binnovel Chapter 28 Upgrade
Chapter 28 Upgrade
This time, Li Chenglong didn't drive. Two reconnaissance team members sat in the driver's and passenger's seats, while he sat in the middle of the back seat, with Wang Bing on his left and Yang Liu on his right. Along the way, Li Chenglong carefully inquired with Wang Bing about the size of the food processing plant and the terrain, considering how to attack the enemy. Yang Liu, sitting on the right, seemed lost in thought.
Just as Li Chenglong was pondering, Yang Liu suddenly spoke up: "Battalion Commander Li, I'd like you to be my mentor. I saw your battle just now; both your combat skills and your use of your abilities were absolutely brilliant. So I'd like to ask you to be my mentor." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "We're all brothers and sisters, so let's forget about taking on a disciple. By the way, we're currently forming a special operations company; you can join us. Yunlan and I will be in charge of the training. I guarantee the special operations company will become the sharpest blade in the Dawn Army. What do you think?" Yang Liu immediately replied, "Great! I'll sign up right now. Besides, I'm a level two wood-type ability user, so I can also heal the people in the team." Li Chenglong nodded: "We'll register you when we get back to base. But the training will be very strict for both men and women, so be prepared. Of course, our benefits will be very good too." Yang Liu nodded and didn't say anything more.
After a twelve-minute drive, the five arrived at the food processing plant. Li Chenglong first scanned the area with his True Eye and found that apart from one very strong force, the others were relatively weak. He concluded that the strong force was undoubtedly a Level 5 zombie beast. Li Chenglong instructed everyone to wait outside to avoid being accidentally injured by the Level 5 zombie beast during the upcoming battle. However, they could team up to clear out the surrounding zombies, which would also increase their individual experience points.
After setting up, Li Chenglong retrieved the Dragon Emperor Sword from his spiritual sea and went straight inside. Yang Liu's eyes sparkled: "Commander Li is so cool!" A scout next to him said, "That's nothing. A while ago, Commander Li single-handedly took on a level six zombie and killed it. Later, I heard from the Second Company that he wiped out a group of bandits led by a level four zombie with a casual wave of his hand." Yang Liu and Wang Bing were both captivated and quickly pulled the scout aside to explain. The scout thought for a moment: "Let's talk while we hunt these ordinary and level two zombies." With that, the five of them formed a team and began hunting zombies together.
Li Chenglong, sword in hand, slowly walked in and discovered a very strange-looking zombie beast. The beast was at least 5 meters long and over 2 meters tall at the shoulder. It had goat horns on its head, a cow-like body, and six legs. Its body was tattered and emitted a strong stench. Li Chenglong stealthily approached and discovered the zombie beast was eating the crystals from the zombie corpses. This explained why this place was filled with ordinary and level two zombies; the higher-level zombies had all been hunted and had their crystals absorbed by this monster. Li Chenglong was astonished: "Could it be that these seemingly unintelligent zombie beasts also know how to absorb crystals to evolve?"
Then Li Chenglong activated his True Dragon Eye: Level 6 Ordinary Zombie Beast, an aggregate formed by the reaction of extremely high concentrations of zombie virus on animal corpses, evolving from the condensed remains. Constitution 150, Strength 151, Agility 110, Spirit 40. Its special moves are a highly corrosive acid spit from its mouth and a charge attack utilizing its massive size. Li Chenglong thought, "So it's Level 6. No wonder Sun Xiao couldn't defeat it and lost so many men." Li Chenglong initially wanted to use the Demon-Slaying Bow to shoot the zombie beast directly, but considering that the Level 1 Demon-Slaying Bow could only produce one arrow per day at most, he gave up.
"Galactic Explosion!" Li Chenglong unleashed a powerful attack on the zombie beast, sending four orbs of light, each bearing a galaxy pattern, hurtling towards it. The zombie beast, focused on absorbing the crystals, hadn't sensed Li Chenglong's approach. Suddenly, it saw a light behind it and, before it could turn around, was struck by the orbs and exploded. Yang Liu, hearing the loud explosion, wanted to rush in to investigate but was stopped by a reconnaissance team member: "This is our battalion commander's skill; we shouldn't go in and hinder him." Looking at the thick smoke billowing from the factory, Yang Liu couldn't help but think: Just how powerful is Battalion Commander Li!
