Hoo, time to snap back to reality. The three o'clock train waits for no one; I have to dash everywhere. Ugh, I was really hoping for a good long sleep today, but that’s clearly not happening. Tragic…
…
In mere minutes, Ye Chen had dispatched dozens of zombies. The jīnglì within him seemed inexhaustible, radiating fierce energy. As these creatures saw Ye Chen charge toward them, they offered no resistance, allowing him to strike them down freely.
Soon, only Bailong and Yue Heng remained standing among the shambling horde; all others had their skulls crushed. Covered head to toe in blood, Ye Chen turned toward the storage room window, where a beautiful face was weeping torrents of tears, and offered a faint smile.
Creeeak!
The storage room door was pulled open, and Zhuge Fan, Mo Feng, and Ye Zhu burst out. Ye Zhu rushed forward first, throwing herself into Ye Chen’s arms. Even though Ye Chen’s appearance was still frightening—fangs bared and eyes glowing emerald green—how could she fail to recognize the familiar look in his eyes?
Ye Chen patted her shoulder, his gaze softening. “It’s alright now.”
Ye Zhu held him tightly, as if terrified of losing him again. Tears quickly dampened his shoulder. She choked out, “You are never, ever allowed to take such risks again.”
“Okay,” Ye Chen soothed. “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
Ye Zhu managed a watery smile. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”
Ye Chen laughed. “Alright, let’s go help Bailong and the others with the antidote first. If we wait too long, the effect won't be as good.” Ye Zhu pouted slightly, then let go of Ye Chen and turned to look. Mo Feng and Zhuge Fan had already subdued the zombified Bailong and Yue Heng. Mo Feng found a bottle of mineral water in the storage room and carefully dripped a tiny amount of the disintegration agent from the test tube into it; rapidly, the entire bottle turned blue.
Mo Feng forced Bailong’s mouth open and poured a small amount of the blue liquid in. Normally, viruses were treated via injection, but since this substance was peculiar—scientifically a virus, crudely put, a poison—oral administration was not unexpected.
Bailong struggled fiercely while Bao’er held his hands, but he could not break free. He quickly swallowed the blue water. After a few minutes, his body gradually stopped thrashing and settled down, finally remaining completely still.
Ye Chen examined him closely and asked Mo Feng, “Can he be cured?”
“I don’t know yet.” Mo Feng lifted Bailong’s body onto an examination table, attaching the heart rate monitor, thermometer, and other devices. He then moved to a computer and began typing. An hour later, he finally looked up, his expression detached. “This substance can indeed neutralize the virus. His body temperature and heart rate have returned to normal.”
Ye Chen’s eyes brightened. He glanced at Bailong on the table and noticed the redness and swelling on his skin slowly receding, nodding with relief. He then handed the blue liquid to Bao’er and the strapping young man. “You two go lure some zombies over and have them drink the water in this bottle.”
“En!” Although Bao’er didn't understand Ye Chen’s words, he guessed the intention from the gestures and nodded, taking the bottle and leaving the room.
With everything settled, the heavy weight lifted from Ye Chen’s heart. He walked over and sat down, feeling his entire body go pleasantly soft and relaxed. A thought struck him, and he opened the system log, discovering a flood of mail. Among the numerous entries reading, “You have gained 1 point,” were two significant messages.
“Alert! You have become a zombie.”
“Communication: You have evolved from a low-level zombie into a New Human!”
“New Human?” Ye Chen startled, then immediately queried the system for information regarding the New Humans.
“A New Human is a powerful, reborn human achieved through metamorphosis, generally evolving via viral stimulus!”
“New Humans are divided into nine levels!”
“Once one becomes a New Human, internal potential, IQ, and spirit will all receive immense boosts!”
Ye Chen absorbed this information, his eyes filled with contemplation. He then understood: the (Reincarnation) World wasn't incapable of physical enhancement; it simply couldn't be achieved with points. Advancement had to be discovered through exploration within the mission worlds themselves!
Ye Chen, currently a Level One New Human, possessed the strength equivalent to twenty men!
So-called viruses did not only bring destruction; within that destruction, new life could be found! Otherwise, no one would bother researching something that only caused disaster.
Ye Chen checked his points: 1428!
“So many!” Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise and quickly reviewed the reasons. After killing the high-level zombie, he received 100 points, bringing his total to 182. Later, in the sewers, killing the tentacled monster yielded a 150-point bonus!
After that, he killed several more zombies. And then, awakening as a New Human rewarded him with 1000 points!
Not long after, another prompt appeared: “Successfully saved 100 people. Main Quest complete. Reward: 500 points. Do you wish to return to the Primordial Spirit Tower immediately or remain in the mission world? If you stay, you may remain for a maximum of seven more days and have a chance to trigger a hidden quest.”
Ye Chen paused briefly, then chose to remain.
