Apocalypse: I'm the Landlady of the Refuge

Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Zombie Levels

Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Zombie Levels

As soon as he appeared in the car, Xu Siming knew what Ji Wanwan meant.

With a flash of fire in the clubhouse, his body moved faster than his brain, igniting, starting, and stepping on the gas pedal all in one smooth action.

Propelled by the shockwave, the car left in a cloud of dust, leaving behind only the stylish afterimage of its tail for the horde of zombies besieging the clubhouse.

Meanwhile, Ji Wanwan was using supplies from the Space System to treat herself while watching the rearview mirror.

Through the rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of the fitness clubhouse.

Suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed deeply.

Noticing her changed expression, Xu Siming also looked into the rearview mirror.

The view behind was filled with dust, and he couldn’t see anything.

“Junior sister, is there something wrong?”

Recalling what she had just seen, her face grew somber, “That monkey zombie isn’t dead.”

A shock went through Xu Siming’s heart.

How could it not be dead after such a huge fire?

Is this a zombie?

This must be some devilry!

He tried to reassure Ji Wanwan, “Could you have seen it wrong?”

Ji Wanwan shifted her gaze away from the rearview mirror.

Just now, she had seen it clearly. Right where their car had started, that monkey zombie had been riding on the shoulder of a tall zombie, staring intently at them.

Even the heavy dust in the air couldn’t hide its demonically red eyes.

Not wanting Xu Siming to worry, she forced a smile, “Maybe…”

…

When they returned to the refuge, it was just past lunchtime.

The cafeteria on the first floor was still crowded.

Seeing the two of them enter the gate, covered in blood and looking disheveled, everyone was stunned.

Especially Qi Hao, Zhou Kai, Ji Xing, and Xia Li.

Once Qi Hao confirmed that Ji Wanwan was not injured, he relaxed, but his gaze toward Xu Siming started to harden.

No wonder he hadn’t seen Wanwan all morning, and she hadn’t replied to his messages. She had been out with Xu Siming.

When had they left together?

What had they been doing?

Why hadn’t they called them?

Qi Hao’s heart was sour, and he had a thousand questions he wanted to ask.

Watching the two of them walk in together, Ji Xing’s gaze went from initial astonishment to an increasingly ambiguous expression.

True to her style, his sister knew how to play wild!

She’d actually taken a man on a date among a pile of zombies!

Xia Li had many questions as well, but seeing the two of them drenched and stained with blood, her concern was what prevailed.

She took off her jacket and draped it over Ji Wanwan, “You two should go to your rooms and take a shower and change clothes. Even though it’s summer, staying wet for too long can also lead to catching a cold.”

Ji Wanwan patted Xia Li’s hand soothingly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Before going back to take a shower, she had other things to do.

Thinking of the ant zombie head in the Space System, Ji Wanwan went to the utility room, 001’s resting place.

After closing the door, she took out protective clothing, a face mask, and gloves from the System Space and put them on, then took out dissection tools to start dissecting the ant zombie’s head.

The head of the ant zombie had a contour similar to that of a human, just with higher hardness; ordinary cutting tools struggled to damage it.

Ji Wanwan used a surgical cutting drill to remove a small piece of the skull, carefully packed it up and put it into the Space System in order to find an opportunity to research it later.

Next, Ji Wanwan reached into the skull to explore.

She had barely reached inside when she touched a hard object about the size of a ping-pong ball amidst the soft tissue.

The ant zombie was dead, and the medium connecting the skull and the hard object within the brain had lost its activity, making it easy for Ji Wanwan to pull the object out.

Disregarding the nauseatingly soft brain tissue on her hand, Ji Wanwan ran to the sink and vigorously washed the hard object in her hand.

Looking at the fluorescent, earthy yellow Crystal Stone in the palm of her hand, Ji Wanwan’s face lit up with joy.

It’s a Crystal Core!

That little thing really is an Evolved Zombie!

However, in her previous life, she seemed to have never seen a high-level zombie of such form.

