities would likely deploy nuclear weapons in advance!

Roar! Just then, a furious roar suddenly erupted ahead, followed by the sound of houses collapsing with a loud crash.