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The fifth-level fire crystal still had a significant effect on Chen Luo, although it was not enough to make him reach the fifth level. Instead, he decided to use it to help his trusted companions reach the third level as quickly as possible.
Chen Luo first gave it to Mi Li.
The result was remarkable. Within ten minutes, Mi Li, who would have needed another two or three days to level up, advanced to the third level.
The power of the crystal had only been slightly depleted.
Chen Luo then proceeded to give it to Su Dazhu, and in the meantime, he handed the Rat King’s crystal to Shu Yun.
Shu Yun, Chen Luo intended to groom her as a trusted companion. Not only did she have excellent talent, but her attitude also pleased Chen Luo.
If he didn’t promote her, then who else would he promote?
By promoting her, he hoped to further solidify her loyalty.
Shu Yun, taken aback, received the visibly unique crystal. “Thank you, I will continue to work hard,” she said.
Chen Luo smiled and replied, “I have high expectations for you.”
At the moment, only Shu Yun, Fang Yu, and Chen Guang enjoyed this level of treatment.
With the help of the Level 5 crystal, Su Dazhu quickly reached Level 3.
Chen Luo assessed the crystal’s power consumption and estimated that only about one-fifth had been used.
He then proceeded to knock on the door of Mi Ling’s room.
Upon seeing Chen Luo, Mi Ling’s expression remained somewhat uneasy, and she felt a sense of caution within her.
Knocking on the door so late, could it be that he had some ulterior motive?
If he did, should I shout for help or not?
Shouting wouldn’t be good if Mi Li were to hear it, would it?
Chen Luo said, “You gave me something, so I must return the favor.”
Mi Ling’s face darkened. Was it necessary to bring up that matter?
Chen Luo took out something good and placed it in Mi Ling’s hand.
Feeling the fiery power, Mi Ling was startled. “This thing, isn’t it useful for you too? You should use it. With your increased strength, you can lead the team better.”
Mi Ling is a fire elemental, so this fire elemental crystal is more suitable for her.
Chen Luo smiled and said, “Why be so polite? We’re family. It’s better for you to absorb this now. Return it to me when you reach the third level.”
Mi Ling nodded, no longer refusing. After all, he was her brother-in-law.
Ten minutes later, Mi Ling also reached the third level and returned the crystal to Chen Luo, which still had three-quarters of its power remaining.
Back in the room, Chen Luo realized that he had forgotten someone. He couldn’t forget about his “Rice” either, who was rolling around bored on the bed.
Rice had already reached the second level, after all, her talent was unmatched by many.
But strangely, Rice’s strength showed no change at all. Those little pink paws still had no offensive power whatsoever.
There were no signs of him comprehending any other skills either.
The only change seemed to be that he had become slightly more beautiful than before.
Chen Luo was puzzled. Regardless of the type of ability, one should become stronger after leveling up, right?
This was truly unheard of.
What kind of ability could it be?
Regardless of Rice’s ability, since he was so well-behaved, he must be given a role as well.
Chen Luo chuckled, “Rice, it’s been a few days since we’ve spent time together. Let’s sleep together tonight.”
Rice’s eyes lit up as he looked at Chen Luo, “Really?”
Chen Luo smiled awkwardly, “Just for tonight and tomorrow. The next time might be a month later.”
Rice didn’t mind and was very happy.
Chen Luo held Rice in his arms, “Let’s cultivate, Rice.”
Rice absorbed the power of the fifth-level crystal, while Chen Luo absorbed the first-level crystals from survivors like Liu Wei during the day, as well as a few second-level crystals.
Chen Luo’s progress in strength had become too rapid, making it difficult for him to continue growing quickly. He would have to wait until he encountered higher-level zombies to experience substantial growth again.
However, his power would still naturally increase to some extent even without absorbing crystals, although at a much slower rate. It was roughly equivalent to a first-level ability user fully absorbing four of the lowest-level crystals every day.
Rice quickly absorbed the crystals and reached the third level, but there were still no apparent changes in him. After his advancement, Rice lost his previous liveliness and seemed to be sensing something.
After a while, Rice hesitantly said, “Chen Luo, I have this strange feeling that something unfavorable is going to happen soon, perhaps in a couple of days.”
“Is that what she meant by ‘a couple of days’? It’s the prelude to zombies transitioning from the lowest level to the first level, where some zombies will indeed become first-level ones,” Chen Luo asked, shocked. Apart from himself, no one else should be aware of this. Now there’s a cat that knows?
Chen Luo didn’t know what Rice’s ability was, but based on his experiences from movies and TV shows, it seemed like… prophecy?
During the incident at the shopping mall, Rice sensed that Mi Li was in danger, and they did encounter a Devourer. Rice could sense it, but couldn’t change the outcome.
Perhaps this is why Chen Luo didn’t recognize Rice from his past life.
Chen Luo gently stroked Rice and said, “I didn’t expect you to be a little fortune-teller. I wonder what abilities you’ll have when you reach the King level.”
…
The next day, there was no need to gather more supplies. They had enough.
Chen Luo gathered everyone together.
“Today’s mission is to clear out the zombies in a slightly farther area, but we don’t have to eliminate all of them.”
Everyone was puzzled. They understood the need to clear out the zombies for safety, but why leave some behind?
Leaving some zombies behind was indeed for the purpose of allowing them to advance to the first level and collect their crystals.
If there were hundreds of first-level zombies, Chen Luo wouldn’t dare to confront them head-on. But if there were only scattered dozens of first-level zombies, why be afraid?
Chen Luo didn’t explain, nor did he need to.
Following Chen Luo’s instructions, the group began clearing the zombies in the slightly farther area, as there weren’t many zombies nearby to begin with.
Instead of clearing out the scarce zombies in the vicinity, they had to protect them. These zombies clumsily bumped into the vehicles, and the group had to avoid them.
At night, Chen Luo gave further instructions: “Starting today, each villa should have someone on night watch. Rotate every hour, so that everyone is aware if someone else approaches or if zombies come close.”
With ten or so people in each villa, each taking turns for an hour, they would be able to guard until daybreak.
Although it was a bit tiring, it was necessary.
There was no doubt or confusion about this requirement; it was expected.
In Chen Luo’s mind, he thought that by tomorrow morning or even midnight, first-level zombies would be scattered everywhere.
These zombies had gained a tiny bit of intelligence. When a car approached to hit them, they would evade and even counterattack with spells.
They behaved like lower-level animals, such as mice. When they were alone and saw a larger group of people, they knew to retreat.
But when there were many mice, even cats would dare to attack.
Even with weapons like Chen Luo’s electric baton, it was impossible to deal with them. Before you could even get close, they would unleash a spell.
Chen Luo and Su Dazhu could no longer rely on a batch of electric batons to effortlessly kill hundreds of zombies.
It can be said that the difficulty of the apocalypse suddenly escalated from easy mode to hard mode.
The difficulty gradually increased, all the way up to nightmare mode.
In the end, except for Chen Luo, all of humanity was wiped out.
No one would think that Chen Luo survived solely by relying on his strength, right?
It was all about surviving by hiding, finding a place to lay low, and relying on void walking.
It was all about survival through endurance and cunning tactics.