Of course, it might also be because she had spent most of her time cowering in dark corners, unaware of many things.

The moment she got the Crystal Core,

everything before her eyes came to a stop.

[Detected one Second-level Crystal Core]

[Congratulations to the Host for completing the task. A third-level shelter that can withstand the attack of a Second Level Evolved Zombie is granted. The Host can choose two physical attributes to increase by 30 points each, or upgrade one superpower by 1 level.]

[Third-level shelter granted, containing 20 single rooms, 5 suites, and one operating room, with a maximum capacity of 75 people.]

[Reward: Please select any two body functions to increase by +30 points: Physical Strength, Endurance, Strength, Agility, Spirit, Charm.]

Ji Wanwan chose Strength and Spirit.

Because of her lack of strength, even chopping off the head of the ant corpse hadn’t been smooth in the recent fight.

As for Spirit, she faintly felt that failing to crush the monkey zombie’s head was due to insufficient spiritual power.

After confirming her choice, she clearly saw her forearms gaining defined muscle lines, and the lucid feeling in her mind becoming stronger; the tiredness in her body also receded considerably.

[Reward: Upgrade one superpower by 1 level—Please select: Space Manipulation, Equivalence Healing.]

Ji Wanwan thought for a moment and decided to upgrade Space Manipulation.

Compared to healing, she was more urgently hoping to significantly improve her combat capabilities.

[Level 3 Space Manipulation, an additional 50 points to Spirit.]

After making her selection, the System displayed her attribute panel:

[Physical Strength: 95 Endurance: 5]

[Strength: 35 Agility: 5]

[Spirit: 115 Charm: 20]

[Space Manipulation: Level 3, capable of manipulating space within a 200-meter radius, current Experience Points 47/500]

[Equivalence Healing: Level 2, require 90% equivalent resources to heal others, current Experience Points 37/100]

To upgrade a superpower, from level 1 to 2, it requires 10 Combat Value, from 2 to 3 needs 100 Combat Value; from 3 to 4 requires 500, while from 4 to 5 is presently unknown.

She had just acquired 47 Combat Value in Wanjiale, which allowed Equivalence Healing to go directly to level 2.

After checking her superpowers, Ji Wanwan didn’t rush to examine the third-level shelter.

Ji Wanwan: [System, does the Second Level of the Crystal Core imply that Crystal Cores also have levels?]

System: [Yes, Host. Depending on the evolution of the zombies, the levels of the Crystal Cores differ.]

Ji Wanwan quickly followed up: [How are the levels of zombies distinguished?]

In her previous life, she only knew about low-level and high-level zombies, oblivious to the fact that zombies also had a strict leveling system.

System: [Zombies are categorized as ordinary zombies and Evolved Zombies. Zombies that evolve to have Crystal Cores are considered Evolved Zombies, and they are currently divided into three levels. A Level 1 Evolved Zombie has greater mobility and destructive power than an ordinary zombie.

Level 2 Evolved Zombies have a single superpower on top of the capabilities of a Level 1 and possess even higher mobility and destructive power, but they also have corresponding weaknesses. For example, the Ant Corpse the Host killed this morning has a weakness for water.

A Level 3 Evolved Zombie is an Intelligent Zombie, retaining human intelligence and capable of commanding other zombies, but it is more fragile than other zombies.]

[The level of the Crystal Core is consistent with the zombie’s level. The Ant Corpse was a Level 2 Evolved Zombie, hence the corresponding Crystal Core was a Second-level Crystal Core.]

Ji Wanwan couldn’t help but think of that monkey zombie.

This morning, she felt there was something off about that zombie, and upon further consideration, it was very likely a Level 3 Intelligent Zombie.

Suddenly, Ji Wanwan’s eyes widened.

She noticed a key term in the System’s words.

[Currently? System, what does ‘currently’ mean? Are there going to be even higher-level zombies in the future?]

System: [The System cannot answer that question. The Host will need to explore on their own.]