Li Chenglong had already jumped to a high vantage point, his eyes fixed on the zombie beast trapped under the factory beams and rubble. The zombie beast roared and stood up, shaking off the debris. Li Chenglong saw that although its back was a bloody mess, with green liquid splattered everywhere, it didn't seem to be seriously injured, and its back wounds appeared to be gradually healing. Li Chenglong felt that continuing to fight slowly was not a solution; it might recover faster than healed. He needed to finish the battle quickly. So he began to mobilize all his strength, preparing for a full-scale attack. The zombie beast, only after standing up, realized its attacker was on higher ground. It opened its mouth wide and spat out a stream of liquid, which melted everything it touched, from reinforced concrete to steel roof plates. Li Chenglong was shocked by the terrifying acid. Before he could react, the zombie beast charged, crashing down the spot where Li Chenglong was standing. Li Chenglong reacted quickly, leaping away to avoid it.
Li Chenglong slapped himself hard across the face: "Don't be arrogant. Don't think that just because things went smoothly before, everything will go smoothly. Have you forgotten what happened at the hospital? Have you forgotten Long Ling and Xiao Feng's sacrifice?" This was a self-reflection habit Li Chenglong had cultivated since childhood. Whenever he felt he was too complacent, he would slap himself and begin to reflect. Five seconds later, the zombie beast emerged from the spot he had crashed into. This time, Li Chenglong was completely different. He was radiating golden light, and the Dragon Emperor Sword in his hand gleamed. The zombie beast kicked its hind hooves and charged forward on its six legs. "Super Dragon-Phoenix Slash!" Li Chenglong concentrated all his energy into the Dragon Emperor Sword, unleashing a golden wave of light that shot towards the zombie beast. Dragon and phoenix-shaped energy phantoms danced around the light. The energy wave exploded upon contact with the zombie beast, a pillar of energy shooting into the sky before vanishing instantly. Everything around was blown away by the energy wave, and the entire factory was razed to the ground. All the machinery and equipment have disappeared without a trace.
The five people outside had sensed Li Chenglong's sudden increase in power and immediately retreated several hundred meters away, so they weren't affected by the explosion. However, the factory was surrounded by smoke and dust, making it impossible to see the situation clearly. Once the smoke began to dissipate, the group quickly went back to check. They saw Li Chenglong sitting relaxed on a fallen pillar, playing with a blue crystal in his hand. Wang Bing exclaimed in surprise, "Commander Li, you've leveled up? I used to be able to sense your energy fluctuations, even those of Sun Xiao, a level five ability user. Now I can't sense your energy fluctuations at all; it's as if you're just an ordinary person."
Li Chenglong didn't respond, as he was sensing the changes occurring in his body: Li Chenglong, an SS-level Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakener, with a Constitution of 245, Strength of 240, Agility of 243, and Spirit of 247, was already stronger than the strongest level 6 warrior zombie in the hospital. Moreover, Long Ling had said that the warrior zombie wasn't an ordinary zombie; its strength was close to level 7. Dragon Emperor Sword Level 5, Super Dragon-Phoenix Slash Level 3, All Weapon Mastery, Evil-Slaying Bow Level 2, Galaxy Starburst Level 5 (max level 10), True Dragon Eye, Dragon-Phoenix Body, 12 Main Meridians Activated Level 5, Instant Teleportation. That's right, Li Chenglong awakened a skill at level 5: Instant Teleportation. He could use his superpower to teleport instantly, the distance increasing with the Awakener's level. Li Chenglong was overjoyed after reading the information. With Instant Teleportation, he essentially had a powerful trump card, allowing him to attack or defend as needed.
After thinking it over, he stood up, stretched, and then stored the cyan crystal in his storage ring. The two investigators were already used to this, but Wang Bing and Yang Liu were amazed by the magic trick. Yang Liu even went over and examined Li Chenglong's left hand closely, touching the dragon-shaped ring pattern on it. Li Chenglong checked his watch; it was only 3 PM. He said to Wang Bing, "I'd like to see that tree you mentioned. Could you take me there?" Wang Bing immediately smiled and said, "Of course! And the tree isn't too far from here. We can drive and then walk a bit; it'll only take about 15 minutes." Li Chenglong nodded, walked to the warehouse behind the food processing plant, and opened it. All they saw was boxes of various snacks, mostly biscuits or small bread rolls. There were also dozens of bags of flour, sugar, and other raw materials. Wang Bing said, "We've always wanted to come here to get food, but we've come twice and returned empty-handed because of that zombie beast, and many people have died. Today, Sun Xiao saw that we really had no food left, so he organized a group of people to kill this zombie beast. He was also afraid that we would escape, so he sent Qiu Wudao to watch over me."
