Broadcast and Xia Chu's Invitation

Lin Qi's apartment building had three units per floor, with three rooms in each unit. The units did not connect to one another.

Lin Qi was on the 22nd floor, Unit 3.

Under Psychic Vision, there were no other survivors in the unit—only six Zombies.

It didn't take long before Lin Qi cleared all six Zombies.

Every single Zombie's head contained a Crimson Crystal—a one-hundred-percent drop rate.

"That's a bit terrifying. Rough estimate: the zombification rate is about ninety percent. If the parallel world's population is seven billion, that's over six billion Extraordinary Items—and that's just counting human Zombies."

"With that many Extraordinary Items flooding in, this world is bound to birth Extraordinary Professions, and higher-tier Extraordinary Items on top of that."

"In the Cyber World, the Wizard profession caps out at Second Rank, maybe Third Rank. But in this world, reaching Ninth Rank as a Wizard isn't impossible."

In the Cyber World, Extraordinary Professions basically maxed out at Fifth or Sixth Rank. Anything above Sixth existed only in legends and fantasies.

As Lin Qi understood it, what limited an Extraordinary Professional's rank was Spiritual Energy Particles and Extraordinary Items.

The Cyber World simply didn't have the soil to support higher-ranked Extraordinary Professionals.

For Extraordinary Professionals, this Doomsday World was like virgin land.

After obtaining six Crimson Crystals, Lin Qi didn't rush to clear more Zombies. Instead, he temporarily returned to his room.

A Wizard's innate skill was to analyze Extraordinary Items and gain abilities, but analysis didn't mean fully mastering the item's effects.

Running experiments was a Wizard's basic skill—and even more so, Lin Qi's basic skill as an L-level Researcher.

Microscopic imaging, energy monitors, spectrometers...

Lin Qi had none of them!

The Exoskeleton Armor wasn't a bottomless bag. Lin Qi had always leaned toward combat capability when modifying his Exoskeleton Armor.

Especially under the backdrop of the Witch Hunt, where a Wizard's living environment was precarious, Lin Qi had always stockpiled defensive offensive capabilities.

Fortunately, Lin Qi had Psychic Vision, so he could use brute-force experiments to get a preliminary understanding of an Extraordinary Item's properties.

Xia Chu sat on the edge of the bed, watching Lin Qi, who sat upright at the desk with a serious expression.

After four years of dating, Xia Chu had absolute trust in Lin Qi.

Besides, the way Lin Qi looked when he was serious was no different from usual.

The Exoskeleton Armor, the Short Tang Dao, the Crimson Crystals—Xia Chu selectively set these doubts aside.

Lin Qi gripped the Tang Dao's hilt, commanded the Brain to set a fixed force on the Exoskeleton Armor's arm, and attempted a physical impact.

Before Lin Qi could even start his first experiment, outside interference arrived at an inopportune time.

Zzzzz...

The sound came from a phone set to radio mode with an antenna attached.

The broadcast signal had partially recovered.

"This is the Dragon Capital, broadcasting to all survivors nationwide. We inform all survivors that the Dragon Kingdom's government still exists."

"Rescue operations are underway. The First Batch of rescue areas are: Jing, Mo, Wu, Qing..."

"Survivors in the above areas, please stay home as much as possible and wait for rescue."

"Due to incomplete local administrative structures, remote areas cannot be rescued for now. Please have remaining local structures and cadres immediately take independent action and use the following frequency to maintain contact with the capital."

"Next, we will broadcast a survivor survival guide."

"First: This crisis is not infectious. Be brave and fight the Zombies."

"Second: Clear Zombies in your surrounding area as quickly as possible, including but not limited to human transformations. Try to obtain the crimson crystals from their heads."

"Third: Crimson Crystals can be held under the tongue. They enhance physical constitution and promote wound healing."

"Fourth..."

Before the fourth point could air, the broadcast signal was severely disrupted again.

But from the available information, it was clear that the Dragon Kingdom's government was formidable. Just over a day after the apocalypse broke out, they had already consolidated their remaining forces and even researched some of the Crimson Crystal's effects.

Under the tongue?

Lin Qi looked at the Crimson Crystal and refused to accept the suggestion rashly.

The brute-force experiment continued.

Ding. A crisp sound.

The crystal's structural strength was clearly inferior to A-level materials. It shattered into pieces on impact.

As it broke apart, Lin Qi kept Psychic Vision active.

He saw a massive amount of Spiritual Energy Particles splattering during the shattering process.

These Spiritual Energy Particles were slightly different from those floating in the air—they couldn't be absorbed through Wizard meditation.

Instead, they penetrated the metal Exoskeleton Armor and merged with the arm inside.

The Wizard's instinctual aversion to the purity of the physical body wanted to reject these Spiritual Energy Particles from entering his own flesh.

But a First Rank Wizard Extraordinary Profession struggled to use Mental Power to directly control the flow of Spiritual Energy Particles.

The Spiritual Energy Particles transformed from the Crimson Crystal remained unstoppable as they were absorbed by the body.

With the flow of blood and the acceleration of the heartbeat, they gradually spread throughout the entire body.

"Xiao Ai, report body status."

Lin Qi felt that his experiment had been a bit hasty.

Given his usual cautious nature, he shouldn't have started the experiment so recklessly.

Instead, he should have waited until the next Gate crossing, or even the one after that, to bring more experimental equipment into the Doomsday World before officially beginning.

As for bringing the Crimson Crystal back to the Cyber World?

That was impossible.

The surveillance intensity of Hongguo City was beyond imagination. Lin Qi would never rashly bring any Extraordinary Item from the Doomsday World back to the Cyber World.

Body data was transmitted through electrodes behind the ear and projected directly onto his retina.

Lin Qi clearly saw the changes in his body data.

Various cell activities had slightly increased, muscle fiber strength had slightly improved, and hormone levels in his body had undergone minor adjustments.

Overall, the changes were not significant, and the few alterations were positive feedback.

The psychological aversion stemming from the Wizard's instinct had slightly eased.

This effect was similar to the potions produced by the Red Fruit Weapons Research Institute.

It had a certain stimulating effect on the human body and should work well for Extraordinary Professions like Martial Artists and Knights.

"The alien Spiritual Energy Particles of the Crimson Crystal can strengthen the physical body, and there's no rejection reaction with the Wizard profession."

"As for side effects, I haven't noticed any for now. Besides, if there were side effects on the body, my Wizard instinct—that inexplicable mental aversion—would have a strong reaction."

"Maybe I can use the Crimson Crystal for enhancement and then disguise myself as another new Extraordinary Profession?"

"Cybernetic modification fits much better with Martial Artists and Knights."

Lin Qi instinctively came up with the idea of adding another layer of identity for himself.

The Wizard profession was too dangerous; there were always people who wanted to tie Wizards to stakes and burn them alive.

Just as Lin Qi was thinking, a soft touch came from behind him.

Since there was no danger, the Brain did not issue a warning.

"Lin Qi, Modu is among the First Batch of rescue locations. We just need to wait at home for rescue."

"We haven't... in seven days... how about we..."

The sunlight outside the window flickered, yet it seemed somewhat cold and gloomy.

Lin Qi's heart rate reached 160, whether stimulated by the Spiritual Energy Particles of the Crimson Crystal or by Xia Chu.

"Not good..."

Lin Qi took a deep breath and firmly shook his head in refusal.

The scorch marks on the ground were still there; he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.