New Ability

Chang Wei quickly transformed into an infected to disguise himself, but the two helicopters showed no mercy, killing him along with the civilians.

Alex Mercer had messed with them too many times already. They knew that Prototypes could disguise themselves. In the game, they were a little more rigid—once you left their line of sight, their alertness would disappear—but reality naturally did not work that way.

Black Watch would rather kill the wrong person than let anyone go.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The mounted machine guns opened fire, their terrifying firepower raking the ground. The hard concrete was blasted full of craters, and the infected were shredded to pieces. Even Chang Wei, this "innocent civilian," was hit and collapsed on the spot.

Once the two helicopters shifted their attention elsewhere, Chang Wei immediately grabbed a nearby sedan and hurled it at them.

Boom!!!

One of the helicopters was struck head-on by the sedan. The immense force carried by the car instantly warped the helicopter's frame, crushing the pilot and transported soldiers inside into pulp and flattened slabs of flesh.

The other helicopter realized something was wrong and tried to turn away, but Chang Wei had already shouldered a Rocket Launcher.

Checkmate!

Chang Wei smiled faintly and pulled the trigger. A Rocket shrieked through the air and hit the helicopter.

The helicopter exploded into a massive fireball as well. The Heatwave rushing toward him made Chang Wei feel as though his fur had been singed. Fortunately, the Blacklight Virus's regenerative ability was strong enough now, or he might have ended up "going bald."

With Chang Wei stirring things up, the infected here soon Burst Through the defensive line, attacking passersby everywhere and expanding the infected zone.

Once the number of infected reached a certain point, Chang Wei began harvesting them.

But this harvesting speed was far too slow. Chang Wei figured he needed to find a way to speed up the infection. Once all of Manhattan Island fell, he could harvest to his heart's content. Better yet, if he had the infected leave Manhattan Island and spread the infection to other cities, he would be able to harvest even more Gene Points later.

"Evolve..."

Chang Wei chose an evolutionary path. He wanted to evolve a Blacklight Virus Parasite capable of parasitizing hosts and controlling their movements!

The inspiration came from parasitic organisms in nature, such as Horsehair Worms and parasites that could control snails. These parasitic creatures could control the behavior of their hosts, making them an excellent reference for Chang Wei.

Of course, Chang Wei definitely could not bring himself to devour Horsehair Worms or anything like that. He could only let the all-powerful Blacklight Virus figure it out on its own and see whether, with the system's help, it could evolve such an ability.

The result did not disappoint Chang Wei. He successfully evolved the Blacklight Virus Parasite!

This parasite met all of Chang Wei's requirements. Strictly speaking, it could not even be considered a bug, merely a Blacklight Virus Subbody similar to a parasite.

Moreover, the system's description stated that because it came from Chang Wei, a Blacklight Virus Prototype that had evolved many times, using it on other organisms would grant them a certain degree of enhancement—even if they were already infected by the Blacklight Virus.

They could even undergo "atavism," gaining and inheriting genes passed down from Chang Wei, the parent body.

For example, Chang Wei's Electric Shock Form, Four-armed Hegemon Form, and Flight Form could all be inherited by the Sub-body and displayed after it parasitized a host. Chang Wei could also create Sub-bodies without the genes for those forms, and they could still enhance their hosts.

To test this new thing, Chang Wei directly captured a fat infected. Aside from Hunters, it was the strongest among ordinary Blacklight creatures.

Black-red matter wriggled in Chang Wei's hand. Then, something resembling a centipede crossed with a scorpion and a spider appeared in his palm. The Blacklight Virus Subbody let out a hair-raising screech before burrowing into the infected's body with its sharp mouthparts and forelimbs.

"Why does it look so much like a Facehugger... though it's far more vicious than one."

The Blacklight Virus Subbody looked terrifying and grotesque, but every movement it made was controlled by Chang Wei. He also had a special connection with it, Just like his own limbs. So even though he had insect phobia, Chang Wei did not find the Blacklight Virus Subbody frightening at all.

The infected that the Blacklight Virus Subbody had burrowed into immediately began struggling, but it was quickly brought under control. Then the changes began.

Infected by the more advanced Blacklight Virus carried by the Blacklight Virus Subbody, shell-like exoskeleton appeared across its body. It looked nearly indestructible. In reality, it probably still could not withstand a punch from Chang Wei's Four-armed Hegemon Form, but its defenses were certainly far stronger than before.

Moreover, its blade-like arms, which served as weapons, became even more exaggerated and grotesque. One look was enough to tell they were weapons of mass slaughter.