binnovel Chapter 11 Comrades Awaken
Chapter 11 Comrades Awaken
Zheng Yong was very efficient. He immediately used the team's walkie-talkie to notify everyone to assemble, and he also notified Wang Yousheng and the others. In less than five minutes, the hospital's conference room was packed with people. Just as they were wondering why everyone was gathered here, Li Chenglong, Zheng Yong, Wang Yousheng, and a few others walked in.
Time was of the essence, and Li Chenglong didn't waste any words: "Our current formation is rather disorganized, with soldiers, criminal police, and civilian police. To facilitate our command and reduce unnecessary casualties, after discussing with Company Commander Zheng Yong, Deputy Captain Wang Yousheng, and several other comrades, we've decided to reorganize our existing 100 people—excluding the 8 superhumans—into a 10-person patrol team, led by Liu Dongliang to maintain daily order. A 22-person supply and survivor search team, led by Yun Lan and myself, will also be formed, with half of the superhumans joining later. The hospital guards..." The guard team consists of 50 people, responsible for protecting our hospital, operating on an 8-hour shift system of 25 people. This team will be led by Zheng Yong and Wang Yousheng, and the other half of the superhumans will also join to strengthen the defenses. There will be 10 logistics personnel, handled by the original logistics staff of the Second Company, responsible for the daily inventory, organization, and distribution of supplies. This also includes equipment maintenance, etc., but we will find professionals among the survivors to help you with these tasks. Okay, anyone with objections can raise them.” Everyone agreed, finding nothing amiss.
Li Chenglong continued, "The second thing is very important. Many of you attended the conference just now and learned that there are eight levels of crystals. However, we didn't explain the function of crystals in detail at the time, only that they could be used to concoct serums. In fact, crystals have another function, which is to turn people into superhumans." Upon hearing this, the scene instantly erupted in excitement, and many people were eager to try it out, suggesting that they fight more zombies to mine crystals in order to awaken their powers.
Li Chenglong gestured for everyone to quiet down: "However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Different crystals have different success rates for awakening. If you fail, you will turn into a zombie because you cannot withstand the power of the crystal. We currently have two green crystals, with a 66% success rate, and three yellow crystals, with a 55% success rate. The orange and red crystals have too low a probability, so I won't go into detail. Zheng Yong and I discussed it, and if you are willing, you can use these crystals. Of course, this also involves great risks. So please think it over carefully."
A deathly silence fell over the scene; even those who had been clamoring to use the crystals fell silent. Li Chenglong, however, understood perfectly. After all, one only had one life. Although the 66% success rate of the green crystal seemed high, no one could guarantee they wouldn't be among the 34%. What if they turned into a zombie?
The silence lasted only a minute. Zheng Aiguo and Wu Gang nodded to each other, stepped forward, and said in unison, "Captain Li Chenglong, we are willing to use the crystals. We've participated in many operations with you, and we were prepared to sacrifice ourselves when we joined Xiaolong Squad. But now that the apocalypse has broken out, we deeply feel how powerless we are as ordinary people. So we want to seize this opportunity to become stronger. Please grant us your permission, Captain Li. But we have one request: if we become zombies, please kill us immediately. We don't want to show our ugly side to our brothers!" After saying this, they walked to the front of the stage and saluted Li Chenglong in unison. Seeing the two men's determined eyes, Li Chenglong didn't waste any words and returned the salute: "Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo, please receive the crystals. Then, under Yun Lan's guidance, proceed to the isolation room on the sixth floor." After saying this, Yun Lan walked onto the stage, solemnly distributed two green crystals to them, and led them out with Li Xue.
Everyone present saluted in unison, paying tribute to the two men. Li Chenglong checked the time: "Alright, that's it for now. Let's all return to our posts immediately. The personnel grouping information will be sent to everyone at 8 PM tonight. Please take a close look tomorrow. After I've arranged the ability users by tomorrow, we'll officially begin implementation the day after tomorrow." Everyone left quickly. Zheng Yong and Wang Yousheng also had to arrange the reorganization, so they said goodbye to Li Chenglong and left as well.
