Ch 202: Is There Really Such a Good Thing? [QT]

Shen Yunxuan quickly used qinggong to dodge the fireball, only for more fireballs to come her way. She had already pinpointed the fire-type zombie’s location and swiftly approached while evading the attacks. However, the fire-type zombie was also fast, constantly changing positions.

Before she could catch up, a strange whistling sound in the air signaled the arrival of two whip-like attacks. Fortunately, Shen Yunxuan’s heightened senses allowed her to detect them in advance and dodge. Shining her flashlight in the direction of the attack, she saw that they were two elongated, thickened vines—controlled by a wood-type zombie!

Just as she steadied herself, she sensed a disturbance in the floor beneath her and quickly leaped onto a nearby railing. A second later, sharp earthen spikes shot up from the ground—an attack from an earth-type zombie.

Her expression turned serious, her vigilance heightened. She concentrated fully on dodging the three ability-wielding zombies’ relentless attacks.

These three zombies weren’t using any tactics; they simply attacked her non-stop, relentless and unyielding, forcing her to stay on the defensive with no chance to counterattack.

Shen Yunxuan felt something was off. On the first floor, she had only encountered a few low-level zombies. The second, third, and fourth floors had scattered level-two zombies, not many in number. But now, on the fifth floor, she was suddenly facing three level-three ability zombies.

Would zombies naturally organize themselves by strength across different floors?

Aren’t zombies supposed to be drawn to sound? If so, why hadn’t these zombies swarmed her when she was fighting the level-two ones below? Why had they seemingly waited for her to advance floor by floor?

There was a mind-affecting psychic-type zombie in the mall!

This realization struck Shen Yunxuan immediately, and she was absolutely certain of it. The psychic-type zombie must have been controlling or influencing these zombies, directing them in small groups to test her abilities, trying to gauge her strength and uncover any hidden techniques she hadn’t yet revealed.

With this thought in mind, Shen Yunxuan pretended to be fatigued, as if her spiritual energy was running low. She made her movements appear sluggish, her defense weakening, narrowly avoiding injuries several times. One of the earthen spikes even pierced her fingertip, causing blood droplets to drip onto the floor.

At that moment, Shen Yunxuan suddenly felt a momentary daze. However, she had anticipated this and immediately used her spiritual energy to shield her mind, tracing the source of the psychic attack. At the same time, she let another drop of her blood fall, activating a formation—an entrapment array!

The ghost-binding array caused a ripple in the spatial energy, forming an invisible cage around the three attacking zombies. No matter how violently they struggled or furiously attacked, they couldn’t break free.

With them contained, Shen Yunxuan immediately ascended to the sixth floor, then swiftly leaped to the seventh floor, heading straight for the source of the mental attacks.

The psychic-type zombie looked unnervingly human—its body was clean, and it sat calmly in an office, its expression eerily neutral, only its pale, bluish skin betraying its undead nature. Its eyes remained locked onto Shen Yunxuan, unblinking.

She felt another mental attack strike at her consciousness, but she blocked it with her spiritual energy. It was undeniably a psychic-type zombie!

She launched a palm strike, sending a surge of spiritual energy toward the psychic zombie. However, just as her attack neared, two fire-type level-four zombies suddenly appeared from the sides, blocking her strike. They retreated a few steps before counterattacking together—unleashing a massive fire dragon toward her!

Shen Yunxuan swiftly dodged. The level-three zombies she had faced before were roughly on par with the zombies she had encountered in the past, but these level-four zombies were on an entirely different level. Facing two of them at once made it impossible for her to gain the upper hand. To make matters worse, she saw three more level-three zombies rushing up from the sixth floor.

She couldn’t let them surround her—otherwise, she’d be in real danger. She quickly threw a few Thunderburst Talismans at the two level-four zombies. While they were forced to dodge, she pushed her light footwork and speed to their limits, dashing behind one of the level-three zombies. She swiftly snapped its neck and hurled its head down the stairwell!

