From the beginning of the month until now, I’ve posted a minimum of three updates every day. I’m hoping for a monthly ticket, recommendation ticket, or even a subscription—any show of support would make me incredibly grateful. Tomorrow will also see three updates, and I’ll try to get them out before midnight. Staying up late is really taking a toll on my body…

……

Now, Ye Chen possessed the Divine Blood, allowing him to merge with various monster genes and activate the Superhuman State multiple times. With every additional tier in the Superhuman State, the duration was halved: Superhuman Tier One: 5 minutes Superhuman Tier Two: 2 minutes 30 seconds Superhuman Tier Three: 1 minute 15 seconds It continued to decrease, and the higher the gene fusion, the greater the chance of backlash. However, for true powerhouses, decisive battles were often settled in mere seconds. A person with Level 1 physique might only cover a few thousand meters in what felt like a minute to them, but to someone at Level Ten or a Hundred, the blink of an eye could cover thousands of meters. Different strengths meant different perceptions of time. Moreover, the Superhuman State was merely a last-resort measure, focused only on survival rather than sustained combat. After reaching Tier Five, there was a certain probability of achieving 'Super Evolution,' perhaps transforming from a Butterfly Superhuman into something like the Phoenix Moth. Once fully evolved, it represented an entirely new form with no time limit and the capacity for cellular division technology… That would be the true zenith for a Superhuman Warrior.

Leaving the Temple of Qilin, Ye Chen headed toward a nearby research laboratory equipped with high-tech apparatus such as gene pods and nutrient capsules. Before long, he arrived before the institute, which resembled a crouching beast, uniformly square and constructed entirely of metal. He glanced at it once before stepping inside.

Having lost an arm, Ye Chen found even walking cumbersome, accompanied by a feeling of restriction and frustration. Yet, he quickly adapted. In his past life, he encountered such situations frequently. In a doomsday world overrun by monsters, it would be miraculous not to sustain injuries while constantly hunting them. One can’t walk by the riverbank often without getting their shoes wet.

Behind the institute’s main hall were two large storage areas: one for gene pods and the other for nutrient capsules, specifically configured for the virtual network. The Atlanteans treated fragrance as a cure for the nose and yearned for spiritual enjoyment. Because this civilization was extremely powerful in its early stages and faced no external threats, they lacked the impetus for progress, leading most of the population to indulge in entertainment. Various illusionary agents could transport people to heightened states, which is why they developed something called Virtual Gaming.

Donning a helmet connected their consciousness to a simulated battlefield for combat. Since reality offered no battles, the thrill of fighting was absent, giving rise to this universally beloved pursuit. This was the technology modern gaming industry yearned for, though it had only progressed to the 3D realm; it would likely take several more centuries to reach this level.

Every civilization possesses distinct cultures and unique inventions. A civilization is the transmission of knowledge, the continuation of culture. In the earliest eras, terrifying monsters like dinosaurs existed. Without verification from scientists or fossil evidence, anyone would find it incredible, considering the largest creature on land today is only an elephant.

However, this was the apocalypse, and even with virtual gaming, no one had the leisure to play. But that didn't mean the technology was useless. In Ye Chen’s memory, in his past life, the Huaxia Base City had the AI Goddess modify the virtual games. They removed the leveling and monster-slaying aspects, replacing them with a Virtual Combat Tower. No matter how many years one spent striving within it, their physical state remained unchanged; the enjoyment derived from gaming was lost. The purpose was solely to train children, women, and the elderly, honing their combat skills.

Under the system's certification, combat skills were categorized based on inheritances discovered in numerous ruins. If a seven or eight-year-old child displayed exceptionally high combat skill, they would be recruited by the military and supplied with massive resources for training, planning for long-term struggles against monsters spanning decades or centuries. Thus, this Virtual Combat Tower became an avenue for those lacking physical aptitude to gain experience in combat.

As long as one was willing to work hard, strive fiercely, and possess a relentless, near-suicidal spirit, in this world, you could potentially become the pinnacle. In the apocalypse, self-respect and status must be forged by one's own fists. Against the virus, everyone was equally fragile; whether a millionaire or a pampered heiress, they were merely ordinary people clinging to the edge of survival.

No background, no specialized knowledge, no capital—these three things were what entrepreneurs desperately craved. But in the apocalypse, sheer effort sufficed, an unwavering spirit capable of enduring days and nights submerged in an excrement pit, eating filth if necessary, just to slay a single monster.