At that moment, the system chimed again: “Your team saved one extra person; each member is rewarded 1 point!”
Everyone who received the message froze, then burst into ecstatic joy. They never expected such an extra reward for saving people beyond the required quota!
Ye Chen asked Mo Feng, “Is there any way to fully disperse this virus disintegrator throughout every part of the city?”
Mo Feng considered it. “We’ll need to discuss this with those people and see if this virus disintegrator can use the air as a medium.”
Ye Chen nodded.
Soon after, Bailong and Yue Heng awoke one after the other. Opening their eyes, they saw everyone gathered around them, looking on with smiles. Bailong rubbed his face. “Did I get more handsome again?”
This was hardly what a normal person would say upon waking, but it seemed few people in this team were normal. The leader was cold and ruthless; this one was thick-skinned, idolized King Zhou of Shang, and whose lifelong ambition was to romance every beautiful woman on Earth; and there was the scientific genius, whose IQ was sky-high but EQ was negative, rarely speaking unless necessary. The other three were relatively better, hovering near the edge of normalcy.
Zhuge Fan glared at Bailong with exasperation. “Shouldn’t you show some awareness? We went through a great deal of effort to save you guys. Aren't you even curious how we did it?”
Bailong blinked, then wholeheartedly agreed. “That’s true. Tell me then, how did you save us?”
Zhuge Fan rolled his eyes. “Never mind.”
Bailong laughed heartily. “Why worry about the details? It’s good we’re alive, that’s what matters. I knew my luck was great; I definitely wasn’t going to die.”
Ye Chen shot him a look. “Try jumping off the eighteenth floor now. See if you die?”
Bailong declared righteously, “How can that be called dying? That’s called ascending!”
“Ascend your sister!” Yue Heng almost throttled him.
Subsequently, Mo Feng and Bailong remained in the office. Those who had recovered from their zombie state, upon learning the full story, expressed profound gratitude to everyone. After Mo Feng presented his proposal, they all enthusiastically agreed.
Ye Chen, having nothing else to do, wandered around the research institute.
Two days later!
“It’s developed successfully.” A group of scientists, doctors, and Mo Feng stood together, looking overjoyed at the product before them: a compact rocket sprayer filled with the virus disintegration gas.
“Prepare to launch,” Mo Feng stated flatly, knowing time was running short.
Everyone agreed immediately and activated the launcher. Soon, they controlled the rocket sprayer wirelessly via computer, sending it soaring out of the institute and across the city sky. The blue, crystalline light rained down, making even the dreary, overcast sky look beautiful.
Countless zombies inhaled this blue, crystalline light and snapped out of their zombified state. Looking at their blood-caked hands, some wept hysterically, some cheered loudly, and some wept with sheer emotion…
The entire city erupted in celebration!
Joyous atmosphere permeated everywhere.
Ye Chen and his team were heralded as heroic figures. Many dignitaries came to pay their respects, acting with utmost courtesy. As countless people across the city were saved, the system prompts almost overloaded the notifications.
“You saved one additional person; the entire team receives one point.”
“You saved one additional person; the entire team receives one point.”
Ye Chen watched his points climb at the speed of a second hand, quickly breaking through three thousand, then five thousand, then ten thousand! Finally, it jumped from ten thousand to fifty thousand!
A Level 500 Main Quest had yielded fifty thousand points!
In truth, Ye Chen did not know that every Main Quest world contained opportunities to rake in immense points, but no one had managed to uncover them. After all, the number of people who could even complete the quest successfully was exceedingly rare, let alone uncover hidden missions.
Bao’er had chosen to return to the Primordial Spirit Tower immediately upon completing the main quest, utterly unwilling to linger another moment in this perilous world. If he knew that staying just two more days could have earned him tens of thousands of points, he might have cried himself to death.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ye Chen and his team stood at the entrance of the tallest, most luxurious skyscraper in the city, preparing to depart amidst the cheers of countless citizens. The strapping young man stood below, gazing at Ye Chen and the others with deep respect.
“We’re leaving now,” Bailong waved to the crowd seeing them off.
A white-haired, elderly scholar stepped out from the crowd and approached Ye Chen’s group, performing a gentleman’s bow. “Brave warriors, we will never forget your immense kindness. Your names will forever be inscribed on the monument of Sofier City!”
Ye Chen and the others accepted their accolades without false modesty, waving with smiles. Bailong specifically instructed, “Make sure my name is written handsomely, okay? Better include a signed photo, hmm. Maybe I’ll find a master to design something for me later.”
“Design your sister!” Yue Heng rolled his eyes.
The old scholar smiled faintly and raised his hand. “Raise the flag!”
In the center of the plaza, a roll of crimson flag slowly rose, fluttering in the wind. Ye Chen glanced casually, but his gaze immediately snapped taut. His eyes locked onto that flag.