Yang Ao

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Yang Ao was the son of Yang Tianyao, chairman of Future Human Pharmaceuticals. Before the apocalypse, he lived as a wealthy young master and traveled widely, acquiring training in combat, survival, medicine, and lockpicking. His father's reported sudden death from an apparent heart attack prompted Yang Ao's return to Q City. Although Yang Ao initially believed him dead, Shen Jin later knows that Yang Tianyao is alive and has chosen not to meet his son. 32 39 604

His enthusiasm for dangerous outdoor activities was one reason Yang Tianyao researched genetic enhancement: he wanted to improve the physical abilities of his adventure-seeking son. Yang Ao's travels also included an extravagant lifestyle in an EleMMent Palazzo Superior luxury motorhome. 27 43

During the early apocalypse, Yang Ao traveled with Zhao Laoda and Meng Xiangcun. Initially, he interpreted their captivity in Shen Jin's trap-filled villa as an elaborate conspiracy intended to seize his inheritance rather than accepting the reality of the zombie outbreak. After seeing zombies firsthand, he admitted that he wanted to “truly live” and chose to seek refuge under Shen Jin. 9 10

To prove his value, Yang Ao revealed the existence of Future Human Pharmaceuticals' Gene Optimization Serum 1.0, then became Shen Jin's recruit and combat partner. He assisted in zombie hunts, the recovery of the pharmaceutical laboratory, and the rescue of scientist Fu Wei. 13 27 36 37 38 39

After retrieving the serum, Yang Ao voluntarily consumed it under Shen Jin's supervision. The enhancement transformed him from a capable but ordinary survivor into a powerful close-range fighter. 40 41

Following the battles that scattered Shen Jin's original group, Yang Ao traveled with Li Moxiao and Fu Wei. Sun Can rescued the three, after which they continued searching for food to restore Li Moxiao's strength. Yang Ao became a genuine Tier 1 Superhuman during this broader period. Their eventual return to Shen Jin's base coincided with a memorial service being held for them because they had been presumed dead. 140 195 213

As Shen Jin's settlement developed into Home No. 1, Yang Ao became its acknowledged second-in-command and a major military leader. He trained and recruited core personnel, directed combat formations, supervised the captains, and increasingly handled the operational responsibilities Shen Jin delegated to him. 285 293 316 320 506 604

His later development centers on the Gene Lock path rather than a permanent elemental special ability. He advances through dangerous combat, eventually reaching Tier 4 while continuing to lead Home No. 1's forces in large-scale zombie-clearing and defensive operations. 332 542 604 683 690

Appearance

Yang Ao is a handsome young man with a well-proportioned, athletic physique. Gene optimization burns away excess fat and leaves his body leaner, more sculpted, and visibly stronger. 18 40 47

• Usually wears armor, a helmet, and carries a sword during expeditions. 27 41
• His bloodstained armor and helmet make him difficult for rescued survivors to recognize outside of combat. 47
• When off duty, he wears sportswear and presents himself as clean and well-groomed. 47
• Has stubble and a weathered appearance after months surviving in the apocalypse. 9 32
• Later wears advanced armor with a retractable faceplate; his exposed face remains bright and handsome. 615
• Under Shen Jin's Giant Sausage enhancement, can become a five-meter-tall, heavily muscled giant. He can also compress this enlarged form back to normal human size while retaining its enhanced power. 220

Personality

Yang Ao is imaginative, highly talkative, and fixated on finding logical explanations for strange events. His deductions are often wildly incorrect—such as treating the apocalypse as a staged plot to steal his inheritance—but he remains curious and willing to revise his views when faced with evidence. 9 13 28

Although he presents himself with humor and confidence, Yang Ao deeply values recognition and belonging. After losing his former status in the apocalypse, he works without complaint in Shen Jin's territory and is moved when Shen Jin finally treats him as part of the household rather than merely a useful subordinate. 32

He is loyal to Shen Jin, addresses him as “Brother Jin,” and increasingly regards him as a sworn brother. He is also flirtatious and openly interested in attractive women, but he follows Shen Jin's decisions and is conscious of when he has overstepped. 32 43 46 49

His unconventional thinking is not always empty speculation. During a game of Splendor, Shen Jin notices that Yang Ao favors unexpected, high-risk strategies with an underlying logic: he tends either to lose badly or win impressively. This willingness to gamble later appears in his pursuit of breakthroughs through life-threatening combat. 33 331 332

