C12 The Aftereffects of the Ability

The crystal nucleus shattered, transforming into a warm current that flowed through him. Chen Yu absorbed the sensation in silence. Initially, there was no discernible change, akin to consuming an ordinary crystal nucleus. Moreover, the boost to Chen Yu's strength had become imperceptible.

To date, Chen Yu had ingested over two hundred crystal nuclei, a staggering number. Swallowing them now scarcely enhanced his strength. Perhaps only after a dozen or so would he feel a slight uptick in power.

Simultaneously, Chen Yu's own power had soared to the pinnacle of an advanced Evolver, a peak expert by any measure. His might, as categorized by the cosmic civilizations, was at the zenith of the Tyrant Body Level—the utmost physical potential a mortal could achieve unaided by external forces.

At this juncture, setting aside those creatures from the forbidden zones, Chen Yu was indisputably at the top of the human combat power rankings.

Suddenly, Chen Yu's body shook. A delicate sensation sprouted from deep within his genes. It was as if a shadow had abruptly materialized before him. To his astonishment, a shadow had indeed formed—a Thorny Shadow, to be exact.

"Can my body actually absorb the Thorny Shadow, granting me its powers?" Chen Yu thought, his shock quickly giving way to uncontrollable excitement.

But then—

He gasped sharply as his strength drained away almost instantly, leaving him engulfed in a wave of weakness that spread from his mind throughout his body. Moments later, the severe pain in his head overwhelmed him, and he lost consciousness.

Time passed indeterminately before a piercing hunger roused Chen Yu. The desperate craving for genetic energy was so intense that, upon waking, he couldn't think straight. He felt like a ravenous beast, starved for a full week, suddenly coming to life.

In an instant, as he rose from the sofa, he morphed into a shadow, shattering the floor-to-ceiling window, bursting through the iron railing, and crashing down to the ground below.

In mid-air, there was no cushioning his fall.

Chen Yu hit the ground hard, like a human cannonball, fracturing the concrete beneath him and sending shards flying.

The loud impact drew the attention of nearby zombies.

In the murky light, hordes of them emerged from the underbrush and shadows, converging on Chen Yu.

Inside the building, Lee Hao, Liu Qiqi, Soong Yue, Chu Chenhao, and the rest were startled, fearing an attack by zombies or mutated beasts. Weapons in hand, they tensely made their way to the balcony and corridors to assess the situation.

What they witnessed left them stunned—

Chen Yu was already in the thick of the zombie crowd, attacking with the ferocity of a tiger pouncing down a mountain.

Each palm strike he delivered turned five or six zombies into a mist of blood.

His punches left zombies in front of him dismembered, with no chance of a whole body remaining.

A sweeping kick cleared everything in the fan-shaped area before him.

The scene was brutally violent and gory, yet carried an indescribable beauty that profoundly shocked all the survivors in the building.

Their gaze upon Chen Yu's silhouette transformed in that instant.

Where once there was gratitude, now there was awe and a deep-seated fear etched into their very bones.

Such fearsome power extinguished any cunning plans they might have harbored.

In that moment, all eyes were fixed on the powerful and fierce figure of Chen Yu.

Little did Chen Yu know that the hunger brought on by absorbing the Crystal Nuclei would inadvertently eliminate the hidden threats to his camp and lay the groundwork for his absolute dominance.

The only thought in Chen Yu's mind was crystal nuclei—the more, the better.

The zombies were no match for him; he barely exerted any effort. Each punch, clap, and kick was an instinctive attack.

Chen Yu's focus, however, was on the fleeting crystal nuclei amid the scattered limbs and severed parts.

Whenever he spotted a Crystal Nucleus, he would snatch it up and toss it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing.

The rush of Genetic Energy soothed his near-frantic mind and sated his ravenous body.

Almost on instinct, he pursued more crystal nuclei with a subconscious drive.

Chen Yu made his way determinedly toward building ten, drawn by the music blaring from the speakers that had already lured nearly eighty percent of the neighborhood's zombies.

Thousands of undead crowded and jostled each other, their bodies undulating toward the source of the song.

The moment Chen Yu burst onto the scene, he became the center of attention for the massive horde.

The outermost zombies wheeled around and lunged at him, drawn by his sudden presence.

Yet, the sight of the teeming masses only fueled Chen Yu's excitement. A voice deep within whispered of the abundance of crystal nuclei awaiting him.

"Kill!"

His battle cry echoed through the night, reaching as far as the zoo several kilometers away.

His fists cut through the air with lethal precision, his palms unleashed waves of force.

Chen Yu plunged into the sea of zombies, leaving a five-meter radius of destruction in his wake, with not a single undead body left intact.

Amidst the chaos, he slaughtered countless zombies, seizing a staggering number of crystal nuclei. Waves of Genetic Energy flowed into him, bolstering his strength.

Slowly, clarity returned to Chen Yu.

Yet, he didn't cease his onslaught. Partly because his hunger was unsated, and partly because he figured he might as well finish what he started—clear out the neighborhood's undead in one fell swoop. His plan was to use this area as a base, expanding outwards to rescue more survivors and establish strongholds.

Eventually, when the government forces arrived, they would collaborate to create a fortified Base City.

The carnage went on until the break of dawn, when the sky was tinged with the first light of morning.

The last zombie collapsed into a splatter of gore beneath Chen Yu's relentless fists.

As he extracted the crystal nucleus, his gaze shifted to something outside the residential area.

His battle-honed instincts from five years of apocalypse warned him of an anomaly in that direction.

Something was approaching the neighborhood, and there were many of them.

"If my memory serves me right, that's the direction of the zoo!"

Chen Yu's brow furrowed, and in a flash, he was sprinting toward his own building.

The commotion had been too great for Lee Hao, Liu Qiqi, Soong Yue, and Chu Chenhao to ignore. As Evolvers, their senses were razor-sharp, making sleep an impossibility.

Thus, they had spent the night on the rooftop, keeping a distant watch over Chen Yu's battle.

They were there not just to watch, but to learn from his formidable display.

However, they came to the realization that, following Chen Yu's method of combat, they would have been exhausted and dead long before they even made it into the massive horde of zombies.

Indeed, they were formidable Evolvers, but the energy within them simply didn't permit the kind of godlike, overwhelming destruction Chen Yu wrought with ease.

This wasn't just a gap in levels; it was a chasm.

Lee Hao, Liu Qiqi, Soong Yue, and Chu Chenhao quietly made their own assessments.

Facing Chen Yu, they understood that the main question wasn't about how to overcome him, or even how long they could hold out, but rather how to avoid being utterly crushed by his might before they were forced to kneel...