The Virtual Combat Tower not only cultivated combat awareness in the next generation but also allowed established powerhouses to refine their techniques. After all, any combat skill is born from repeated practice. Dueling monsters carried the risk of instant death, but within the virtual network, there was no such danger, and one could gain further lethal experience through combat.

This virtual game, once viewed by Atlanteans as mere recreation and amusement, was seen by Ye Chen and others in later eras as an instrument for sharpening combat awareness. No one would become utterly absorbed in it as if playing a game. If you didn't hunt monsters, you wouldn't eat or drink, and eventually, you wouldn't even be able to afford the base fees for using the virtual game; you would simply wait for death.

Furthermore, all elements like levels and equipment were stripped away and significantly altered, completely removing the fun of gaming. Coupled with the current environment, it was difficult for anyone to become addicted to it.

Ye Chen entered the Gene Warehouse. At a glance, the floor and walls shone with a platinum-white luster. Inside stood 20 gene pods, each two meters tall and one meter in diameter, circular in shape, filled with green nutrient fluid. This fluid aided in bodily restoration, regenerating lost limbs based on the memory fragments of remaining cells, though it consumed a significant amount of life force.

"Hmm? You've arrived?" Before several of the gene pods, Elvie stood clad in a beautiful blue armor, her slender figure gracefully curved, balancing fragility with a captivating allure.

Ye Chen nodded and looked toward the four gene pods in front of her. Bai Long, Mo Feng, Zhuge Fan, and Yue Heng were all suspended within, completely naked save for an oxygen mask, their eyes closed. Where their severed limbs had been, blood was visibly regenerating and growing at a swift pace.

Ye Chen walked over. Elvie turned to him and smiled faintly, "Did you encounter any more mechanical soldiers in Lord Qilin's sanctuary?"

Ye Chen nodded. "Open a gene pod for me; I need to repair my body as well. Those people outside should be entering soon, too. Shut down this research institute and instruct the Silver Mechanical Soldiers nearby to stop guarding and just rest casually. Given the mentality of those intruders, seeing the automatons won't prompt them to forcefully breach this research facility, especially since this city is vast, and there’s no need to shell this location."

"Understood." Elvie tapped her fingers, and a golden light spread, using the gold elements in the air as 'wires' to transmit command symbols into the various systems. Everything was quickly handled.

Ye Chen remembered something, walked over, and handed her the crystal orb he held. "Saint Qilin asked me to give this to you."

Elvie paused for a moment, then accepted it. A white light instantly swept across the crystal orb, and a flood of information surged into her mind. A moment later, the haze in her eyes gradually dissipated, and she regained clarity. A touch of sorrow lingered in her eyes. "I never thought Lord Qilin had actually departed."

Ye Chen comforted her, "Don't worry; there will be chances to see him again in the future."

"Mhm." Elvie nodded, breaking into a smile like a little girl. "Lord Qilin told me not to be sad; he said he would come back to see me, hehe."

Ye Chen felt a little helpless. Elvie, being an artificial life form and not a standard intelligent system, possessed human emotions, yet her mindset remained that of a young child. However, when dealing with areas of combat command where she excelled, she was the undisputed queen.

"Oh, right." Elvie suddenly pointed beneath where Bai Long and the others floated, curious. "Why do they have this thing, and why don't I?"

Even Ye Chen’s composure faltered into astonishment.

Elvie frowned slightly, pouting. "Why aren't you speaking? Do you have one of these too? This thing is so strange..."

Ye Chen gave a wry smile, realizing that in Elvie's memory chip, there was absolutely no knowledge regarding such matters. In these areas, she was an infant, knowing nothing.

"This..." Ye Chen knitted his brows, thinking for a long moment before saying, "You mustn't ask others about this; it's very impolite. You are Atlantean, and we are people from a later age, so our physical structures are different. You must never ask anyone about this again, or they will get angry."

"Oh," Elvie puffed out her small lips. "Then I won't ask."

Ye Chen wiped the cold sweat from his brow and instructed her, "Also, next time you are around others, you must never take off your clothes, and you are not allowed to watch others undress. These are all very impolite actions and can make others angry."

"Ah?" Elvie looked utterly surprised, then quickly raised her hands to cover her eyes and turned away. "Then I won't look."

Ye Chen finally relaxed. "You can go out now. Don't harm those people who rush in. I'll teach you some of my civilization's language first, to facilitate future communication."

Elvie obediently nodded. After absorbing the information from the light orb, her internal chip had designated Ye Chen as her master, and under certain latent programming, she felt a peculiar affinity for her master.