Despite his womanizing, Yang Ao can show compassion and restraint. After learning that Ma Sanxiong abuses Zhao Hong, he protects her and loses interest in treating their encounter as merely a sexual arrangement. He also recognizes the limits of his authority, acknowledging that expulsion or execution requires Shen Jin's decision. 64 65

Yang Ao combines self-preservation with a determination to fight zombies throughout his life. In a private discussion with Shen Jin, he describes wanting both to continue fighting and to survive long enough to pass on his genes. By the later stages of his Gene Lock cultivation, however, he has no family or committed romantic relationship and avoids attachments that might weaken his willingness to risk everything in battle. 243 604

His public bearing becomes increasingly authoritative as he grows into a fighter, squad leader, and decision-maker, although he rarely displays that imposing side within Home No. 1. He retains a relatively good temper with subordinates, allowing Li Zhe to joke with him during equipment tests. 305 329

He also takes morale and psychological resilience seriously, calling mental fortitude humanity's first weapon against zombies. He normally prefers handling responsibilities personally, but agrees to learn to delegate when Shen Jin urges him to devote more time to his own advancement. 604

Abilities & Skills

Gene Optimization

Yang Ao initially has no documented elemental or supernatural ability. His first enhancement comes from Gene Optimization Serum 1.0, which improves his body without requiring the dangerous process of unlocking a Gene Lock. This early enhancement is later distinguished from his genuine Gene Lock awakenings. 28 40 58 74 140

• Doubles his baseline physical qualities, including strength, speed, reaction time, eyesight, endurance, and damage resistance. 41
• Can produce noticeable fist wind and move at speeds beyond normal human limits. 40 43
• Can defeat a Jumping Zombie alone and handle ordinary zombies with ease. 41 44
• Requires a massive intake of food during the serum's initial transformation. 40
• Initially lacks the combat awareness and lethal technique of a true Gene Lock user such as Lu Qiang. 43
• Enhanced dynamic vision makes a fast-moving attack appear slower, but this alone does not provide a Gene Lock user's instinctive techniques. 74
• His sharpened senses allow him and Shen Jin to detect faint ground tremors before ordinary survivors. 65

Gene Locks and Bodily Control

Yang Ao eventually follows the Gene Lock path, progressing from a first-stage user to higher stages through combat and personal comprehension. Shen Jin considers his fighting talent, understanding, and determination exceptional, noting that most system potions directly benefit special-ability users more than Gene Lock fighters. 140 332 542 604

• First-stage Gene Lock: Provides instinctive combat aptitude, intense focus, awareness of bodily condition, and suppression of pain, fear, and hesitation. Yang Ao cites these qualities when recommending Gene Lock enhancement for crossbowmen. 220 435
• Second-stage Gene Lock: Unlocks during his near-fatal duel with Xi Rong. His breakthrough allows him to kill an opponent who had previously overwhelmed him. 331 332
• Localized muscular control: Enlarges individual limbs to increase striking power and combines bodily control with swordsmanship and powered equipment. 325 383 581
• Third-stage Gene Lock: Uses analysis, simulation, and genetic adjustment to adapt his body to combat conditions. During the gravity-controller battle, he adjusts his state and launches a close-range plasma counterattack while under extreme restraint. 527 542
• Breakthrough risks: His Tier 2 advancement leaves him in severe pain and urgently needing medicine. His armor is essential to surviving the damage sustained before the breakthrough. 332
• Tier 4 standing: Reaches Tier 4 by the global preparations for war, although the supplied account does not describe the precise breakthrough or a distinct personal Tier 4 technique. 683

Temporary Food-Granted Powers

Shen Jin repeatedly uses Yang Ao to test special-ability foods and enhancement products. Yang Ao's Gene Lock helps him instinctively understand and control powers that are not part of his permanent ability set. 220 225 550

