The Outbreak

Somehow, Chen Changsheng sensed that this Willow Tree would bring him tremendous help in the future.

Chen Changsheng did not know what to call what he was doing. Could this be the legendary ability to enlighten all things? Had he enlightened a Willow Tree?

If he could enlighten other things in the future, wouldn't that be incredible? Even after enlightening only the Willow Tree, Chen Changsheng felt that the Original Virus inside him had been depleted far too much. If he did it again, he probably really wouldn't be able to endure it.

Although the Willow Tree still could not communicate with him, it could already understand his requests. Its branches swayed in the wind like a happy little puppy.

Now, with the nutrients the Willow Tree constantly absorbed from the earth, it converted them into high-energy matter that Chen Changsheng could absorb.

From now on, Chen Changsheng would no longer need to buy huge quantities of food. Without such astonishing behavior, he naturally would not attract anyone's attention, giving him a greater chance of escaping.

But it was obvious that the Willow Tree was still far too weak. For now, Chen Changsheng still needed to do something to help it grow.

For example, he could find a way to construct special transportation channels for the Willow Tree, allowing it to transport energy quickly so that it could grow faster.

Once the Willow Tree grew, Chen Changsheng could imagine what benefits it would bring him. High-energy matter would probably be the least of it.

Chen Changsheng reached out and snapped off a Willow Tree branch, then wrapped it around his wrist. Flesh tendrils grew from his wrist and intertwined with the branch, fusing together until they became one.

At Chen Changsheng's command, the willow branch could shoot out in an instant.

After being modified by the Original Virus, the Willow Tree's branches were exceptionally tough. If used as a whip, it would surely make an excellent weapon.

Unfortunately, Chen Changsheng's own fighting ability was truly mediocre. If he used a flexible weapon like a whip, his combat power would be mediocre on top of mediocre.

In truth, his ability to catalyze the rapid evolution of the Willow Tree today had not originally been his own power. Now, however, it could be considered one of Chen Changsheng's abilities.

Chen Changsheng's innate ability leaned more toward devouring and copying. When he began absorbing Elizabeth's blood during the day, he had already sensed that the Original Virus inside him rapidly copied the abilities of the Original Virus in Elizabeth's body. It seemed that Elizabeth's ability was evolution.

Since Chen Changsheng could rapidly catalyze this mythical Willow Tree today, Elizabeth should be able to do the same.

Thinking about it carefully, if it were Elizabeth, she would probably be even faster. After all, she was the one who possessed the ability to evolve living organisms.

But that was not necessarily true. The amount of Original Virus in Elizabeth's body was far lower than in Chen Changsheng's. Even Chen Changsheng could not withstand expending his virus so extravagantly.

If Elizabeth expended a large amount of Original Virus, she would probably suffer severe damage herself.

Fortunately, Chen Changsheng now possessed this ability. In the future, he would always acquire more virus.

After eating extensively over the past two days, the Original Virus in Chen Changsheng's body had multiplied rapidly. In such a short time, it had already reached considerable numbers. Chen Changsheng's entire body was now composed of Original Virus, giving his body an extremely high density.

The other residents of Hope Town currently contained only trace amounts of virus in their bodies. Even Elizabeth, who had the highest concentration of Original Virus among them, possessed only one two-hundredth of the virus in Chen Changsheng's body.

In terms of Original Virus alone, Chen Changsheng felt that he completely outclassed them. But his enemies were not these uninformed townspeople. Staying alive was the most important thing at present.

Originally, Chen Changsheng could only command the Original Virus in his own body. But after facilitating the Willow Tree's evolution today, he felt that he could also influence the Original Virus inside the Willow Tree.

This discovery delighted Chen Changsheng. It seemed he had found another way to develop and grow stronger. For the sake of his future safety, Chen Changsheng could only desperately expand his power.

If a small town filled with Original Virus could be flattened by the military with a nuclear bomb, what if the entire world were filled with Original Virus? They couldn't possibly bomb the whole world, could they?

The Willow Tree's weakness was probably still its inability to move. Even though it had evolved the ability to prey on small animals, it remained a thoroughly ordinary plant.

Compared with animals, plants always seemed to Chen Changsheng to be missing something.

After conveying his will to the Willow Tree, telling it to grow its roots toward the distance, Chen Changsheng held the emerald willow branch in his hand and gently swung it as he walked toward his home.

He only hoped that the Willow Tree could extend its roots beyond the nuclear blast radius. That way, it would have a better chance of surviving.

Having transformed into the will of the Original Virus, Chen Changsheng seemed to no longer need sleep.

Lying in bed all night, Chen Changsheng thought about how to develop in the future. This was not a game where he could mindlessly charge ahead. If he were shot and killed here, he probably would not get another chance to start over.

When he woke in the morning, Chen Changsheng walked to school as usual. The difference was that many unusual people had arrived at the school. They wore tightly sealed protective suits and held instruments as they scanned everywhere, apparently searching for something.

The school entrance had also been taken over by Black Watch soldiers wearing masks and special combat gear. The Black Watch soldiers paid no attention to the students entering and leaving. They merely stood at the entrance like statues, carefully observing every student who passed by. Naturally, they also noticed Chen Changsheng.

