Exploration

Exploration

The entire law office building had fallen deathly silent. Only inhuman, hoarse sounds remained, prickling like needles and sending shivers down one's spine. Every floor had lost all traces of living breath. The air was saturated with the stench of blood, like a blackened, rotting corpse. In the dim, blood-red surroundings, layer upon layer of shadows made the place gloomy, terrifying, and suffocating.

Mu Xiao reluctantly fused his innate ability with the power of "Mind Force." Though he had not truly cultivated it, its properties heightened the sharpness of his senses. Even without releasing his mental power, he could sense danger within ten meters. If he released it, he could obtain precise information about everything within range. However, releasing mental power felt as though it were draining all his physical strength. The more he expanded his Mind Force, the stronger his hunger became, until he even felt an urge to devour his own flesh and blood. It was an unsettling sensation.

"Zombies seem to have this endless hunger too. Could something have gone wrong with my body?" After testing the effects of Mind Force several times, Mu Xiao felt a chill run through him.

After all, he had never cultivated "Mind Force" himself. He only knew the cultivation process, so naturally, he had no confidence in it.

However, Mu Xiao found that his consciousness did not seem to be affected by negative emotions, so he temporarily set aside his worries. At most, he believed his realm was too low to withstand the normal release of Mind Force. Besides, he had not eaten anything for three days. His body had undergone a series of enhancements, and the consumption had been considerable.

"I can't use Mind Force excessively. Otherwise, it really might drain my body dry." Mu Xiao remained wary.

He knew that the greater the power, the greater its restrictions. Once it exceeded a limit, the vessel bearing that power might collapse.

Mu Xiao straightened his clothes, put away his light-computer chip, and inspected the Thunderbolt Cannon. He discovered that it could no longer be used, so he could only strap it to his back. Only after acquiring the ability "Mechanical Control" or "Weapon Mastery" would he be able to reactivate it.

The air was already filled with mutated free ions and electromagnetic fields. They did not merely alter human bodies; they also invaded energy-containing machinery and gradually changed plants, causing all kinds of transformations. "Mechanical Mastery" allowed one to repair machinery and absorb mechanical knowledge more quickly, while "Weapon Mastery" allowed one to thoroughly understand a weapon's properties the moment it was picked up.

After Mechanical/Weapon Mastery came Mechanical/Weapon Specialization, followed by Mechanical/Weapon Control... Each level provided different knowledge and power. These were abilities of the intelligence system. If one cultivated a "Soul Secret Art," then with a single thought, one could control any machine, dismantling and recombining it. Weapons would become like an extension of one's body, as easy to wield as an arm or finger.

Yet in the later era Mu Xiao had experienced, these two abilities were extremely common, like appraisal skills in a game. They could reactivate antique weapons and fully unleash their power. This was how future New Humans assisted themselves in battle.

But now, machines and weapons across the globe were gradually failing, rendering many weapons unusable. Naturally, large-scale weapons of destruction could not be activated either, unless armed forces were sent from the moon. Yet Earth was already covered in strange electromagnetic fields. Even weapons brought in from the moon would lose their effectiveness soon after entering Earth.

Therefore, before long, Earth would become a sealed land of despair. Only by mastering the power of knowledge, modifying weapons so they could operate normally and increasing their power, could one gain the most basic ability to survive.

Thus, Mechanical Mastery and Weapon Mastery were life-saving abilities for people in the early stages. If one could not even use weapons, their ability to survive would plummet.

"Too many weapons were buried away in the later era. Perhaps weapons were restricted by abilities. After all, weapons would certainly last longer than humans, and only New Humans could use them. Unless a New Human was willing to modify weapons so anyone could use them, but that would require at least Mechanical Specialization..." As Mu Xiao thought, he moved aside the debris piled at the entrance to the room.

Generally, those who evolved into New Humans would not waste their efforts modifying weapons for Old Humans. Old Humans had no status in this era. Moreover, modifying machinery for ordinary people would only lower its fundamental quality. No one would do something so thankless.