• Geoduck: Grants water and ice abilities for ten minutes, including ice spikes, swords, spears, shields, Frost Palm, and water ripples that cushion landings. His Gene Lock activates automatically during the enhancement. 220
• Giant Sausage: Grants immense strength, bodily enlargement, enhanced toughness, and control over enlarged limbs. He can leap more than ten meters high and generate forceful gusts with palm strikes. 220
• Senzu Beans: Shen Jin tests their rapid healing effects on him. 220
• Higher-tier food experience: Repeated temporary Tier 2 enhancements give him a practical model of the bodily control needed for his permanent second-stage breakthrough. 332
• Combined combat enhancement: Giant Sausage, an advanced second-stage Gene Lock, and Quantum Armor together let him contend with a powerful muscle puppet. 527
• Later fruit enhancement: After eating an ant-patterned fruit, he delivers the finishing strike to a Zombie Amalgamation with two enormous swords of light. Shen Jin later estimates that his fruit could bring Tier 4 Yang Ao closer to genuine intermediate Tier 4 strength. 616 683

Swordsmanship and Melee Combat

Yang Ao primarily fights with iron swords while wearing protective armor during his early expeditions. He becomes Shen Jin's frontline fighter while Shen Jin provides traps, terrain manipulation, and ranged support. 27 34

• Can kill ordinary zombies with clean sword strikes after gaining experience. 44
• Uses an energy-enhanced iron sword against tougher evolved zombies. 41
• Volunteers for dangerous tasks, including retrieving blood crystals near powerful zombies. 37
• His early sword technique remains crude; his sparring with Shen Jin is described as “blindly swinging wildly” despite their superior physical ability. 43
• Decapitates an L-Type Zombie in a single strike with the energy-enhanced iron sword, then defeats another through retreating attacks and careful spacing. Without that weapon, the same enemies would be much harder for his half-step-superhuman physique to overcome. 58
• Uses an energy-enhanced diamond sword to cut open a Super M-Type Zombie, then beheads it after Shen Jin's gunfire creates an opening. 70 74
• Continues attacking despite serious injuries during the giant-zombie battle, using successive leaps up its body to reach a vulnerable neck wound. 75
• Later trains with Shen Jin and incorporates advanced movement equipment into his sword attacks. 292 325
• Learns to ensure dangerous enemies are completely destroyed: after beheading a restrained Y2 Zombie, he also bisects its body to prevent a counterattack. 383
• Combines Quantum Armor propulsion with a Nano Saber, reaching twice the speed of sound during an approach before an enemy's gravity power arrests his movement. 542
• Later wields paired Broadswords of Light, rapidly beheading a Tier 3 Mutated Zombie and severing a Zombie Amalgamation's head with blades expanded to one hundred meters long. 615 616

Survival and Utility Training

Before the apocalypse, Yang Ao accumulated a varied set of practical skills during his travels. 32

• Combat and survival training.
• Basic medical knowledge.
• Lockpicking; he uses this skill while rescuing survivors from an apartment building. 49
• Strong vigilance and combat intuition; he detects an approaching Jumping Zombie before Shen Jin does. 34
• Wilderness survival experience that remains relevant beyond his reputation as a wealthy young master or Shen Jin's follower. 506
• Careful observation during searches: in Kandahar, he notices that two supposedly ordinary men react as though they know the troops are overhead, exposing Ibe's disguised hiding place. 522

Leadership

Yang Ao can project authority when dealing with ordinary survivors, despite reverting to a fawning, subordinate demeanor around Shen Jin. 45 46

• Leads rescued survivors to Shen Jin's settlement. 45
• Establishes rules prohibiting coercion, requiring work in exchange for food, and forbidding unauthorized departure. 45
• Helps assign survivors to farming, tailoring, and perimeter-patrol work. 50
• Becomes known as Home No. 1's second-in-command, with residents adopting “Second Brother” rather than directly calling him “Number Two.” 221 285 293
• Personally leads prospective core personnel and promotes loyalty by emphasizing Shen Jin's willingness to protect his own people. He and five instructors later oversee training for more than five hundred candidates. 253 316
• Directs combined formations of strength-based and elemental superhumans, separating aerial attackers to reduce friendly-fire risks while monitoring the entire battlefield. 320 325
• Argues that Home No. 1 must intercept the million-strong horde threatening the H Province Heavenly Net Branch before it merges with other hordes. 377
• Assigns Liu Jin twenty defenders and strengthening supplies to guard Home No. 1 during the major expedition. 381
• Advises Shen Jin on force development, recommending Gene Locks for five hundred heavy crossbowmen because the weapons already supply attack power while Gene Lock instincts improve their users' survivability. 435
• Supervises the captains and handles much of the settlement's military workload on Shen Jin's behalf. 506 604
• Helps manage diplomacy, switching between intimidation and conciliatory explanations in coordination with Shen Jin during the Jinzhou negotiations. 559
• Oversees research into zombie developments, reporting the growing frequency of Breeder Variants and their Tier 1 offspring. 586
• Commands the forces that clear Yingkou City's urban area, reporting approximately eight hundred thousand zombies eliminated and one squad member lost. 604
• Leads three thousand soldiers to Zhengzhou, establishes additional teleportation points, and restores order for the Ark No. 1 evacuation. 644
• Directs layered defenses using consecrated soil, aerial bombs, Laser Guns, and the Energy Fusion Technique against an eight-million-zombie horde. 663
• Commands fifteen thousand fighters in an ambush on twenty zombie legions, employing Advanced Tachyon Disintegration Guns and plasma weapons before withdrawing toward Home No. 1. 690