The other two level-three zombies lunged at her. Shen Yunxuan activated a defensive artifact to block their attacks. Using their close proximity to her advantage, she placed her palms against their heads and channeled spiritual energy directly into their skulls, causing them to explode instantly!

Just as she finished them off, the two level-four zombies launched a fireball and a flaming whip at her. She barely managed to evade, stumbling back toward the office door, her face slightly pale from exhaustion.

The psychic zombie continued controlling the two level-four zombies, launching its most powerful assault yet. At the same time, it launched another devastating mental attack on Shen Yunxuan’s mind.

She had already deduced that the psychic zombie lacked physical attack abilities and could only control lower-level zombies and manipulate human thoughts.

Enduring the excruciating mental assault, she poured all her spiritual energy into shielding her consciousness. Then, she pulled out a gun and fired straight at the psychic zombie’s head.

The zombie dodged repeatedly—it was surprisingly fast and physically strong. However, it was still no match for Shen Yunxuan’s speed. Predicting its movements, she adjusted her aim and fired a bullet straight into its forehead!

The psychic attack ceased instantly. The psychic zombie collapsed forward, lifeless. Outside, the two level-four zombies suddenly stopped their attacks, looking momentarily dazed.

Shen Yunxuan took a deep breath, then blasted open the psychic zombie’s skull with spiritual energy and retrieved its energy crystal!

The level-five psychic-type crystal core appeared like a diamond the size of a thumb, dazzling and mesmerizing. Just looking at it gave Shen Yunxuan a feeling of temptation, prompting her to quickly store it away. As expected of a psychic-type—its mere crystal core could still influence the mind.

The two level-four zombies were momentarily confused. Though they were no longer under a controller, they saw Shen Yunxuan and immediately resumed their attacks on the barrier.

Shen Yunxuan took out a handful of level-one crystal cores from her pocket, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began absorbing their energy to heal herself. The intense battle against three level-three zombies had left her with some internal injuries, making her feel uncomfortable.

However, the injuries weren’t severe, and absorbing crystal cores was far more efficient than drawing in ambient spiritual energy. In just ten minutes, she felt significantly better, while the handful of level-one crystal cores in her palm had turned into cracked, worthless plastic-like fragments.

Taking out two attack artifacts, she waited for the two level-four zombies to finish an attack cycle. In an instant, she withdrew the barrier and hurled the artifacts at them. Simultaneously, she lunged forward, taking advantage of their distraction. Grabbing both zombies by the head, she forcefully smashed them together and channeled her spiritual energy, shattering their skulls on impact!

The two zombies were finally dead, but she had lost two artifacts in the process. However, one of the books she had recently obtained contained information on artifact forging. She could study it and find a way to craft new ones. Given that she had just faced high-level zombies, including a level-five one, sacrificing a few artifacts was well worth it.

After collecting their crystal cores, she descended floor by floor, checking each level. The three zombies trapped in her ghost-binding array were executed with precise headshots, and she also retrieved the crystal core from the zombie she had thrown downstairs. With that, every zombie inside the mall was eliminated.

In truth, there hadn’t been that many zombies overall. It seemed the psychic-type zombie had been controlling the weaker ones, forcing them to fight amongst themselves. Through this process, only the strongest advanced to level two, then level three, and eventually level four. Naturally, this method consumed a large number of zombies, leaving only a few survivors.

This raised a major question: who had locked the mall doors from the outside? What was the purpose? Was it simply to prevent the zombies from escaping, or was it to create an environment conducive to this “breeding” process?

After all, level-one crystal cores weren’t particularly valuable to ability users. Only higher-level crystal cores or those of specific types could significantly boost their powers. But powerful zombies were rare, and finding them required sheer luck. By setting up a controlled breeding ground like this, someone could efficiently produce high-level crystal cores.

If a human base were ruthless enough, they could sacrifice people in exchange for high-level crystal cores. By harvesting these cores, the base could empower its ability users and cultivate formidable high-level fighters.

Shen Yunxuan had a strong intuition that there was a sinister base nearby. In an apocalypse, the most terrifying thing wasn’t the zombies—it was human nature. Even level-four zombies lacked intelligence; they were merely stronger and faster than lower-level ones. Only psychic-type zombies showed signs of true thought.