Still, surviving in this era had its benefits. Earth's air would gradually change, becoming less polluted and filled with energy. As long as people survived, their bodies would grow better and better. Perhaps one day, they would naturally become New Humans, and there would no longer be any distinction between New and Old Humans.

Of course, in the early stages, healthier bodies only meant a fate worse than death for Old Humans. Only by evolving into New Humans would they qualify to live.

But power was a drug that corrupted human nature. The evolutionary realms of early New Humans would certainly be several times higher than those of New Humans in the middle and later stages. Thus, powerful New Humans in the early era loved to place themselves above everyone else. After years of slaughter, countless complicated emotions would take root in their hearts, with the lust for power and ambition being the most common.

Therefore, powerful New Humans liked to treat Old Humans as slaves. They even developed drugs that suppressed Old Humans and prevented them from evolving, or forced New Humans to regress to the physique of Old Humans. Thus, Old Humans would remain Old Humans, generation after generation, unable to escape their inferior status as weak prey at the mercy of others.

Having experienced a long and arduous road of evolution, Mu Xiao knew better than anyone how cruel human nature would become in the future. He also understood that such things would inevitably happen. But he did not want to be a savior, nor did he wish to worship anyone or be saved by anyone. He believed only in his own strength—becoming a powerhouse no one could control and standing at the summit.

Mu Xiao did not plan to hurry home. Although Mu Xuanyin was alone at home and might be in great danger, there were not many people living near their house. As long as his little sister saw the message he had left behind, she would surely survive.

If Mu Xiao had known that dozens of beautiful women had already moved into his home, he would certainly have rushed back immediately—not for those women, but to "protect" the rare supplies needed for future evolution and prevent them from wasting them. Moreover, his supplies were more than a hundred times more valuable than the supplies Shangguan Yuanxin had stored in No. 9 Warehouse. After all, resources would grow scarcer over time until they eventually vanished and became impossible to find. This was especially true for his rare medicines. The supplies he had ordered for Shangguan Yuanxin were merely mid-to-low-grade goods and naturally could not compare to his own.

Of course, some resources from the later era did not yet exist in this early stage, so Mu Xiao could not make use of half his knowledge and methods. It had both advantages and disadvantages.

The real reason he was not rushing back was that this place was an intelligence agency. There were things here that he wanted and could not afford to miss.

Rather than heading out into the third-floor corridor, Mu Xiao intended to return to the previous secret room and search for other hidden places throughout the law office building. After all, this was a covert federal agent facility. It surely stored plenty of useful things, such as weapons and medicine.

He was considering turning the entire law office building into his secret base.

"There seems to be a basement here too... Mm, I'll sweep through the upper floors first, then explore below. But first, I need to find a suitable weapon."

Mu Xiao's physical strength had already reached an SSS-grade physique. His explosive power surpassed that of any ordinary person; even bare-handed, he could tear metal and shatter stone. An ordinary person could not withstand even one of his casual punches. That was why he had damaged the metal door leading into the secret room earlier, to prevent monsters from attacking. Now, he could practically wrench it open with brute force.

Crack! Crunch!

The metal split apart with a sharp, grating shriek.

Through a damaged opening in the metal door, Mu Xiao forcibly tore out an entrance large enough for half his body. He did not want to be too violent and make too much noise, lest he attract whatever unknown creatures might be inside the secret room. Zombies would be manageable, but if he encountered a mutant, he could only use Mind Force to fight. Otherwise, it would be difficult to gain any advantage against one.

The stairwell was silent and empty, without a trace of blood. Mu Xiao concluded that no one had passed through here.

"This stairway leads straight to the basement and connects directly to the first through fifth floors. Some of the monsters may already have left through other rooms." Mu Xiao went straight up to the secret room on the fifth floor where Water Bailan and he had once been trapped. There had been an evolved mutant there, and Mu Xiao had seen it with his own eyes. If he encountered it, it would be best to kill it as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the mutant evolved an ability, it would become a major problem.