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Chen Changsheng and some other students looked at the inexplicable formation and were too frightened to go forward. Unlike the others, Chen Changsheng felt his heart sink heavily. The situation's development was always beyond his control.

Only yesterday, he had been thinking that Black Watch would not intervene so quickly. He had not expected Black Watch's soldiers to arrive here today.

The teachers beside the Black Watch soldiers seemed to have received orders from the military long ago. They were now holding a loudspeaker and explaining to the townspeople and students that classes would proceed normally today, and that the military had only come to borrow some scientific instruments.

The teacher was obviously lying. Given the level of the school in a small town, why would the army need to borrow its instruments?

But the teacher had already said it, and Chen Changsheng could not simply leave and go home. The students beside him had already entered the school one after another, so Chen Changsheng could only pretend that nothing was wrong and go in with them.

It was only after entering the school that Chen Changsheng realized the researchers in protective suits were monitoring the students as they had their blood drawn.

The students who had given blood were then sent back to their respective classrooms. Chen Changsheng did not know what he should do. He was not Alex, and if he suddenly lashed out, there was a high chance he would simply be captured and studied.

He could only obediently give up a tube of blood before returning to his classroom with everyone else.

That blood is full of virus. I hope these people don't mess around.

In the classroom, the person whose expression was as gloomy as Chen Changsheng's was Elizabeth. Her belly had already begun to show a slight bulge.

Chen Changsheng tried using his thermal vision to look at Elizabeth's stomach. He saw that the baby inside seemed almost fully developed.

Elizabeth's expression was quite thought-provoking. At one moment, she nervously glanced out the window; the next, she buried her head before the desk, appearing both anxious and helpless.

For some reason, Chen Changsheng walked over involuntarily, gently patted Elizabeth on the shoulder, and comforted her. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry about yesterday. Are you feeling a little better today?"

Chen Changsheng's sudden arrival startled Elizabeth. When she saw that it was her classmate, Elizabeth let out a huge sigh of relief.

Elizabeth looked at Chen Changsheng hesitantly and said, "Jack, do you know why these soldiers are drawing our blood?"

Chen Changsheng knew that Elizabeth had also discovered the abnormalities in her body—for example, the inexplicable baby that had appeared in her belly. Her stress must have been enormous.

But Chen Changsheng could not say it so plainly. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "There must have been some unknown change in the town. These soldiers and scientists should have come because of it."

As soon as Chen Changsheng finished speaking, Elizabeth's face grew even gloomier. Clearly, she had thought of something.

After speaking with Elizabeth for a few more moments, Chen Changsheng finally left her side. After he walked away, Elizabeth seemed to make up her mind.

Elizabeth, seated in front of Chen Changsheng, gritted her teeth and cut open her palm with a fingernail.

Then Chen Changsheng, sitting behind Elizabeth, felt the classroom fill with some unknown hormones. Under the stimulation of these hormones, the Original Virus in his body rapidly evolved.

The virus's evolution consumed a great deal of energy from Chen Changsheng's body, but fortunately, it remained within what he could endure. Recently, the Willow Tree had fed him a great deal of high-energy matter. Thus, even as the virus throughout his body rapidly evolved and endlessly drained his energy, Chen Changsheng still managed to hold on.

The other people in the classroom were not so lucky. Chen Changsheng saw a frail student in the corner rapidly wither before his eyes lost their luster.

Accompanied by an unintelligible roar, the student, having exhausted his energy and failed to evolve, transformed into a zombie. He lunged at the person beside him without mercy and began biting them, feeding in an attempt to replenish his energy and continue evolving.

Through Chen Changsheng's unique perspective, he could see the Original Virus inside the student rapidly evolve and multiply. But this required an enormous amount of energy, and his frail body could not provide enough. Thus, the virus's evolutionary will devoured his consciousness, transforming him into a zombie that could only feed.

Chen Changsheng could sense that the zombies would not attack him. In essence, they were all virus. The difference was that he still possessed his mind.

Still retaining human thoughts, Chen Changsheng could not stand watching his classmates transform into zombies and tear into one another. Seeing the stimulating scene also frightened him somewhat.

Like an ordinary person who had been startled, Chen Changsheng quickly rose and ran out of the classroom. As he passed Elizabeth, he grabbed her hand and shouted nervously, "Elizabeth, run!"

Elizabeth had already learned what her blood could do: turn animals into zombies.

After stopping her nosebleed yesterday, Elizabeth had gone home to change clothes. Her pet cat licked the blood from her clothes, and before Elizabeth's eyes, it transformed into a Zombie Cat.

But the cat did not hurt Elizabeth. Perhaps it was because she was its owner. Elizabeth even felt a trace of affection toward her zombified pet cat...

The only thing that upset Elizabeth was that her pet no longer looked as cute as before.

Elizabeth could not sense any threat from the zombies in the classroom either. But after Chen Changsheng pulled her up, she decided to go home first and seek help from her family.

Elizabeth was only an ordinary girl. When faced with something like this, she still wanted to seek help from her family. After all, in the minds of most people, home was the safest place.