C21 Red Castle

Indeed, the chest contained clothes!

Jiang Loong had discovered that the loot found within the treasure chests in the zombies' exclusive spaces far surpassed that of the ordinary undead. Among the contents were even exclusive weapons and garments.

His Synthetic Space had reached Level Six, boasting three exclusive slots. Yet, he was reluctant to squander these precious spaces. Since male zombies were relegated to manual labor, he saw no need to allocate exclusive slots to them.

Two treasure chests remained in the Synthetic Space from his last upgrade. Jiang Loong eagerly opened them, revealing their contents: primarily gene points and extraordinary talent points.

Upon opening the chests, Jiang Loong amassed a total of 35 gene points and 20 extraordinary talent points. The surge in attributes gave him a fleeting sensation of being able to punch through the heavens.

With the significant boost in attributes, Jiang Loong felt his physical strength escalate multiple levels, making him believe he was the most formidable man on earth.

His skin tightened relentlessly, a sensation that persisted for nearly half a day before it finally subsided, returning to normal. Even his bones resonated with the transformation.

Jiang Loong's vision had been enhanced to an extraordinary degree; he could now spot tiny ants from dozens of meters away. His leaping ability had reached astonishing heights—literally—with him easily clearing jumps of over ten meters. His sprinting speed had seen a similar impressive increase.

Standing before a tree, Jiang Loong threw a casual punch that snapped the trunk in two, yet he felt not even a twinge of pain.

"I wonder what level I've reached now," he mused.

Jiang Loong's body had grown incredibly robust, with every attribute significantly enhanced. He possessed an extraordinary talent that allowed for rapid healing—a talent of a very advanced level. However, this ability only activated upon injury, triggering an automatic and swift regeneration of his body.

Jiang Loong wasn't entirely familiar with the classifications for those with extraordinary talents. This uncertainty left him questioning whether he was an Awakener or an Evolver.

But in the end, whether he was an Awakener, an Evolver, or a genetic warrior was inconsequential. For Jiang Loong, the paramount objective was to amplify his strength.

He had just arrived in this new world, a world he was yet to understand, particularly the realm of the Evolvers.

The Base City he found himself in, with its modest population of just over a hundred thousand, was likely the weakest one around, lacking even a single Evolver.

This indicated that Jiang Loong had not yet fully stepped into the Evolvers' domain.

"Right now, I need to focus on building my strength! I just hope I don't run into any trouble. It would be such a time sink!" Jiang Loong mused to himself.

Without delay, he dispatched a Rank 1 zombie. He had been preoccupied with unlocking a treasure chest and had momentarily set this task aside.

In his possession were six Rank 1 male zombies. He could merge them into three Rank 2 male zombies, then fuse two of these to create a Rank 3 male zombie. In doing so, he'd have a trio of Rank 3 male zombies at his command!

After a brief contemplation, Jiang Loong casually combined them, resulting in a new Rank 4 male zombie.

So now, Jiang Loong had a Rank 4 male zombie, a Rank 3 male zombie, and a Rank 2 zombie.

These were his labor force of the future!

His next task was to synthesize female zombies. With four Rank 1 female zombies at hand, he quickly created two Rank 2 female zombies. He then moved one directly into Tongtong's exclusive grid, elevating her to Level Three.

Among his Rank 3 female zombies, he now counted Tongtong and Ke'er, along with a single Rank 2 female zombie.

Jiang Loong was about to summon Tongtong to check for any changes from her recent upgrade when a thunderous noise filled the sky—it was a helicopter!

In this age, technological research was primarily focused on Evolvers, with most standard technology advancements at a standstill. Helicopters were a rare sight indeed.

Dongning Base City had only one helicopter, and sightings were infrequent due to the scarcity of oil.

Besides, for the more formidable Evolvers, they had their own superior modes of transport, far surpassing the utility of helicopters—though Jiang Loong had yet to witness any.

Upon spotting the helicopter, Jiang Loong decided against calling out Tongtong and the rest.

He maintained his gaze upward, watching the helicopter in the sky.

But to his surprise, the helicopter veered in his direction, clearly having spotted him.

Jiang Loong couldn't help but furrow his brow. He recognized the helicopters from Dongning Base City, and this one was definitely not one of theirs.

"Could this be a chopper from a different faction? Perhaps from another Base City?"

It seemed likely to Jiang Loong. He had followed the tide of zombies for hundreds of kilometers, and it was possible he had crossed into another Base City's territory.

In the wilderness, it wasn't the zombies that were the greatest threat, but other people.

So, as the helicopter approached, Jiang Loong went on high alert.

Given his current level of strength, his physical condition was outstanding. Even if the helicopter was armed, hitting him would be no easy feat.

In this world, firearms weren't the go-to for dealing with Evolvers; they rarely inflicted any serious harm on them.

The helicopter soon reached the clearing in front of Jiang Loong and descended smoothly.

Several figures disembarked.

"They're so young!" Jiang Loong exclaimed internally upon getting a clear view of the newcomers.

The group, a mix of men and women, shared one distinct characteristic: their youth.

Not just Jiang Loong, but the group also eyed him with caution.

This was the wilderness, after all, and Jiang Loong's solitary presence deep in it was inherently suspicious. Moreover, his nonchalant reaction to their arrival only added to his enigmatic air.

Despite not detecting a familiar presence in Jiang Loong, they found his mysteriousness all the more intriguing.

"Senior, we are students from the Heaven Seeking Palace. Could you tell us if there's a castle nearby?" asked a young man, who appeared to be under twenty, with great respect.

He even addressed Jiang Loong as "senior."

"Heaven Seeking Palace?"

A flicker of recognition crossed Jiang Loong's face.