The figure locked in fierce combat with the Red-Scaled Zombie was a lean young man, his soft leather armor dusted with powder and riddled with fine scratches, clearly marking him as one who had endured many battles. A faint, pale yellow tint clung to his arms and body, as if he hadn't seen a proper meal in ages.

Under the monstrous jaws of the Red-Scaled Zombie gaping before him, the blood drained from his face in stark terror.

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, the Red-Scaled Zombie, its maw wide open, shuddered, and a hoarse sound scraped from its throat. The lean youth watched as a long, pale hand, like one gently clasping a rose, delicately gripped the zombie’s throat, yet managed to compress the flesh hardened by sharp, red scales until it visibly yielded.

Ye Chen frowned, casting a cold glance at the Red-Scaled Zombie. With a casual flick of his hand, he tossed the creature aside like a wad of refuse, sending it soaring to land heavily upon a shattered piece of rock.

The Red-Scaled Zombie hit the ground; such damage was negligible to its form. It quickly righted itself, roaring, and charged toward Ye Chen once more.

Pfft!

A brilliant streak of light shot out, piercing the zombie's skull instantly, like a laser. Its body abruptly froze, shuddered once, and then pitched forward, lifeless.

Ye Chen retracted his finger, sparing it no further attention. He didn't even spare a glance for the lean youth behind him, whose face was frozen in stunned bewilderment. He merely turned back to the approaching Bai Long and Zhuge Fan and the others, saying, "This Red-Scaled Zombie appears to possess the strength of Level Four."

Bai Yijun and Yue Ling hadn't grasped the full implication, but Bai Long and Zhuge Fan were slightly surprised. Based on the time they had been gone, human-type zombies were the slowest evolving variants. If even they had reached a level approaching one hundred, how terrifying must the other mutated creatures be?

However, the group felt only a moment of surprise.

With the combined strength of those present, they could sweep through any location in the entire Ancient World, let alone the small realm of Earth.

Ye Chen closed his eyes, his spiritual power instantly spanning the entire globe, reaching even the nearby outer space celestial bodies, so vividly that he could see every minute speck of dust on the Moon. Yet, something strange occurred.

The entire Earth seemed enveloped by an invisible force that actively blocked Ye Chen's spiritual power, preventing it from covering the world. At most, he could only perceive a radius of four meters around his own body.

"What's happening?" Ye Chen opened his eyes, his brow deeply furrowed.

"How is it?" Bai Long asked with keen interest.

"I can't see," Ye Chen murmured, his gaze fixed on the distant sky. "In the time we were away, Earth has undergone unknown changes. A powerful and mysterious magnetic field is shielding my spiritual senses, preventing any form of reconnaissance."

Bai Long looked surprised, then quickly tried testing it himself. He soon achieved the same result as Ye Chen. He gaped, astonished, "It’s true! What in the world is this situation?"

The others each attempted it and found they, too, were unable to probe beyond the immediate vicinity.

Ye Chen frowned, pondering for a moment before turning to face the lean youth. When the youth felt Ye Chen’s gaze upon him, his heart leaped with a sensation of looking up at a giant, as if he had instantly shrunk into a humble ant. His body trembled slightly, and he stammered, "Please, please, may I ask..."

Ye Chen raised a hand, interrupting him, and placed his palm gently upon the young man's head, then slowly closed his eyes.

A moment later, Ye Chen opened his eyes, his brow furrowed, and slowly lowered his hand from the youth’s crown. The lean youth seemed dazed, his eyes staring blankly into the void without focus.

Ye Chen met the expectant gazes of Bai Long and the others, and slowly stated, "This person is merely a low-ranking member of a mid-sized corporation; he doesn't possess much information. According to the echoes in his mind, we are in the northeastern part of a place called Youzhou. Large numbers of Red-Scaled Zombies have been appearing here recently, which is why this man came out to hunt."

"The nearest location to us is a New Human Base City named Dawn Base City. This city is one of the three major New Human Base Cities in Youzhou, containing dozens of corporations, large and small. Beyond that, there is only information regarding some commonly known, somewhat infamous monsters."

