Subduing Huang Zhu

"What do you mean? You know me?"

Huang Zhu didn't take the Job Scroll from Jiang Yang right away. Instead, he pushed it back. As a college student who'd worked hard to get from the countryside to the big city, he knew that everything came with a hidden price tag.

That was true in peacetime. In the Apocalypse, this rule became even more brutal and real.

Looking at the young man before him, Huang Zhu quickly scanned his memory for that face, confirming he'd never seen him before.

"Aren't we meeting now? You've got nowhere to go anyway. How about joining us?"

Jiang Yang naturally knew Huang Zhu, but the problem was that Huang Zhu didn't know him.

In the original story, this Huang Zhu was a student at Linjiang Agricultural University, almost on par with Ye Fan. But Huang Zhu's luck wasn't as good as Ye Fan's.

Someone like Ye Fan, born with nothing, managed to get into Linjiang University partly through his own ability and partly through luck.

Ye Fan's luck was living in Linjiang City itself. Even if he'd been poor since childhood, he could still enjoy the conveniences of a big city. But Huang Zhu came from the countryside, with even fewer opportunities.

So in some ways, Huang Zhu was no worse than Ye Fan—he even surpassed him in certain areas. It's just that Ye Fan was the Son of the Plane, and that couldn't be compared.

In the original story, the two could have become friends, but they eventually parted ways due to conflicting ideals, turning into bitter enemies later on.

"Join you..."

Huang Zhu glanced at the clothes Jiang Yang and the others were wearing. He hadn't eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run.

He could tell those were extremely expensive protective suits. They also had finely crafted crossbows and seemed to know a lot about the Apocalypse.

"Can you tell me why you're looking for me?" Huang Zhu was a very pragmatic person, approaching problems from a realistic angle. He didn't believe this guy would recruit him for no reason.

Qiu Chan and the others stayed silent, watching Huang Zhu. Though they'd only survived with Jiang Yang for a few days, they'd already noticed something.

Jiang Yang almost never did anything pointless. Anyone he actively recruited must have something special about them.

Li Shun, Tang Ya, and Zhang Yao didn't sense anything, but Qiu Chan and the others who'd already become first-level Professionals felt a threat from Huang Zhu.

He wasn't even a Professional, yet he made them feel threatened?

Qiu Chan's eyes brightened. In her view, the flaws in Huang Zhu's stance flickered in and out of sight, meaning they could vanish at any moment.

The only answer she could think of was that he had some way to protect his weaknesses or transform into another form to compensate for them.

"Could he be an Ability User..."

"Who'd say no to a teammate who can transform? That's super cool, right?"

Jiang Yang acted casual, slinging an arm around Huang Zhu's shoulder. "Is your Mutation System direction a wild boar?"

He'd read the original story, so he knew what Huang Zhu's mutation direction was.

Mutation System abilities were highly unstable. Some people could mutate into a brown bear with explosive combat power, others into an earthworm that could split into eight segments and survive.

Jiang Yang was a bit envious of this kind of transformation ability.

Generally speaking, Mutated Wild Boars weren't very strong in the Apocalypse, but the boar Huang Zhu mutated into was different. The original story never explained why, because Huang Zhu was schemed to death by Ye Fan before he could grow.

Huang Zhu's heart jolted. "You can see my ability?"

"You have an ability, and I've got some small tricks. Nothing special."

Jiang Yang patted Huang Zhu's shoulder, signaling him to relax. "Your ability has a lot of value. Join us?"

The world bustles for profit, and all the hustle and bustle is for gain.

Rather than trusting invisible, intangible personal favors, interest-based relationships were more reliable.

Huang Zhu relaxed a lot after hearing Jiang Yang name his ability. This ability was his value. That gave Jiang Yang a reason to recruit him.

With that thought, Huang Zhu took the Job Scroll from Jiang Yang. "Then I won't be polite. My ability is to mutate into a wild boar, but not a Mutated Beast."

"More like a beastman type. Full physical enhancement across the board."

Huang Zhu pointed at the wounds on his body—some from Zombie scratches, others from blade marks. "As for combat power, I killed a first-level Professional before."

At those words, everyone in the Shop gasped, especially Qiu Chan.

After becoming a Professional, she could feel how much stronger she'd gotten. And this Huang Zhu had killed a first-level Professional as an ordinary person. No matter what class that Professional was, it showed his combat prowess.

"So strong!"

As a fellow Ability User, Ye Qingwei was also slightly shocked. Even Jiang Yang, who knew from the original story that Huang Zhu had extraordinary combat power, was surprised to hear he'd killed a first-level Professional.

Compared to mutation, was his Water Ability a bit lacking?

Jiang Yang grumbled a little at the system, but just as a complaint. Every ability had its own uses.

"Become a Professional first. You'll follow us later."

Jiang Yang checked Huang Zhu's loyalty—it was at 30 points.

That was very low, but it made sense. The two didn't know each other, and the other had joined his team out of self-interest.

Loyalty was something that needed gradual refinement. He believed Huang Zhu's loyalty would slowly increase over time.

Huang Zhu thanked him and used the Job Scroll directly, while the glow around Mo Li gradually faded.

She looked at herself in amazement. Though she'd read about it, only by truly becoming a Professional could she experience this wondrous feeling.

As a giant in the field of Biopharmaceuticals, Mo Li's expertise wasn't limited to that area alone. Her knowledge spanned various biological research fields.

That's why it makes the wonder of becoming a Professional all the more tangible.

"Teacher Mo, you're even prettier now that you're a Professional."

Jiang Yang teased. Becoming a Professional was a leap in life's hierarchy. Mo Li's appearance hadn't changed, but her aura was different now—enhanced on top of her already mature and alluring foundation.

"Nonsense!"

Mo Li's face flushed slightly, then she said in a playful tone, "For the sake of this Job Scroll, I'll temporarily forgive you for all your past nonsense, kid!"

"If you don't behave from now on, watch out—I'll straighten you out!"

Mo Li waved her hand. Even though she was a support class, her physical fitness had improved significantly, giving her the illusion that she could beat Jiang Yang to a pulp.

Jiang Yang smiled. Just now, Mo Li's loyalty had suddenly risen to over forty.