Updated and Iterated Zombie Skill

The next day.

Jiang Gui and several other refugees were led by the steward into an inconspicuous little courtyard within the city.

The courtyard was not large. It looked like an ordinary commoner's residence, utterly unremarkable.

As they looked around, the group felt somewhat nervous.

But that nervousness did not last long.

A young nobleman emerged from the rear courtyard.

The young nobleman was handsome and possessed an exceptional bearing. Yet for some reason, he wore a white coat and seemed to have sheep-gut gloves on his hands, making him look rather peculiar.

The newcomer was none other than Zhang Ming.

The moment Zhang Ming appeared, the steward hurried forward to greet him, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

"Young Master, Young Master, these are the newly arrived Drug Trial Participants."

After giving them a casual glance, Zhang Ming washed the blood from his hands.

"Mm, I know. Has the follow-up been taken care of?"

"It has been arranged, Young Master. Rest assured."

"Mm. Take them for physical examinations first. Let them bathe and change clothes. Let them recuperate for a few days before bringing them over."

"Yes, Young Master."

Watching the steward urge the group along and lead them away, Zhang Ming came back to himself.

"This time, quite a few should survive, right?"

Ever since Zhang Ming had used [Ignite Comprehension] several times two months ago to comprehend the original version of the Zombie Skill, he had spent these two months constantly revising and deepening it, adapting it to ordinary human constitutions.

With the help of [Ignite Comprehension], the research process and progress had advanced step by step.

Every use of [Ignite Comprehension] brought a certain degree of improvement.

Now, after two months, aside from its most core components, the new version of the Zombie Skill had diverged wildly from the original version. It had undergone tremendous changes.

Furthermore, after two months of research, his understanding of Corpse Qi and the Zombie Skill had risen to a new level.

Take the earliest version, for example.

At a glance, the Zombie Skill truly seemed like nothing more than a Cultivation Method.

But after two months, on top of its original foundation, the revised version had gained many additional effects and contents.

For example.

The Zombie Skill was called the Zombie Skill, but did Zombies truly need to "practice"?

Clearly, they did not!

They did not need to train through the scorching heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter like humans did.

It was instead an instinct. So long as time accumulated and energy did not run short, the Zombie Skill would, like a passive ability, cultivate and evolve on its own, strengthening a Zombie's body.

It was practically a Miracle.

All human martial arts fell more than one tier short before such an instinct.

Who would not want such an ability?

Naturally, Zhang Ming also wanted a Cultivation Method that could cultivate itself.

Thus, over the past two months, he repeatedly simulated, observed, and studied the paths through which the Zombie Skill operated on its own within a Zombie's body.

He wanted to take it for himself.

The result went without saying.

Two months of work, plus multiple uses of [Ignite Comprehension], had successfully allowed him to grasp it.

But the consequence was that the complexity of the Zombie Skill soared in a straight line.

If the original Zombie Skill was merely buying an identical steamed bun from a cafeteria,

then the version from two months later was growing vegetables yourself, raising pigs, slaughtering the pigs, kneading dough, and steaming the buns.

Its level of complexity had risen several steps.

In short, the preliminary development of a new Zombie Skill that could cultivate autonomously, form a self-circulating circuit within the body after being injected into it, and theoretically suit the human body had finally succeeded, at least in theory!

The research advanced steadily.

Naturally, the experiments had to keep pace as well.

Thus, Zhang Ming had begun human experimentation more than ten days ago.

The earliest human experiments had used death-row prisoners from within the city.

But Yang City was only a small city. Even counting the Zhang Family's major purge several months ago,

the number of death-row prisoners held in its cells was not large. They were soon used up, and new test subjects were needed.

Zhang Ming had a clear understanding of himself.

He knew that perhaps he was not a good person, but neither was he an utterly vicious villain.

The evil act of seizing ordinary civilians for human experiments

was something he truly could not bring himself to do.

After all, the probability of experimental success was right there.

If the success rate were a little higher, Zhang Ming could still fool himself by saying that he was bestowing an opportunity, granting people good fortune.

But an experiment with an extremely high death rate was not granting an opportunity!!!

He could not even convince himself of that.

As it happened, refugees fleeing from Shu Land arrived at this time.