The real danger came from human conflicts. If a ruthless or tyrannical leader controlled a base, they wouldn’t care how many people died as long as they could exploit them to acquire enough crystal cores, making their forces stronger.

These thoughts flashed through Shen Yunxuan’s mind. She only hoped they wouldn’t cross paths with such a base during their three-day stay. However, if her guess was correct, this wouldn’t be the only “breeding ground” nearby—there were likely others.

Which meant… could she systematically wipe out all these breeding sites?

After all, she only had three days. Searching for high-level zombies at random was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but if she could locate these intentionally cultivated sites, the task would become much easier.

With her decision made, Shen Yunxuan quickly exited the mall.

“Captain Shen! You’re finally out!”

“Captain Shen! Are you… are you okay?”

Gao Lang and Dong Yue had been keeping an eye on the mall entrance. The moment they saw her emerge, they rushed toward her—only to see that she was covered in blood, looking utterly battered. Concern flashed across their faces as they worried about whether she was injured.

Shen Yunxuan reassured them, “I’m fine. The inside has been completely cleared. You can relax.”

“Cleared… completely?”

The other special forces members, who had also rushed over, exchanged bewildered glances, thinking they must have misheard. What did Captain Shen just say? That she had cleared out the entire mall? As in, every single zombie inside was gone?

They glanced at the heaps of zombie corpses on the street, the result of their hard-fought battle. They had felt quite accomplished just moments ago. But compared to what Shen Yunxuan had just done, their efforts seemed trivial.

Amused, Shen Yunxuan explained, “There actually weren’t that many zombies inside, just some high-level ones. Have you all forgotten what I can do? I used several artifacts, plus guns and formations, to take care of them.”

Even so, it was still incredibly impressive. The zombies outside had mostly been level-one, with only the occasional level-two appearing—and even then, they had to be extra cautious when fighting them. Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan had single-handedly dealt with multiple high-level zombies.

In all honesty, if they had been in there with her, they would have been more of a burden than a help—just like in the ghost realm, when Shen Yunxuan had fought the zombie and Taoist Master Li. Back then, they had been unable to assist at all. At best, they could fire some shots, but bullets barely affected zombies unless they landed a precise headshot. Against high-level zombies with superior speed, even that wasn’t guaranteed.

Shen Yunxuan glanced around. The street was wide, stretching far into the distance, and no zombies were in sight. Surprised, she asked, “It’s all cleared already?”

Gao Lang replied, “Everyone put in their full effort. I arranged shifts to make sure no one got too exhausted, so we’ve been clearing nonstop. We were about to extend past the corner, but we didn’t dare go too far. As soon as we saw you come out, we all came back.”

“Everyone came back?” Shen Yunxuan noticed that their numbers seemed significantly smaller and frowned.

Dong Yue quickly explained, “Captain Shen, come take a look—Zheng Lin and fifteen others have all collapsed and are running high fevers. The six people hiding in the small supermarket came out and said that those with high fevers either turn into zombies or awaken abilities. What should we do? Should we give them fever reducers? What if they turn into zombies?”

The group followed Shen Yunxuan toward the restaurant, all with heavy hearts. They had started this mission together, and the ones who had collapsed were the most outstanding fighters, the bravest in battle. If they ended up turning into zombies just like that, it would be an utterly unjust way to die—this wasn’t even dying on the battlefield; it was simply absurd.

Shen Yunxuan frowned as she examined the sixteen affected soldiers. For a moment, even she was at a loss. This possibility hadn’t crossed her mind—perhaps because she subconsciously assumed that since they weren’t from this world, such things wouldn’t happen to them. But it had only been three hours, and sixteen had already collapsed!

She had no idea whether they could take fever reducers. She asked, “Did those six people say anything else? They should know whether fever medicine works, right?”