Cultivation and Theoretical Insight

Yang Ao practices Heavenly Net's Meridian Cultivation Method with an Energy Atomizer and initially finds it effective at strengthening his body and stimulating further Gene Lock development. He later clarifies that it is not a perfect fit for his path: energy is supplementary, while his core progress depends on developing his genes, exceeding his limits, and fighting through life-and-death situations. 580 604

He interprets the fourth painting recovered from Heavenly Net's ancient ruins as depicting one person divided into distinct mental states, rather than two separate black and white figures. He presents this as an uncertain personal interpretation, not an established explanation. Shen Jin encourages him to follow his own combat path rather than force his progress into a special-ability cultivation model. 604

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Iron armor and helmet. 27 41
• Iron sword. 27 44
• Energy-enhanced iron sword, used against stronger evolved zombies. 41 58
• Electric scooter acquired for travel through Shen Jin's underground passages. 36
• Leather clothing, gloves, and protective gear supplied by Shen Jin. 27
• Energy-enhanced Diamond Sword: Supplied by Shen Jin during the Super M-Type Zombie battle. Its listed durability is 3,000 and energy reserve is 500; Yang Ao's sword lacks the additional enchantments placed on Shen Jin's own counterpart. 70
• Diamond Armor Set: One of the settlement's few early sets; Yang Ao initially takes pride in its superior protection. 305
• Tinkers' Construct Steel Armor: Becomes his preferred armor after testing its ability to distribute and absorb attacks. A full set later keeps him alive during his duel with Xi Rong, losing more than half its durability. It can be repaired with steel. 305 332
• Fine Steel Longsword: Used against Xi Rong while seeking his Tier 2 breakthrough. 331 332
• Tinkers' Construct Knapsack: Used to carry equipment, including weapons for armor testing. 305
• Traveler's Gloves: Shen Jin tests their territory-breaking and territory-placement permissions using Yang Ao's pair. Disabling the functions prevents Yang Ao from returning settlement cobblestone to block form with his pickaxe. 308
• Traveler's Wings: Provide extremely rapid aerial displacement, helping him evade a Y2 Zombie and reposition for a downward sword strike. 325
• Blood-red longsword: Used to execute a restrained Y2 Zombie. 383
• Quantum Armor: Provides protection, powered acceleration, and integrated combat equipment. Yang Ao combines it with food enhancements and Gene Locks in high-tier battles. 527 542
• Nano Saber: An electrically glowing blade drawn during his attack on the Tier 3 gravity controller. 542
• Arm-mounted plasma weapons: Fire the two close-range shots that force the gravity controller to release his immediate attack. 542
• Tinkers' Construct Alloy Sword and Quantum Bracers: Combined for an accelerated strike capable of cutting through a zombie's temporary evolution-stage defenses. 581
• Paired Broadswords of Light: Later weapons used in the Jinan rescue and against a Zombie Amalgamation. 615 616

