Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 51 Level 6

April 15, 2024 (Gregorian calendar). After nearly 20 days of rest, the entire Dawn Base is now even stronger, especially the Dawn Army, which has gained three more Level 4 ability users: Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, and Qi Guoan. After bidding them farewell, Li Chenglong, along with Yun Lan, Zhao Rui, and Jiang Hui, drove directly out of the city and headed south.

According to the original plan, they were to drive south across the Longjiang Bridge, then west for 25km, and then north to reach the High-tech Development Zone of Linhai City. Jiang Hui explained as he drove, "This zone is called Xing'an District, and it covers an area of ​​80 square kilometers. The Linhai government began planning it in 2010, and it was only completed in 2022. It encompasses industries such as medical care, military industry, software development, and precision and CNC machine tools." Yun Lan glanced at Jiang Hui: "How do you know so much about this? Are you in real estate or car sales?" Jiang Hui immediately replied, "Team Leader Yun, you have a great memory. I'm in car sales, but I also did real estate sales for a while. When the High-tech Development Zone was established, many residential complexes were built in the two neighboring districts, so I went there to sell real estate. That's why I know so much about that area. But later I found it wasn't easy, so I came back to selling cars."

Zhao Rui said, "Captain Li, I don't think that area will be as zombie-infested as the city center. Jiang Hui just said it was only built in 2022, just a year ago, so the occupancy rate might not be very high." Jiang Hui immediately replied to Zhao Rui in the passenger seat, "You don't know this, but because of tax breaks and other support policies, many companies have moved in. I remember the 2023 annual report said that several companies had a total of 200,000 employees. And Captain Li, Sister Shen's company is also there." Li Chenglong nodded, "Our purpose this time is to gather information. And it's been three and a half months already, I don't think there will be any survivors, so this time we should be able to get there faster. Jiang Hui, you're an ordinary person, so be careful. But with the three of us at Level 5, as long as you don't do anything reckless, you'll definitely be fine."

Jiang Hui laughed and said, "Of course not, I value my life too much." Li Chenglong suddenly thought of something: "By the way, how's your propaganda department doing? It's been over a month and it feels like there haven't been any real achievements. Although leaders Liu Qingqing and Chu Kexin are working very hard, this era is not like peacetime. You can't just run an advertisement or find an internet celebrity to introduce you and spread your message all over the country. Now we can only make calls through the radio, and we also have to avoid being detected by many powerful groups, so we have to be very cautious." Li Chenglong didn't say anything after hearing this, but Yun Lan spoke up: "But it's been pretty good lately. Recently, quite a few survivors have joined us. Didn't a small group of 100 people join us the day before yesterday?" "Have Yun Qian, Liu Dongliang, Wu Suqiang, and Chen Anbang do a good job of vetting. We can't just take anyone. A small leak can sink a great ship. We can't let those bad apples stay," Li Chenglong said seriously.

The area across the Longjiang Bridge falls within the jurisdiction of Longjiang City. After crossing the bridge, the group headed west directly from the national highway. The roads here had been cleared by several combat battalions and supply search teams, so there were almost no congestion sections. Yunlan asked, puzzled, "Actually, we could have taken the national highway or expressway from the south of Linhai City to reach Xing'an District. Why did we choose this route? Isn't it much longer?" Li Chenglong smiled and said, "I actually wanted to check if the roads between Linhai City and Longjiang City were clear, so I chose this route. Besides, this is the edge of Longjiang City, so there shouldn't be any large zombie hordes, making it safer."

After a four-hour stop-and-go journey, the vehicle finally reached the outskirts of Xing'an District. Li Chenglong parked the SUV. He and several others went to the top floor of an eight-story residential building. He took out binoculars and began to observe, noting that there were still quite a few zombies in sight, though not densely packed. Suddenly, Li Chenglong spotted a familiar figure and exclaimed, "How could it be him?!" He immediately ordered his men to come downstairs. The other three, unaware of what was happening, also quickly followed the stairs.

Following Li Chenglong's gaze, a zombie clad in chainmail, wielding a long sword, and emanating black energy, was also observing the scene. Indeed, this was the same zombie warrior Li Chenglong had fought to the death in Jinghai City. Li Chenglong immediately activated his True Dragon Eye: Level 6 Unknown Zombie? Constitution 243, Strength 249, Agility 247, Spirit 256, Soul Devouring Slash Level 6, Attribute Amplification Level 6, Rapid Healing Level 2, Spatial Traverse Level 1. The fifty zombies, with their remaining left eye open, stared intently at Li Chenglong, speaking in an unintelligible language, before charging forward.

