C5 Bottomless Pit!

Lost in his memories, Chen Yu's fists clenched subconsciously, his eyes ablaze with an intense will to fight. A stubborn defiance roiled within him—he was determined to change his fate this time around.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Yu unfurled his hand and tossed five crystal nuclei into his mouth. His physical condition had already peaked at the upper limits of human capability; it was time to challenge the evolution process and unlock the genetic energy pathways within him.

Only by unlocking these pathways could he harness the myriad of cultivation techniques and source energy skills locked in his mind. Such a transformation would be nothing short of a metamorphosis, a fundamental shift as drastic as the difference between heaven and earth.

Chen Yu bit down fiercely, his mouth crunching audibly. A warm current melded into his stomach like a gushing hot spring, the comforting warmth soon turning into a searing, restless surge, like a flood rampaging through his limbs and body.

His organs writhed intensely at that moment. Sharp pains erupted from every pore, sending waves of numbing paralysis that shot up his spine and into his brain. Sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Yu's grip shredded the cushion in his hands, scattering cotton fluff in all directions.

Minutes passed, and the deluge subsided. Chen Yu panted heavily, his lips quivering. His eyes snapped open, shimmering with disbelief.

Failure? It was inconceivable.

Chen Yu's eyes narrowed, his mind awash with confusion. His previous evolution had succeeded with just six nuclei. Now, after absorbing ten, his preparations had been more than sufficient. Yet, he had failed.

He was so close—just a hair's breadth away!

Chen Yu could sense it; he was on the verge of breaking through that final barrier, but despite his utmost efforts, it remained intact. And then, in the final moments...

All the genetic energy had vanished without a trace inside him. His body was like a black hole—seemingly close to satiation, yet insatiably hungry. The genetic energy couldn't solidify within him to forge the necessary energy channels.

Despite his failure, Chen Yu made an astonishing discovery. His physical condition, already at the peak of human capability, had somehow improved dramatically—more than doubling in strength. Could it be that the human body's limits weren't as fixed as believed? Could human potential truly be nearly boundless, as she had speculated? Perhaps there was no need to emulate the training methods of those cosmic civilizations after all.

Confronted with a situation he had never faced before, Chen Yu was engulfed in confusion. Neither the experience and memories he had accumulated during the five apocalyptic years nor the knowledge of cosmic civilizations could shed light on his current predicament. Snapping back to reality, Chen Yu made a decisive move. He took a deep breath and consumed all of the remaining zombie crystal nuclei in one go.

As the tide surged through him, his body was flushed with sweat, and a foul stench wafted from him. But when the tide ebbed, Chen Yu was left feeling incredibly refreshed, his mind clearer than ever before. A sensation of lightness, as if he could take flight with the slightest jump, welled up inside him.

With a gentle punch, the air around his fist detonated, sending ripples of white marks through the atmosphere. Chen Yu was dumbfounded. Airburst punches were not unusual to him; powerful human Evolvers and cosmic civilization elites could shatter mountains or split rivers with ease. But for an ordinary person, who had not unlocked their genetic energy pathways or practiced the primal force, to achieve such a feat was definitely problematic.

Ignoring the odd smell clinging to him, Chen Yu hastily began testing his capabilities. To his astonishment, he discovered that his raw strength alone had surpassed that of a novice Evolver and placed him among the ranks of intermediate Evolvers. His overall physical condition had even brushed against the Tyrant Body Level, a classification among the cosmic civilization elites.

This was beyond a mere pleasant surprise. A sense of awe washed over Chen Yu. Was he still the same person? He knew his body better than anyone, yet this was beyond his wildest understanding.

Chen Yu was feeling a profound sense of alienation from his own body. If his reflection hadn't remained unchanged and his parents hadn't been exactly as he remembered them, he might have believed he'd soul-traveled to an alien realm, that the body he inhabited was no longer his own.

He could sense, faintly, that his body hadn't had its fill—it was still craving more Crystal Nuclei.

"Let's see how much you can handle!" he declared.

Without a second thought, Chen Yu produced the last three crystal nuclei he had, all harvested from mutated beasts. He had intended to save them to strengthen his gene energy channels and to practice a Source Energy Battle Technique once those channels were open. But now, there was no time for such considerations. He was eager to test the limits of his body's hunger—eager for the 'shock' it might bring.

The energy from the mutated beasts' crystal nuclei was tumultuous and fierce, a stark contrast to the gentle warmth of the zombie crystal nuclei. Swallowing them was like ingesting fire.

After a moment, Chen Yu smacked his lips in frustration...

He hadn't succeeded... yet his body yearned for more.

Well, it was clear to Chen Yu now that his body's appetite was staggering. With the three mutated beast crystal nuclei consumed, his physical condition had significantly improved, but the thirst for gene energy had only intensified.

The impulse to hunt zombies and mutated beasts for more crystal nuclei was haunting him, an almost uncontrollable primal craving.

"I refuse to believe this!" Chen Yu growled defiantly, pivoting to face the floor-to-ceiling window.

Five years into this post-apocalyptic world, he was no saint.

With a body that seemed insatiable, Chen Yu's determination hardened.

You want crystal nuclei?

Fine—I'm all in!

With a swift motion, he slid the window open and vaulted out.

Living on the fifth floor meant nothing to someone with his enhanced physique. He plummeted, the wind howling in his ears, only using the wall to slow his descent just before he touched down, unscathed.

The moment his feet hit the ground, several zombies from the nearby greenery lunged at him, hissing.

Chen Yu took a step and, in a flash, he had already closed the distance, standing before the horde of zombies.

His speed was astonishing, leaving onlookers dumbstruck.

Bang!

His fist rocketed forward, the sonic boom reverberating as a white shockwave enveloped the zombies, hurling them through the air.

The zombies were still airborne when Chen Yu's punch tore them apart.

Amidst the spray of grime, Chen Yu snatched a crystal nucleus, wiped off the filth, and popped it into his mouth, crunching it like a sugar bean.

Without pausing, Chen Yu had already set his sights on the next zombie.

This time, he unleashed a kick.

The monstrous force obliterated the zombie beneath Chen Yu's foot, scattering severed limbs and body parts across the ground.

Regrettably, this was a zombie that had turned after an external infection from a bite, lacking a crystal nucleus.

But Chen Yu felt no remorse.

Surveying the green belt, he spotted at least a hundred zombies strewn about.

By his count, that meant a minimum of twenty crystal nuclei up for grabs.

He swallowed the warm liquid in his mouth, feeling a comforting heat spread through his body.

"Come at me, my zombie darlings!" he exclaimed.

Chen Yu charged into the throng of undead, his face alight with the thrill of the hunt.