Relationships

• Shen Jin — Leader, benefactor, and later sworn-brother-like partner. Yang Ao joins his territory for safety and recognition, serves as his frontline combatant, and becomes one of his most dependable allies. Shen Jin later calls him his best friend during the mistaken memorial service and entrusts him with much of Home No. 1's military management. Their friendship includes teasing, philosophical discussions, and Shen Jin repeatedly using him to test new enhancements or transport methods. 10 27 32 44 213 220 243 480 506 604
• Yang Tianyao — Father; chairman of Future Human Pharmaceuticals and the source of Yang Ao's knowledge about the Gene Optimization Serum. Yang Ao initially believes Yang Tianyao died before he reached the secret laboratory. Later narration establishes that Yang Tianyao is alive but has not met his son; Shen Jin associates this separation with Yang Ao's lack of attachments and uncompromising advancement. The supplied account does not establish that Yang Ao knows his father is alive. 13 27 39 604
• Fu Wei — Former associate of Yang Tianyao and a scientist at Future Human Pharmaceuticals. Yang Ao remains wary of him at first but helps bring him into Shen Jin's territory. They later travel together with Li Moxiao, sharing the difficulty of supplying her enormous appetite, and return to find themselves being memorialized as dead. 38 39 140 195 213
• Li Moxiao — Fellow survivor whom Yang Ao knew before joining Shen Jin; he followed her food-sensing ability to avoid returning from scavenging empty-handed. Later, he travels with her and Fu Wei, supplies her snacks, and endures her overwhelming physical strength and suspicions that he is privately mocking her appetite. He openly acknowledges her extraordinary talent and advancement speed. 33 140 195 200 604
• Shang Qian — Fellow resident of Shen Jin's territory. Yang Ao is immediately attracted to her and attempts to befriend her. He subsequently respects the boundary created by her connection to Shen Jin. She provides crucial battlefield rescue support, including extracting him from an advanced Tier 3 gravity controller, and later tests her new stable spatial passage on him with Shen Jin's assistance. 33 43 542 550
• Zhao Laoda and Meng Xiangcun — Former traveling companions trapped alongside Yang Ao in Shen Jin's villa. Yang Ao separates from them when he chooses to remain with Shen Jin. 9 10
• Zhao Hong — An intimate companion among the rescued survivors. After discovering Ma Sanxiong's abuse, Yang Ao takes her under his protection, threatens consequences for further violence, and offers to hear what she wants without making the encounter conditional on sex. Her continued devotion to Ma Sanxiong leaves him reflecting on the complexity of human relationships. 64 65
• Li Jie — One of the rescued women with whom he becomes close. She accompanies him socially and is instructed to relay his warning that Ma Sanxiong must not strike Zhao Hong again. 47 64
• Su Lele — A rescued survivor whom Yang Ao sends to give Shen Jin a massage, setting up her reunion with him as a former campus recruit. Yang Ao later unknowingly helps arrange lodging for her and Liu Dalao when they enter Home No. 1. 48 285
• Liu Dalao — Initially treated by Yang Ao as a newcomer seeking accommodation; Yang Ao arranges lodging and water through Old Wang without knowing Liu Dalao's original plan to confront Shen Jin. They later appear on the same battlefield against the Divine Assembly, with Shang Qian teleporting Yang Ao onto Liu Dalao's shoulder after a rescue. 285 542
• Xi Rong — A second-stage Gene Lock opponent whom Yang Ao deliberately challenges as a means of advancement. Xi Rong nearly kills him, but Yang Ao breaks through and kills him instead. 331 332
• Home No. 1's captains and troops — Subordinates who recognize his authority as second-in-command and military leader. His willingness to risk his life for advancement inspires several captains, while his approachable temperament allows familiar joking outside serious operations. 305 332 506 559
• Lei Jun — A Jinan fighter whom Yang Ao rescues from a Tier 3 Mutated Zombie amid a three-million-strong horde. 615

Story Role / Major Arcs

Capture and Recruitment

Yang Ao is caught in Shen Jin's villa traps with Zhao Laoda and Meng Xiangcun. After initially denying the apocalypse and constructing an elaborate conspiracy theory, he asks to join Shen Jin's gathering place rather than leave with the others. 1 9 10

Proving His Value

Yang Ao trades information about his father's serum for the chance to stay alive. He later joins Shen Jin on zombie-hunting missions, serving as the physical combatant while Shen Jin uses traps and thrown projectiles from a safer distance. 13 27

Future Human Pharmaceuticals Expedition

Yang Ao guides Shen Jin to his father's sealed underground laboratory. He assists in breaching the facility, fighting evolved zombies, finding Fu Wei, and recovering the two remaining bottles of Gene Optimization Serum 1.0. 31 36 37 38 39