Gao Lang and Dong Yue froze. They had completely forgotten to ask. Gao Lang blamed himself, saying, “When we were talking to them, we were too focused on hiding our identities, making sure they didn’t notice we knew nothing. We even tricked them into explaining how crystal cores work. I didn’t even think to ask this. I’ll go ask them now. Should I?”

Shen Yunxuan nodded. “Make sure to separate them when you ask—see if their answers match.”

Gao Lang smacked his own forehead. He had been too preoccupied—worried about his feverish teammates, worried about Shen Yunxuan, afraid the locals would realize they were outsiders, and trying to keep everyone safe. In all the chaos, he had forgotten the most basic rule: separate interrogations yield more reliable answers. He had been careless.

He signaled, and several special forces members immediately moved to separate the six survivors, leading them into different shops for questioning.

The six were terrified. From a distance, they had seen someone exit the mall, after which all the fighters rushed toward them. They had been wondering if the real leader had arrived—when suddenly, they were grabbed and dragged off. They screamed in panic.

“We just need to ask some questions. Tell the truth, and nothing will happen to you!”

The long-haired man among them, both furious and afraid, asked, “What do you want to ask? We haven’t hidden anything—we’ve already told you everything we know.”

Dong Yue frowned. “Can high-fever victims take fever medicine? Someone must have tried it before. What was the result?”

The long-haired man was stunned as if he hadn’t understood. “What? Fever medicine?”

Dong Yue’s voice turned sharp. “Answer! Is there any way to stop them from turning into zombies? Medicine, or what?”

The long-haired man suddenly had a strange thought. Earlier, he had already found it odd that they hadn’t tied up the feverish soldiers. At the time, he was too nervous to dwell on it, but now he realized—these people didn’t even know whether fever medicine worked?

A ridiculous thought crossed his mind. “Did you all just escape from some lab? Do you not know how the world works? That doesn’t make sense. The apocalypse has been going on for ten years. Have you been living in a vacuum?”

Dong Yue’s tone turned ice-cold. “Just answer the question! No nonsense!”

The long-haired man flinched at her intimidation. But these people had given them food, hadn’t harmed them, only restricted their movements, and even promised to let them go with supplies. If there was a time to be honest, it was now—he wasn’t confident enough to lie.

So, he confessed, “You can’t use fever medicine. There’s no way to stop a high fever from turning someone into a zombie. This is a natural disaster. A few years ago, when global bases could still communicate, they confirmed that there was no cure.

“I heard that research labs in the bases have been working on an antiviral serum. If they succeed, they say that injecting someone immediately after infection can prevent zombification.

But that’s just a scientist’s theory. One of my companions was exiled from a base last month. He said the serum still isn’t finished, so there’s really no solution.”

Dong Yue asked a few more questions but felt completely disheartened. She hurried back to report this to Shen Yunxuan.

By then, Shen Yunxuan had already calmed down and come up with a solution. She had checked the system store—and sure enough, there was an antiviral serum to prevent zombification. It even came in high, medium, and low grades, each priced differently, though none were too expensive.

When Gao Lang and Dong Yue returned to report their findings, they also mentioned the antiviral serum research in the bases, further confirming that this was the right choice.

Additionally, when they separated the six survivors for questioning, two of them had lied. One seemed too frightened, likely fearing they were hostile and deliberately giving false information. The other had shifty eyes, clearly someone with dubious intentions.

Shen Yunxuan said, “Restricting their movements was the right call. Even if they’re good people, once they return to their camp and spread word about what happened here, someone in their group might leak the information. They could even alert a nearby base. I suspect there’s a highly malicious base in this area, with strong combat power. We should avoid clashing with them unless absolutely necessary—stay cautious.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, any base that would exile ordinary people without abilities wasn’t exactly a righteous one.

They all looked at Shen Yunxuan, awaiting her next instructions. There was a somber mood among them. Sixteen people had collapsed in just three hours, and they still had over two days left in this place. Would they all end up the same way?

Just then, Shen Yunxuan suddenly produced a handful of syringes, leaving everyone stunned.

“This is an antiviral serum,” she announced. “There are three levels of it, but I purchased the high-grade version, which guarantees that no one will turn into a zombie and will even awaken abilities. Each dose costs ten thousand dimension coins. It’s an intramuscular injection—start administering them now!”