Just as Li Chenglong was about to pack up the crystals and leave, he noticed there were still three people present. He recognized two of them: Liu Dongliang and Yun Qian. The third, judging by his attire, seemed to be from the Second Company. Li Chenglong said, "The meeting is over. Is there anything else you need?" Li Dongliang said, "My parents and children are dead. I have an irreconcilable hatred for those damned zombies, but I'm just an ordinary middle-aged man now. I can't even protect myself, let alone kill zombies. So I thought I might as well take a gamble. If I win, I can become a superhuman and avenge my family. If I fail, I can at least see my parents and Dong'er." Liu Dongliang became increasingly agitated. Li Chenglong patted Liu Dongliang's shoulder to calm him down. He then turned to Yun Qian: "I heard you're a top student at Tsinghua University, majoring in Business Management. Actually, I was thinking of transferring you to logistics. Do you also want to awaken your powers?"
Yun Qian nodded: "Seeing how strong Sister Yun Lan and Sister Xue'er are, I really envy them. I also want to have a chance to become as strong as them. Besides, I don't know where my parents are right now. I want to find them when I have the ability." Another soldier said: "My name is Chu Tianhe. I just want to become stronger, that's all."
Li Chenglong looked at the three of them and nodded: "Have you thought this through? Actually, our research on crystals has only just begun. We might be able to create an awakening potion without side effects in the future. You can wait." All three of them refused. Liu Dongliang said: "Who knows when that will be? What if we never develop that kind of drug? Wouldn't we regret our current retreat?"
Seeing their resolute expressions, Li Chenglong took out three yellow crystals: "I respect your choice. You are true warriors, but I must say this is your last chance. If you don't make it, as your comrades, I will send you on your way." The three resolutely picked up the crystals and went to the isolation room on the sixth floor.
Li Chenglong put the backpack containing the crystals into his storage space and went out to the sixth floor. He saw Yunlan and Li Xue looking out the windows at the two isolation rooms. Li Chenglong went over and asked, "How are they?" Yunlan's face lit up with joy: "Xiaofeng said that according to her investigation, they should have succeeded, but they are still converting the energy of the crystals." Liu Dongliang and the other two also saw the two people in the isolation rooms. They each took out a yellow crystal, resolutely ate it, and went to their respective isolation rooms.
Li Chenglong thought for a moment and said, "Ask Xiaofeng if we can convert the crystals we eat into energy and level up." Yunlan smiled and said, "I already asked about that. It's possible, but we can only eat crystals of the same or higher level. For example, at level three, we can only eat level three orange crystals or higher. And crystals higher than our level can only be one level higher at most, otherwise we can't handle it. Even if they're one level higher, we can't eat too many; eating too many will damage our bodies, which is not worth it." Li Chenglong nodded, thinking that leveling up by killing zombies was better. High-level crystals were too hard to obtain, so eating them wasn't cost-effective unless they had a large reserve later. Then he gave Li Xue and Yunlan 70 white crystals each for them to use in cultivating their spirit bodies. Ten crystals a day would be enough for them for a day.
Just as Li Chenglong was pondering the problem of killing zombies, he sensed a scorching heat emanating from one of the two isolation chambers, and an earthy smell from the other. A moment later, Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo emerged. Li Chenglong activated his True Eye: Wu Gang, a level one fire and wind dual-elemental ability user, with Constitution 20, Strength 15, Agility 17, and Spirit 18. Zheng Aiguo, a level one earth and strength awakened user, with Constitution 25, Strength 25, Agility 10, and Spirit 13. Don't underestimate the low attributes. Li Chenglong had scanned ordinary people with his True Eye before, and the average attribute for an ordinary person was around 5. Even some of the elite soldiers in the Second Company only had a maximum of 10 in each attribute. For example, Wu Gang's current Strength was only 15. This didn't mean that three ordinary people combined would have the same strength as him. Even if you brought ten of them, they probably wouldn't be able to take down Wu Gang, since awakening an ability is an awakening of the entire person.
The two walked up to Li Chenglong. Wu Gang laughed and said, "We succeeded! Hahaha, boss, aren't we amazing? Look at this!" He then conjured a small flame in one hand and a ball of wind in the other. Zheng Aiguo, on the other hand, wanted to demonstrate, but Li Chenglong immediately interrupted him: "Alright, stop for now. You're all very good, even awakening dual abilities. Later, we'll gather all the ability users together and divide them into teams based on their abilities. I'll also teach you how to use your abilities effectively."