Inevitably, Zhang Ming set his sights on these foreign refugees.

The refugees had no stable social connections in the area and lived in absolute poverty, never knowing where their next meal would come from.

At very little cost, he could recruit some test subjects willing to "contribute."

They could be called an excellent source of test subjects.

Of course, Zhang Ming still had a conscience.

He would do his utmost to ensure the survival rate of the refugee test subjects.

This could be seen from the most basic post-experiment survival chances.

Among Yang City's death-row prisoners, because of destructive and extreme experiments, the death rate approached 100%.

Among the refugee test subjects, the death rate was only 30%. Another 40% suffered accidental disabilities, 20% saw no effect or extremely low effectiveness,

and 10% displayed varying degrees of success!

That was right. The experimental success rate had already approached 10%, while the death rate had fallen to 30%.

To improve so quickly, aside from Zhang Ming's own efforts, he had to thank the death-row prisoners for their tremendous support!!!

"Keep it up."

Zhang Ming encouraged himself.

"No matter what, the success rate is rising, and the experience I've gathered is growing."

"I believe it won't be long before the death rate can be brought down to single digits."

"Then it will be usable."

How could Zhang Ming not covet a Zombie Skill that could cultivate on its own and independently strengthen one's constitution?

It was simply that before its safety rate reached a certain level, Zhang Ming absolutely did not dare imitate that Vital Energy circuit within his own body.

"Come to think of it, the Zombie Skill essentially imitates the circulation of Zombie Corpse Qi."

"And the circulation of Zombie Corpse Qi coincides in certain places with martial arts theories of Acupoints and meridians. Is that a coincidence, or is it the most fundamental secret of martial arts?"

"Was martial arts, in its earliest form, an imitation of these Demons, Monsters, Ghosts, and Oddities?"

"Humanoid Demons like Zombies are like this, so what about Demon Beasts?"

"Also, isn't it somewhat inappropriate to still call it the Zombie Skill?"

"Zombie Skill, Zombie Skill, Zombie, Zombie—once the name comes out, it makes those who do not know the truth uncomfortable."

Zhang Ming rubbed his chin.

"I should change the name. What should I call it?"

"The Cultivation Method imitates the circulation of Zombie Corpse Qi, but now it has been changed into the circulation of human Vital Energy. Its defining feature is automatic cultivation, growing every moment."

"Then I'll call it the Cycle Devour Art. Cycle, turning wheel—the implication is that the Cultivation Method never stops. Devour, devour—if it never stops, it naturally needs to devour energy to maintain the cycle."

"Simple, convenient, and straightforward."

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Over these past few days, Jiang Gui had lived in great comfort.

The Zhang Family had given them warm new lodgings and new clothes, and they even had meat in their daily meals.

Compared to their days of fleeing famine, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

One had been like struggling in hell, while the other was like arriving in heaven to enjoy its blessings.

It was just a pity that, for some unknown reason, Yang City had neither brothels nor gambling dens.

This prevented Jiang Gui from visiting those two places he had only ever heard of and never entered before.

He had wanted to take a look, see them for himself, and fulfill his final wish before death.

That was right, before death.

Over these past few days, Jiang Gui had not done nothing.

In the temporary lodgings the Zhang Family had arranged for them, Jiang Gui had met some Drug Trial Participants whose experiments had failed.

From them, Jiang Gui learned that the death rate for Drug Trial Participants was extremely high. Even if they were fortunate enough not to die, they would be left disabled.

But it was also from them that Jiang Gui learned that the Zhang Family truly would fulfill its promises.

There was no need to mention those who died.

Even Drug Trial Participants left disabled would be treated according to the severity of their disabilities.

Those with mild disabilities had already been assigned relatively easy work and could receive monthly wages.

Those with severe disabilities were the ones Jiang Gui and the others had seen—someone managed their food, drink, and every other daily need, keeping them alive all the while.

Therefore, even though Jiang Gui's group knew that Drug Trial Participants faced an extremely high death rate, no one left.

Instead, they chose to trust the Zhang Family.

Jiang Gui believed that the Zhang Family had deliberately arranged for them to live with those disabled Drug Trial Participants as a display as well.