Xia Chu's Suspicion

Lin Qi flatly refused.

Xia Chu looked at him with some suspicion. Normally, Lin Qi was the more eager one.

Lin Qi straightened his expression, unwilling to dwell on these matters.

He took out the remaining five Crimson Crystals. From the experiment just now, Lin Qi could confirm that Crimson Crystals were harmless to Wizards.

Swallowing them directly would likely produce a stronger effect in strengthening the body.

Lin Qi thought the method mentioned in the broadcast—placing them under the tongue—was worth a try.

He put one Crimson Crystal into his mouth and positioned it under his tongue.

Entering the state of Psychic Vision, he observed the changes in the Crimson Crystal.

Spiritual Energy Particles seeped out at a steady rate, entering the body through the blood vessels under the tongue and flowing through the bloodstream.

"Based on the total amount of Spiritual Energy Particles in one Crimson Crystal, the effect of a single crystal is almost comparable to one M-level Enhancement Agent."

"Twelve M-level Enhancement Agents can help a Martial Artist reach the First Rank. That means I only need twelve Crimson Crystals to gain the physique of a Martial Artist?"

A First Rank Martial Artist has strength and endurance two and a half times that of an ordinary person without cybernetic implants, with combat power equivalent to a full set of M-level Cybernetic Body implants.

A Second Rank Martial Artist matches an L-level Cybernetic Body, and a Third Rank matches an A-level Cybernetic Body.

The Martial Artist profession is the most common Extraordinary Profession in the Cyber World, and also the main consumer base for enhancement agents produced by major corporations.

"The absorption rate is a bit slow. One crystal takes about six hours to absorb. If I could develop the crystals into enhancement agents, the absorption efficiency might improve."

After careful calculation, absorbing Crimson Crystals would take at least three days to reach First Rank combat power.

Before the [Gate] finished cooling down, Lin Qi could absorb at most three and a half more Crimson Crystals.

"Xia Chu, here, take this. Use the method from the broadcast—place it under your tongue."

Lin Qi had basically figured out the use of Crimson Crystals and handed the remaining ones to Xia Chu.

Xia Chu obediently took the Crimson Crystals.

"Stay in the room and don't move around. Digesting the crystals will strengthen your body. Keep your hammer handy. These Zombies aren't strong in combat. I'll continue clearing the Zombies in this building."

"The broadcast advised survivors to clear out Zombies quickly for a reason. I need to eliminate potential risks."

Lin Qi laid out the plan for Xia Chu.

Xia Chu started to speak, but Lin Qi cut her off immediately: "If you follow me, I'll have to worry about your safety. It'll distract me."

That was just Lin Qi's excuse.

If Xia Chu kept following, Lin Qi was afraid she might notice something off.

After all, he wasn't the Lin Qi from the parallel world. Subtle habits would give him away.

"Okay."

Xia Chu's voice was quiet, but it put Lin Qi much more at ease.

He left the room and closed the door. The moral pressure weighing on Lin Qi's mind eased considerably.

"There aren't many people with morals like me left in the Cyber World."

He mocked himself and set off on the path of clearing Zombies.

This building had 22 floors. Under Psychic Vision, Lin Qi observed that in his unit, there were 71 remaining Zombies and 3 remaining survivors.

On the 15th-floor hallway, there was also a Zombie corpse with its head blown open.

It seemed Xia Chu had come up from the 15th floor.

Lin Qi didn't understand why a couple would rent two separate rooms in the same building.

Living together, but not fully together. Lin Qi didn't get it, but fortunately, that was the case.

Otherwise, the first time Lin Qi passed through the [Gate], he would have run straight into Xia Chu.

If that had happened, Lin Qi couldn't guarantee his "morals" would have held, especially knowing that a government still existed in the Doomsday World.

A full set of L-level Exoskeleton probably couldn't withstand heavy firepower suppression.

He quickly cleared the Zombies inside the building. The survivors didn't seem inclined to follow the broadcast's advice, or maybe they simply lacked the common sense to use radio equipment in the apocalypse.

Lin Qi cut his way from the 22nd floor down to the 1st, wrapped 72 Crimson Crystals in a bedsheet, and returned to the 22nd floor.

The extra one came from the Zombie Xia Chu had killed. Lin Qi didn't waste it either.

After all that effort, he had enough Crimson Crystals for the short term.

As for the other two units, Lin Qi left them alone for now.

He wanted to know why the broadcast urged survivors to clear out Zombies quickly.

Would stronger Zombies emerge? Or other monsters?

Would other types of Extraordinary Items appear?

As a Wizard, Lin Qi valued variety in Extraordinary Items over quantity.