Li Chenglong had finished loading everything, including a relatively intact mooncake-making machine, before leaving. This time, Wang Bing drove. Since the major task was accomplished, the atmosphere was relaxed, and they chatted and laughed along the way. When the car reached the edge of a ditch, Wang Bing pointed ahead: "It's not far ahead, but the car can't go any further; we'll have to walk." Li Chenglong told two reconnaissance team members to stay and watch the car, while the three of them went quickly and returned.
The two followed Wang Bing through many twists and turns, finally arriving at their destination. Although it was almost February, the temperature in the north was still quite low, but one small tree stood out with its lush foliage. Li Chenglong activated his True Dragon Eye: a mutated apple tree, an extremely rare variety mutated after being infected by a virus. Its fruit contained a large amount of energy, with miraculous effects on mutants of levels 1-6, but this tree required crystals as fertilizer. Li Chenglong nodded, finally understanding why Wang Bing had broken through so quickly. With a thought, Li Chenglong planted the tree in the empty space of his storage ring, something he had already decided upon.
Earlier in the car, Li Chenglong had noticed that with his level 5 advancement, his storage space had expanded to the size of two football fields, with half of it lush with vegetation—a perfect place for planting. The other half was covered by an unknown metal floor, containing warehouse-like areas where he stored the grain and other supplies he had brought from the granary. Therefore, upon seeing the mutated apple tree, he decided to plant it directly in the area of his storage space not covered by the metal floor. His storage space had a suitable temperature, a perpetually moist surface, and several sun-like orbs at the top providing sunlight—making it an ideal cultivation environment.
Li Chenglong scanned the surroundings again, finding no other mutated fruit trees. He turned to Wang Bing and smiled, saying, "I'll take the apple tree. You won't mind, will you?" Wang Bing shook his head. "Actually, this tree was growing better when I came the other day, but now it seems to have lost its vitality. If you can revive it, feel free to take it." Li Chenglong explained, "This tree has mutated due to a virus, but it needs crystals as nutrients to grow quickly. Otherwise, it grows very slowly under normal conditions." Wang Bing suddenly understood.
The three didn't linger and left immediately. In the car, Li Chenglong said, "Wu Gang told me there are still over 80 people in your village, and you're the only one with superpowers left. What are you planning to do? If you'd like, you can come with us. Our base is still developing, and accommodating all of you will be easy." Wang Bing shook his head: "The village is mostly populated by the elderly and children; nobody wants to leave. I'm the only one left in the village, so I can't leave either. But I heard you mention, Commander Li, that you're heading south to Linhai City soon, and you'll definitely pass through here. Could you take us with you then?" Li Chenglong smiled and said, "That's fine. I'll leave you some supplies when I leave. As long as you don't overindulge, it'll definitely be enough."
Twenty minutes later, the group returned to Xipo Village. Wu Gang and his men were already waiting at the village entrance. Upon seeing Li Chenglong and his group return, they immediately opened the roadblock. Li Chenglong checked his watch; it was a little past 4 PM. They should be able to return to base before dark. He immediately told Wu Gang, "Go assemble the team. We'll meet here in fifteen minutes and head back to base. Leave some military supplies for Wang Bing. I'm going to the back with Wang Bing now, we'll be right back." Wang Bing led Li Chenglong to his basement. Li Chenglong placed some flour, rice, and other supplies there, then said to Wang Bing, "Keep a close eye on these supplies. Wu Gang will also give you a few guns and some ammunition later for your self-defense."
Fifteen minutes later, all the soldiers were on the military vehicles, ready to depart. Wang Bing held Li Chenglong's hands, tears welling in his eyes: "Battalion Commander Li, thank you so much!" Li Chenglong smiled and patted Wang Bing's arm, then waved to the villagers who had come to see them off, before getting into the off-road vehicle. Under the gradually setting sun, one off-road vehicle and two military vehicles sped along the road home.