Li Chenglong glanced downstairs and saw that the three of them had already walked several hundred meters away. Zhao Rui, annoyed that Jiang Hui was running too slowly, simply carried him on his back and ran. As the three were still retreating, they suddenly sensed a huge energy fluctuation. Li Chenglong had already consumed several yellow crystals. Although level four crystals wouldn't allow him to level up, they could guarantee a sufficient energy supply for the time being. A huge golden energy emanated from Li Chenglong, and several energy waves shot out in all directions. Zhao Rui exclaimed in shock, "This is the first time I've seen Captain Li unleash his full energy! Has something dangerous happened?" At this moment, Yun Lan also observed the anomaly through the Phoenix Eye: "There's a very powerful zombie, its attributes are even higher than mine. This is bad. He's in danger; I have to go help."

At this moment, Li Chenglong's voice rang out: "No need, I'll fight him one-on-one today. I fought with all my might to kill his companions that day, and today I'll see just how far he can push me." With that, Li Chenglong jumped twice and landed on the ground. At this time, the warrior zombie had also arrived in the central square of the residential area. As it approached, its black aura grew increasingly intense. Li Chenglong took a deep breath, his right hand gripping the now gleaming Dragon Emperor Sword, and charged forward. The warrior zombie roared and charged back. Swords clashed, each strike unleashing massive energy fluctuations, tearing layers of the surrounding ground apart.

Yunlan said worriedly, "These must be the zombies that Brother Long fought when he was covering the rear at the hospital. After he woke up, he said that if he encountered this kind of zombie again, he must avenge himself." Zhao Rui said in surprise, "My goodness, how long ago was that at the hospital? He was able to defeat this level of zombie?" Yunlan ignored him and focused on watching the battlefield.

On the other side, Li Chenglong and the zombie warrior had been fighting for 50 rounds without a clear victor. Li Chenglong feigned an opening, kicking the zombie warrior back, then retreated a few steps: "Galaxy Explosion!" Five orbs of light containing galaxy patterns emitted dazzling light and rushed directly towards the zombie warrior. However, the zombie warrior neither dodged nor evaded, but instead swung his sword directly. The orbs of light exploded upon contact with the zombie warrior, the deafening sound shattering windows in the nearby residential area and even cracking some walls. Li Chenglong retreated two steps and then swung his sword again, but he couldn't see the zombie warrior anywhere. Then, suddenly, a crack appeared in the sky, and the zombie warrior leaped out of the crack, slashing at Li Chenglong again.

Li Chenglong hastily swung his sword to parry, but due to the zombie's immense force, he was still sent flying. He rolled a few times on the ground before stopping. The warrior zombie, relentless, swung its blade, unleashing a black aura that slashed directly at him. Li Chenglong immediately used teleportation to dodge, the blade's energy withering everything in its path. The man and the zombie clashed again, neither able to gain the upper hand. Knowing this was disadvantageous, Li Chenglong needed a quick solution and shouted, "Dragon and Phoenix Blood, Unleash!" His golden aura suddenly surged, infused with fiery red energy, directly blasting the warrior zombie away. Li Chenglong pressed his advantage: "Super Dragon and Phoenix Slash!" A powerful sword aura shot straight at the warrior zombie. In desperation, the warrior zombie swung his sword to block, but this was Li Chenglong's full-force attack. He was no match for it and was pushed back by the sword aura. Then, a space suddenly opened up behind him, and the warrior zombie disappeared again.

Seeing the scene before him, Li Chenglong was greatly surprised, thinking to himself, "Is this what they call space travel?" A moment later, another crack appeared in the space above, and the warrior zombie jumped down again. The continuous battle, especially the super dragon-phoenix slash he had just unleashed with all his might, had already exhausted a great deal of Li Chenglong's strength. Even though his strength, thanks to his dragon-phoenix body, was twice that of other awakened beings of the same level, he was now starting to pant.