Gene Optimization

Yang Ao drinks the first recovered serum and survives the intense transformation. The process enhances his body enough for him to become Shen Jin's main close-combat defender against evolved zombies. 40 41

The resulting physique remains only half a step from genuine superhuman awakening. Even while attempting to force a Gene Lock breakthrough against a Super M-Type Zombie, Yang Ao is still relying on enhanced dynamic vision rather than instinctive Gene Lock combat abilities. 58 74

Settlement Expansion

Yang Ao and Shen Jin rescue survivors from Wanyu Group and relocate them to their fortified settlement. Yang Ao acts as the group's public authority, enforces settlement rules, and helps organize the residents into work teams. 45 50

He also becomes involved in the rescued residents' personal affairs. He sends Su Lele to massage Shen Jin and later intervenes when Qi Tong reveals that Ma Sanxiong has been abusing Zhao Hong. His response combines protection for Zhao Hong with recognition that ultimate punitive authority belongs to Shen Jin. 48 64 65

Super-Zombie Battles and Separation

Equipped with an energy-enhanced diamond sword, Yang Ao fights alongside Shen Jin and Li Moxiao against two super-evolved zombies. He cuts open the Super M-Type Zombie and beheads it after Shen Jin's gunfire stuns it, but the giant zombie's defenses and strength leave the group badly injured. Yang Ao continues fighting despite vomiting blood and attempts to widen a neck wound so Shen Jin can attack the giant internally. 70 74 75

The later zombie-horde battle scatters the companions. Yang Ao, Li Moxiao, and Fu Wei survive with Sun Can's assistance and continue traveling together. By this stage, Yang Ao is a genuine Tier 1 Superhuman, although still helpless against Li Moxiao's much greater strength. 140 195 243

Return to His Own Memorial

Yang Ao, Li Moxiao, and Fu Wei return to the base while Shen Jin and the residents are holding a memorial service for them. Yang Ao initially jokes about Li Moxiao attending her own funeral, only to lose his amusement when Shen Jin begins eulogizing him as well. The guards initially refuse to believe the supposedly dead companions' identities. 213

Food Enhancements and Core-Team Leadership

After Shen Jin advances to Tier 2, Yang Ao tests the Geoduck's temporary water and ice abilities, Senzu Beans, and the Giant Sausage's massive strength enhancement. He then joins Shen Jin and Shang Qian in responding to the emergency at Old World Mall, where he fights an M1 Zombie while temporarily empowered. 220 221

During the Brood Nest Zombie battle, seeing a captive woman eaten drives Yang Ao into a furious assault. He breaks free of the creature's binding membrane, assumes a five-meter giant form, and destroys its vulnerable abdominal mouth. He subsequently takes a direct role in leading rescued personnel who may become Shen Jin's core team, appealing to their loyalty and emphasizing that Shen Jin protects his own. 251 253

As Home No. 1 grows, Yang Ao becomes widely recognized as its second-in-command. He participates in candidate selection, organizes instructors, and commands increasingly sophisticated combined-arms formations. 285 293 316 320

Second-Stage Gene Lock Breakthrough

At the No. 9 Villas, Yang Ao encounters Xi Rong, a Tier 2 Gene Lock fighter. Rather than allowing Shen Jin's forces to overwhelm him, Yang Ao asks to fight him personally as a means of forcing his own advancement. His peak Tier 1 physique, protective armor, and previous temporary experiences of Tier 2 power give him a foundation, but Xi Rong repeatedly overpowers and severely injures him. 331 332

While being held by the neck and facing death, Yang Ao perceives the unused, locked portions of his gene chains. He unlocks his second-stage Gene Lock and punches through Xi Rong's chest. The breakthrough inspires the watching captains, although Yang Ao urgently needs medicine afterward. The expedition subsequently exposes the No. 9 Villas residents' systematic imprisonment and consumption of other survivors, leading Shen Jin to order their execution. 332

Million-Zombie Campaign and Military Development

When the H Province Heavenly Net Branch faces converging zombie hordes, Yang Ao argues that Home No. 1 must intervene before the threat becomes even larger. Before departing, he appoints Liu Jin to guard the base with twenty defenders and provides supplies to strengthen them. During the campaign, Yang Ao helps finish a dangerous Y2 Zombie by beheading and bisecting it after his allies restrain it. 377 381 383