"How many states are there in the entire world?" Bai Yijun pondered for a moment, then asked the crucial question.

Ye Chen shook his head. "This man's status was too humble. He grew up in this very soil. A few months ago, his wife cut off a piece of her own flesh for him to eat before she died. He was too weak to leave this state, or even to leave Dawn Base City."

A person, constrained to one city for his entire life due to lack of ability, was undeniably tragic.

Bai Long and Yue Heng felt a touch of emotion and couldn't help but look at the lean youth again, realizing what a truly great person his wife had been.

This was love.

The greatest love in the world might be maternal love.

But the most precious love belonged to spouses.

Two people, unrelated by blood, bound together solely by their affection in this cold world, clinging to each other tightly to ward off the external chill, remaining inseparable until the end—that was the most genuine and precious love.

Such a love was as grand as motherly love.

However, since the Apocalypse, the world had grown cold, and this kind of magnificent love had virtually vanished. Though desperately needed, few were willing to offer it.

This was undoubtedly an even greater tragedy.

"Let's go. We're heading to Dawn Base City," Ye Chen turned and looked east. Under that mysterious magnetic field, not only was spiritual probing impossible, but spatial shifting was also nullified.

How could one reach a place the eyes could not see?

Under Ye Chen's lead, the group swept toward Dawn Base City. The lean youth was left behind. Long after they were gone, a hint of clarity returned to his pupils. He looked around blankly for a moment, then spotted the Red-Scaled Zombie lying on the ground before him.

His eyes instantly lit up, and with delighted haste, he rushed forward, exclaiming joyfully, "That's great! A clean headshot! What good luck!" He then knelt beside the Red-Scaled Zombie, pulled a sharp, blackened dagger from his waist pouch, and began skinning the creature's scales and harvesting its mutated flesh.

This mutated flesh could cause changes in one's own gene chain, subsequently enhancing physical constitution.

Ye Chen and his companions flew through the air with swift speed. Before long, they spotted a magnificent base city perched upon the plains ahead, surrounded by scorched black earth emanating a searing heat.

"Did you alter that man's memory?" Bai Long asked Ye Chen as they approached.

"Mm," Ye Chen replied with a nasal sound.

"Just as I thought..." Bai Long wore a look of knowing confirmation, chuckling wickedly. "I knew it. Most people doing something like that would simply erase the target's memory, making them completely forget they ever met us. But with your usual deviousness, you must have modified his memories. Tell me quickly, did you erase his wife from his recollection?"

"Why would I erase her?"

"In case recalling her causes him pain."

Ye Chen glanced at him. "Your cultivation is at this level, yet you still don't understand cause and effect? His wife's sacrifice bought him his life; he naturally must bear some pain. If her image were to vanish from his mind, wouldn't that be the true tragedy?"

"If you didn't change it, just say so. I knew you still had a shred of humanity left."

Ye Chen shot him a sidelong look, then raised his head to observe Dawn Base City ahead. Without pausing at the gate, they flew directly toward the highest, most imposing structure upon the great city walls. This was where the Base City Mayor resided.

The city's response capability was surprisingly fast. Not long after the alarm sounded at the gate, Ye Chen and his group encountered an ant-like tide of soldiers pouring out from the alleys of various buildings in their path. Countless high-powered machine guns were aimed at them, and even military attack helicopters were deployed.

"Stop immediately, or you will be shot on sight!"

A voice boomed from a loudspeaker mounted on a combat helicopter.

Ye Chen frowned.

Boom!

The loudspeaker exploded violently.

The face of the man holding the speaker was instantly blackened like a sunflower seed.

This sudden turn of events startled everyone. Then, a tall, imposing young man with eyes sharp as blades stepped out from the crowd and roared, "Fire!"

He wore no loudspeaker, yet his voice thundered across the entire area like rolling thunder.

As his words fell, the countless machine guns on the ground erupted like fiery serpents, shell casings raining down like frenzied fleas. Some carried weaponry akin to rocket launchers, though their destructive power was thousands of times greater.