However, the samurai zombie wasn't faring much better. The impact had severely damaged him; his chainmail was torn in several places, oozing green liquid. The intense black aura emanating from him had also faded considerably. Under Li Chenglong's watchful gaze, the samurai zombie's chest and arm wounds were slowly healing. Li Chenglong himself had used teleportation, and even spatial abilities, which had taken a heavy toll on him; this samurai zombie was undoubtedly at its limit. Then, Li Chenglong shouted, "Dragon and Phoenix Blood, maximum output!" His aura returned to its peak, even surpassing it. Meanwhile, Yun Lan's blood began to surge wildly. "No, don't do this, you'll get hurt!" Yun Lan cried out.

The zombie warrior, startled by Li Chenglong's overwhelming aura, roared, its skin turning crimson, its blade's edge shifting from black to blood red, its power reaching its peak. It charged at Li Chenglong, whose eyes flashed with a golden light in one and a red light in the other, roaring as he too charged. He teleported, cleaving the zombie in two at the waist, then delivered a powerful punch with his left hand, knocking it down. He then stomped on the zombie's upper body and plunged his sword into its eye. The zombie warrior and the surrounding zombie exploded from the massive energy collision, even knocking Yunlan, who was trying to rush forward, back down in the shockwave. The explosion billowed into a mushroom cloud, visible even to those at the Dawn Base.

Li Xue stood on the observation platform: "Such strong combat energy! I wonder who's fighting. Could it be my brother and sister-in-law?" Wu Gang also ordered the reconnaissance platoon to immediately send someone to investigate what was happening. Three minutes later, the thick smoke gradually dissipated, and Yun Lan and the other two rushed up. They saw Li Chenglong, dressed in tattered clothes, leaning on the ground with his sword, panting heavily. Zhao Rui wanted to go over to help, but Yun Lan stopped him: "Don't disturb Captain Li's leveling up."

A golden dragon burst forth from Li Chenglong's body, followed by a smaller fire phoenix. The dragon and phoenix circled Li Chenglong several times, and his injuries gradually healed. Then, the dragon and phoenix returned to Li Chenglong's body in perfect harmony. Immediately, the three of them felt a tremendous energy emanating from Li Chenglong, which disappeared in just three seconds. Yun Lan also felt a warmth in her body, and her attributes had noticeably improved. Li Chenglong sheathed his Dragon Emperor Sword, sat down, and began to sense his own abilities: Li Chenglong, SS-rank, Level 6 Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakener, Constitution 287, Strength 279, Agility 275, Spirit 290. Dragon Emperor Sword Level 6, Sky-Splitting Dragon-Phoenix Slash Level 4, All Weapon Mastery, Evil-Slaying Bow Level 3, Galaxy Starburst Level 6 (Max Level 10), True Dragon Eye, Dragon-Phoenix Body, 12 Main Meridians Opened Level 6, Teleportation, Dragon-Phoenix Heaven-Shattering Fist (requires two people to work together; not required if awakened with Dragon-Phoenix Body).

Li Chenglong slowly opened his eyes and saw several people staring at him. He scratched his head sheepishly and stood up. "It was a bit tough, but I finally took care of it. And I sensed it just now; this is the only powerful zombie in this area." Yun Lan helped Li Chenglong up. "Are you alright? That attack scared me to death." Li Chenglong also felt a bit shaken. "This one was much stronger than the warrior zombie at the hospital. Luckily, it was a close call, and I managed to take it down." He then handed a cyan crystal to Yun Lan. "I need the other crystals for the Dawn City blueprints. I finally got a blue one this time, so here you go." Yun Lan said, a little embarrassed and annoyed, "Don't do that again next time. Don't forget I'm here for you." Li Chenglong smiled and nodded.

He then glanced at his watch; it was already noon. He said, "It's noon. Let's find a clean place to eat. I need to rest this afternoon. Yunlan will be in charge of the exploration mission. Jiang Hui, you stay. I still have a lot to ask you about Linhai City." The three nodded in unison. A short while later, Zhao Rui found two rest rooms on the fifth floor of an office building nearby. They ate a simple meal outside, and then Li Chenglong told everyone to rest for two hours before resuming the exploration in the afternoon.

Yunlan then consumed the cyan crystal she had just taken. Whether an Awakened or a superhuman, only by consuming a crystal of the same or higher level can one increase the power reserves of their Martial Power Tower. After taking it, Yunlan felt her Martial Power Tower increase significantly, jumping from 67% to 85%. Looking at Li Chenglong in the same lounge, seeing him resting quietly, Yunlan didn't want to disturb him and instead lay down on another sofa to rest.