He later advises Shen Jin that five hundred experienced heavy crossbowmen should become Gene Lock Superhumans rather than special-ability users. His reasoning is that their crossbows already provide sufficient damage, while Gene Lock instincts, focus, and bodily awareness allow them to survive and use those weapons effectively. Shen Jin accepts the argument and commissions Gene Optimization Serum 2.0, subject to an initial test. 435

Overseas Search and Tier 3 Combat

During the search for Ibe near Kandahar, Yang Ao suggests detecting energy fluctuations and identifies suspicious behavior that exposes two disguised men. In the ensuing high-level fighting, he combines his advanced second-stage Gene Lock with Shen Jin's Giant Sausage and Quantum Armor, treating a muscle puppet as a test of his understanding of Tier 3 analysis and simulation. 522 526 527

In the later battle against the Divine Assembly, Yang Ao launches a supersonic Nano Saber attack on an advanced Tier 3 gravity controller. When his acceleration is abruptly arrested, he activates his Tier 3 Gene Lock, adjusts his body, and fires plasma shots to create an escape opportunity. Shang Qian teleports him away, as the opponent remains too strong for him to escape unaided. 542

Regional Command and Independent Advancement

Yang Ao manages Home No. 1's captains and assists Shen Jin in dealing with other bases. During the Jinzhou visit, he participates in a coordinated display of force and then eases the confrontation when Shen Jin changes tone, revealing his own Tier 3 status in the process. 506 559

While Shen Jin is away in B City, Yang Ao oversees Home No. 1 and leads the Superhuman Brigade and Death-Defying Squad in clearing Yingkou City's urban area. He reports approximately eight hundred thousand zombies killed, including seven newly emerged Tier 3 zombies destroyed through fusion skills, at the cost of one squad member. 604

His discussion of the ancient ruins' fourth painting prompts a conversation about his future path. Shen Jin identifies him as the base's most talented fighter and a likely Tier 4 candidate. Yang Ao explains that Gene Lock development requires combat and breakthroughs beyond his limits rather than reliance on energy cultivation alone. Shen Jin supports his independent approach and tells him to delegate more administrative work so he can concentrate on advancement. 604

Jinan Rescue and Ark Evacuation

At Jinan, Yang Ao encounters retreating survivors and immediately abandons his joking manner when told that their comrades remain behind. He leaves two hundred fighters to clear Flying Zombies and takes the rest forward, personally beheading a Tier 3 Mutated Zombie and rescuing Lei Jun from within the three-million-strong horde. He later uses a special-ability fruit and paired giant swords of light to sever a Zombie Amalgamation's head. 615 616

When a Zombie Tyrant leads an eight-million-strong horde toward Zhengzhou, Shen Jin sends Yang Ao and three thousand soldiers to support the Ark Project. Yang Ao's forces establish additional teleportation points and stabilize the panicked base while civilians evacuate to Ark No. 1. 644

Home No. 1's Defense and Global War

Yang Ao directs Home No. 1's defense against the eight-million-zombie horde alongside Wallfacers No. 9 and No. 10. His layered plan uses consecrated soil to slow the advance, aerial Energy Crystal Core Bombs and mass Laser Gun fire to destroy the ranks, and the new Energy Fusion Technique against emerging giant zombies. 663

By the global preparations for war, he has reached Tier 4. After witnessing intermediate Tier 4 power, he acknowledges that it exceeds his current unenhanced strength, while Shen Jin estimates that a fruit enhancement would bring him closer to that level. 683

As zombie legions converge on Home No. 1, Yang Ao commands fifteen thousand fighters in an ambush against twenty legions. Fourteen Advanced Tachyon Disintegration Guns kill nine Zombie Tyrants, followed by plasma attacks against the remaining troops. His forces then withdraw as the surviving legions advance toward the settlement's main defenses. 690

Notable Quotes

“I'm young, strong, obedient, and I can do any work!” 10

“Brothers are easy to find, but a soulmate is hard to come by! From now on, we're brothers born from different mothers!” 32

“Call me... number two!” 221

“Brother Jin, leave me alone! I want him to help me train!” 331

“In the apocalypse... mental fortitude is humanity's first line of weaponry against zombies. Without the will to win, humanity has no... hope!” 604

“My abilities need to improve through endless combat, and then... break through amid life and death!” 604