New Humans had innate abilities, and mutants possessed abilities as well.

However, New Humans could obtain sources of ability from mutants or zombies to raise their bloodline evolution level—that was, genetic optimization. They even had a certain chance of gaining opportunities to acquire other abilities: physique-system, mental-system, transformation-system, source-power-system, intelligence-system, space-system, and mystery-system abilities. These abilities were the greatest foundation for one's future cultivation.

When he reached the fifth floor, Mu Xiao finally saw blackened bloodstains covering the ground. After briefly looking around, he spread his Mind Force within a three-meter radius. Any foreign object entering that range would undoubtedly be detected by him, and he could even kill it with telekinesis.

This was the lowest-consumption way he could use Mind Force. He did not dare sweep the entire building with it, or the drain alone would kill him.

Returning to the floor where the secret room was located, Mu Xiao slowed his pace and contracted his Mind Force, masking the scent of fresh human flesh emanating from him. Both telekinesis and mental power generally possessed concealment abilities. Mind Force was a combination of the two, making its concealment effect even more outstanding.

It could only be used as a minor trick in the early stages, however. If he encountered an evolver with powerful mental detection, he might not be able to hide from them. Moreover, once he attacked, this concealment ability would disappear. It was like camouflage—an attack would expose the body. Unless his mental power and telekinesis evolved to a higher level.

At present, Mu Xiao could only perform simple manipulations with Mind Force. The power of his telekinetic source force was roughly on the same level as his physical body, but telekinesis was silent, invisible, and formless. Furthermore, as long as mental power and telekinesis were combined into a Mind Force attack, the result would be extraordinary—though the consumption would be immense.

Mu Xiao had never stopped exploring methods to cultivate Mind Force. As long as he used mental power or telekinesis separately, the consumption would be relatively low. But once he used the incompletely cultivated Mind Force, his depletion would intensify. Therefore, unless he faced a dangerous situation, he did not intend to use complete Mind Force as an attacking method, lest the enemy fail to kill him while his own body collapsed and he died instead.

There were only three dull-witted zombies in the secret room. From their torn clothing, Mu Xiao could tell that they had been among the guards. They had merely failed their evolution and become zombies.

"Three zombies won't be difficult to handle. It seems that mutant and most of the other zombies have left this room." Mu Xiao openly walked into the secret room. The three zombies quickly noticed the moving object. Finding that it did not carry the scent of one of their kind, they hesitated briefly before still approaching step by step, probing like wild beasts.

Mu Xiao had concealed his aura, so the zombies naturally regarded him as an object.

Zombies were not shriveled, decaying corpses, but true living dead with intact bodies. They were stronger than ordinary people, possessing at least a B-grade physique. Yet their bodies were blackened and foul-smelling, their faces hideous, their pupils inhuman, their claws sharp as those of beasts, and their fangs bared. They resembled hungry beasts in the form of the living dead.

If ordinary Old Humans did not have weapons in hand, they would basically find it difficult to contend with even a single zombie.

But Mu Xiao casually picked up a disabled stun baton from the secret room. With three swings that kicked up fierce gusts, he brutally smashed the heads of the three zombies that had come to test him, without the slightest bit of technique. Black-red blood spilled all over the ground.

The black blood that splashed toward him was directly blocked by Mu Xiao's telekinesis.

When the three zombies died, three invisible streams of vital essence automatically merged into Mu Xiao's body. This was a "source of evolutionary power"—simply put, a dense life force, pure energy that only existed after evolution.

Suddenly, a ball of energy stirred within his sea of consciousness. It did not merge into his soul, merely floating in the sea of consciousness outside it, but it quickly dispersed and vanished without a trace.

The fleeting sensation left Mu Xiao momentarily stunned.