After a while, the two isolation rooms opened, and Liu Dongliang and Yun Qian walked out separately. Li Chenglong then activated his True Eye: Liu Dongliang, Level 1 Strength-type Awakener, Constitution 20, Strength 20, Agility 9, Spirit 10. Yun Qian, Level 1 Water-type Awakener, Constitution 10, Strength 8, Agility 10, Spirit 22. Just as Li Chenglong and the others were about to go forward to congratulate them, they heard a hoarse roar, and a person rushed out of the isolation room, smashing the door to pieces with a single punch. Just in case, Li Chenglong activated his True Eye: Level 1 Strength-type Zombie, Constitution 18, Strength 20, Agility 10, Spirit 0.
Liu Dongliang exclaimed, "Brother Chu didn't make it! How could this happen?" Yun Qian looked at the man who had been talking to her just 15 minutes ago, now a zombie. Her eyes reddened slightly. Li Chenglong also felt a pang of sadness, but as the team leader, he couldn't show his emotions too much. He said, "Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, you two send Brother Chu on his way. He's a strength-type zombie, so be careful. Yun Qian and Liu Dongliang, watch how they fight carefully and memorize their moves." Upon hearing this, Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo rushed forward. Wu Gang first released a ball of flame, which the zombie hurriedly used to block. Zheng Aiguo seized the opportunity to summon a rock and smash it at the zombie. The zombie was hit by the rock in its panic and staggered back a few steps. Then Zheng Aiguo rushed over and used his strength ability to suppress the zombie. Wu Gang rushed over, pulled out a dagger, and stabbed it into the zombie's eye. However, because Wu Gang's strength was insufficient, he didn't completely kill the zombie. The zombie screamed, and Zheng Aiguo immediately used another dagger to stab the zombie's brain. The zombie let out a long howl and finally died.
Just then, Zheng Yong came up and, seeing the scene, quickly asked what had happened. Li Chenglong explained the whole story to Zheng Yong. Zheng Yong sighed after hearing it, but didn't say much, instructing two people to carry away Chu Tianhe's body. At this time, Li Chenglong asked Yun Lan and the others to gather all the ability users together, and the group went downstairs. Li Chenglong said, "Old Zheng, don't be too sad. We should carry on their legacy and kill as many zombies as possible." Zheng Yong took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Li Chenglong, who accepted it but didn't smoke it. Old Zheng exhaled a few smoke rings: "After so long, I've come to terms with it, but seeing my brothers still makes me sad. We now have 100 combat-ready soldiers and over 500 survivors, and there are so many zombies outside. Where do you think our future lies?" Li Chenglong also pondered for a long time, then looked up: "So we must strengthen ourselves as much as possible, for ourselves, and for those brothers who died." Zheng Yong nodded and went downstairs as well.
A moment later, Li Xue came over and said to Li Chenglong, "All the superhumans have gathered together. Let's go over there." Li Chenglong followed Li Xue to the conference room on the fourth floor. Currently, including the newly awakened superhumans, there are only 22 people in total. Including himself and the other two awakened superhumans, there are only 25 people. After entering, Li Chenglong looked around and said, "Everyone here is a superhuman who has awakened special abilities. I just introduced superhumans to everyone in the small auditorium, and I also shared some knowledge I know with you. I believe you all have a basic understanding of your abilities, but this is far from enough. Just now, one of our comrades became a mutated zombie, and it took Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo working together to kill him. They were trained people, but many of you were ordinary people before and lack combat skills. So, even for your own sake, you must learn how to effectively use your superhuman abilities and learn combat techniques."
The twenty-odd people present nodded in agreement. "Alright," Li Chenglong continued, "we'll divide the remaining 22 people (excluding myself, Yunlan, and Li Xue) into two groups. One group consists of ordinary ability users, those with strength or speed abilities. Join my group, and I'll teach you. The elemental users—fire, water, and earth—will be guided by Yunlan, with Li Xue assisting her." He added, "You all must learn combat skills. Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo will be teaching combat classes in the parking lot behind the building every morning and afternoon. Regardless of others, you must attend. Alright, it's almost dinnertime. Let's split into two groups and begin the lessons. If you can't remember something, write it down. This could save your lives in a critical moment."
After Li Chenglong finished speaking, he and Yun Lan each led a team and began teaching them various combat and supernatural abilities. Everyone listened with great interest, and the meeting ended reluctantly at dinner time.