C17 Ke'er's Hope of Recovery!

But the king soon came to regret his decision.

If he had followed the minister's suggested method, by the time he reached the 36th square, the amount of rice he'd owe the minister would skyrocket. His royal granaries didn't even hold that much rice.

It sounded preposterous.

Surely the System wouldn't make it that difficult for the Host, would it?

Luckily, the System's rules were quite favorable now.

In the Synthetic Space, a zombie's level didn't dictate its combinability.

Once Jiang Loong realized this, his spirits lifted considerably.

Yet, Jiang Loong noticed something else.

In the Synthetic Space, beneath the number 11 in the top right corner of the grid where Tongtong and Ke'er resided, there was now an extra horizontal line.

And the Level 31 zombie he'd just acquired had three lines beneath its number.

Initially, Jiang Loong hadn't paid much attention to the single line.

He had assumed it was merely to distinguish between mutated and ordinary zombies. But now, it appeared that the line held significant meaning.

One line signified Rank 1.

To test his theory, Jiang Loong combined a Rank 1 female zombie with Tongtong, elevating her to Level 21, and sure enough, two lines now appeared beneath the number 21 on Tongtong's grid.

Tongtong had ascended to Rank 2!

Tongtong's slight eye movement, a trait of her new Rank 2 status, delighted Jiang Loong. The old Tongtong wouldn't have done that.

Jiang Loong watched Rank 2 Tongtong intently. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Tongtong's gaze seemed more animated than before.

"Tongtong," Jiang Loong called out, beckoning her. "Can you understand me?"

Tongtong's eyes rolled once more, settling on him, yet she offered no further reaction.

It appeared that a Rank 2 mutation still wasn't capable of communication.

Jiang Loong had two more Rank 1 female zombies. After some thought, he decided against advancing Tongtong directly to Rank 3. Instead, he opted to merge another Rank 1 female zombie with Ke'er, elevating her to Rank 2 as well.

Tongtong and Ke'er had both ascended to Rank 2!

The image of the young Evolver girl, curled up and hurling a sword at him, flashed before Jiang Loong's eyes. Her resolute expression had ultimately moved him.

When Ke'er evolved into a Rank 2 zombie, Jiang Loong noticed that the necrotic patches on her face had largely vanished, revealing pristine, snow-white skin.

This revitalized Jiang Loong's spirits!

It looked like Ke'er might soon regain her former appearance!

Witnessing Ke'er's transformation, Jiang Loong was ecstatic.

Such an unexpected delight!

He hadn't harbored any such hopes previously.

He took stock of his current zombie collection.

He possessed two Rank 2 female zombies, Tongtong and Ke'er, and one Rank 1 female zombie. He scarcely had any advanced female zombies below Rank 1.

He also had a Rank 3 male zombie and a Rank 1 male zombie, with no advanced male zombies below Rank 1.

"This time, Ke'er and her group have returned with nearly eight thousand zombies. There must have been some anomaly with the zombie tide," Jiang Loong mused, stroking his chin.

"Moreover, in this surge of zombies, I spotted five leading mutated zombies, with a significant number of high-level zombies among them. There must be several tens of thousands of other zombies as well," Jiang Loong estimated meticulously.

He then surveyed his zombie horde once more. Currently, he commanded five mutated zombies, including one Rank 3 and two Rank 2s. His power had grown formidable!

"There's nothing to fear. I should follow this zombie tide and discover what's unfolded. Plus, if the opportunity arises, I can devour the remaining ten thousand zombies!"

Jiang Loong resolved.

He had planned to wait for Ke'er's return to give her a bath, considering she was smeared with blood and grime.

But now, action took precedence!

Devouring those ten thousand zombies would significantly bolster his strength.

We're talking about over ten thousand zombies!

And with a good number of mutated zombies among them, Jiang Loong could also create more than a dozen Rank 1 zombies, potentially boosting Tongtong and Ke'er by two levels each.

With his decision made, Jiang Loong unleashed all zombies above Level 10 and commanded them to scour several directions.

He needed to locate the zombies first, then stealthily tail them and methodically devour them.

"Tongtong, Ke'er, stay right on my heels!"

Jiang Loong kept both Tongtong and Ke'er by his side, leading them in a new direction to continue the pursuit.

Unsure of which way the horde of zombies was retreating, Jiang Loong had no choice but to search in this manner.

Jiang Loong walked in the center, Tongtong to his left, and Ke'er to his right.

He would occasionally jest with Tongtong, though she paid him no mind.

Similarly, he tried to amuse Ke'er, but she too ignored his attempts.

Yet, after Ke'er advanced to Rank 2, the discoloration on her face had vanished, save for a faint trace near her ears. She had regained her loveliness. Despite the remaining spots on her body, she was likely to make a full recovery with just one or two more level-ups.

Jiang Loong's gaze involuntarily drifted downward.

Still, he couldn't help but speculate whether Ke'er, as an Evolver, had undergone a physical transformation as well?

When Ke'er sensed Jiang Loong's stare, she turned and met his eyes with an intrepid look, devoid of any emotion.

Jiang Loong sighed, wondering when the resilient young woman he knew would return.

But now, he could see a sliver of hope.

Privately, Jiang Loong bolstered his spirits, his determination surging.

As they searched, they quickly exited the food town.

The distance between Base City and the Food Town wasn't short, but it wasn't exceedingly far either.

Moreover, to maintain the security of the food supply routes, teams of Evolvers would periodically sweep the area to eliminate zombies.

However, once they left the town, they entered an untamed wilderness that had been neglected for centuries!

Few had ventured into the wilds over the years, Evolvers included.

The life of an ordinary person was confined to known boundaries, with Food Town often marking the outer limit of their world.

Only an exceptional few had ever visited another Base City.

Jiang Loong didn't possess a map of this wilderness, yet he wasn't concerned.

Observing his surroundings, Jiang Loong marveled, "The vegetation here truly thrives!"