Everyone was dumbfounded. Ten thousand dimension coins per shot?!

Someone gaped at her, stammering, “Captain Shen, this… this is so expensive…”

Shen Yunxuan replied firmly, “No matter how expensive it is, your lives are more important! Don’t undervalue yourselves. You’re here to protect me, but each and every one of you is just as important. We’re all serving our country. I believe that if the higher-ups knew we had a way to save lives, they’d approve us using it.

If they don’t approve it, then I’ll count this as a personal expense. As long as I can, I won’t let any of you die. Besides, this high-grade serum will awaken abilities. I suspect that abilities are similar to spiritual cultivation. Many of you haven’t been able to sense spiritual energy—this is the perfect opportunity for a breakthrough.”

“Captain Shen…” The group was deeply moved. From the first day they enlisted, they had been prepared for sacrifice. Just moments ago, they had mentally braced themselves, and some had even thought about their final words, ready to entrust Gao Lang and Dong Yue with messages for their loved ones.

But Shen Yunxuan, without a second thought, had spent an astronomical amount on these serums. There were three different levels available, yet she had chosen the most expensive one.

Among the fifty of them, only Gao Lang and Dong Yue had been able to sense spiritual energy and cultivate it. The remaining forty-eight would need the serum to awaken abilities. That meant Shen Yunxuan had spent 480,000 dimension coins in an instant, without hesitation—just to ensure that no one was in danger.

She truly cared for them.

Shen Yunxuan smiled. “We’re comrades who trust each other with our lives. This is what I should do. Now, let’s begin the injections.”

Everyone immediately nodded and moved to inject their fevered teammates first before administering the shots to themselves. They were all trained in intramuscular injections, so the process was quick. Afterward, they looked around at each other, feeling a mix of uncertainty and anticipation, waiting for any signs of change.

Shen Yunxuan took the moment to address them. “You’ve all worked hard these past few hours. Rest where you are, change into fresh gear, eat, and hydrate—regain your strength. I’ll scout the area. Stay alert.”

She pulled out fifty sets of clean gear for them to change into. Their outer clothing and helmets were soaked in zombie blood, making it impossible to eat or drink properly. More than that, she was concerned about the risk of viral infection. It was also simply disgusting. Since they had taken off their outerwear for the injections, this was the perfect time to swap into fresh gear, allowing them to feel a little more comfortable and at ease. The past three hours had been intensely stressful.

Dong Yue hesitated. “Captain Shen, where are you scouting? Should I come with you?”

Gao Lang quickly added, “Me too.”

Shen Yunxuan shook her head. “You two are the only ones here with cultivation abilities—you need to stay and protect the others. I suspect that mall was a deliberate breeding ground for high-level zombies. The base likely sends people to harvest crystal cores from them after they’ve reached a certain strength. We don’t know when they’ll come to check, so we must remain vigilant.”

She stored the mountain of first-level crystal cores they’d gathered into her storage pouch. “We’ve already collected a good amount of low-level crystal cores. Now, our priority is securing higher-grade ones. I’ll go alone—it’ll be much faster and safer.

“Also, I’ve noticed that zombies seem to fall into the same category as demons and spirits. My Ghost Binding Formation can trap them, and my barriers can block them. I’ll set up a barrier around this area—stay inside it, and don’t wander out.”

The group nodded. Shen Yunxuan then laid a barrier from the restaurant to the mall entrance, ensuring they had a secure area to rest and access the mall’s facilities, like bathrooms, without risk.

Once everything was set up, she left to search for other possible breeding sites.

If crystal cores were indeed a new form of energy, they couldn’t afford to waste time and energy killing low-level zombies. During her brief healing session earlier, she had confirmed that first-level crystal cores provided only a negligible amount of energy for cultivation. They needed higher-grade ones.

As she had purchased the serums for the team, a new idea had formed in her mind. But since they still knew too little about this plane, she needed to gather more information before acting on it.

🌸˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚⋆