Xiao Lu woke up, and she was a genius too

The night was eerily quiet.

The relentless battles had hammered at everyone's nerves like an invisible sledgehammer.

Lu Chen stood in the center of the camp, the surrounding campfires crackling and illuminating his stern face.

A faint smell of blood hung in the air, reminding them of everything they had just been through.

Xiao Lu lay in his arms like a fragile porcelain doll, her face so pale it was almost transparent.

Lu Chen held her carefully, afraid he might break her if he wasn't careful.

"Cough... cough..."

A faint cough broke the silence.

Lu Chen's body jolted. He looked down to see Xiao Lu's delicate eyelashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were full of confusion and helplessness, like those of a fawn lost in the fog.

She blinked with difficulty, seemingly trying to adjust to the light before her.

"I... where am I?" Her voice was hoarse and weak, as though it had come from somewhere far away.

A rush of complicated emotions filled Lu Chen's heart.

He gently helped Xiao Lu sit up and lean against him. "You're safe, Xiao Lu," he said softly. "I'm here."

Xiao Lu's gaze remained unfocused, as though she were struggling to remember something.

"Professor... Professor Zhao... the laboratory..." she said haltingly, her memories seemingly still fixed on the time she had been held captive.

Lu Chen frowned deeply. He knew Xiao Lu was referring to the deranged Professor Zhao.

It seemed she really was connected to that laboratory.

"Don't think about it. It's all over," Lu Chen comforted her gently. "You need to get some rest now."

Seeing this, Old Zhou hurried over and asked with concern, "She's awake? How is she feeling?"

Lu Chen shook his head and motioned for Old Zhou to examine Xiao Lu.

Old Zhou nodded and carefully felt Xiao Lu's pulse.

A moment later, surprise appeared on his face.

"Strange. Her body is very weak, but her life force is tenacious. And..." Old Zhou paused, a trace of puzzlement in his voice. "Her talent... doesn't seem to have fully awakened yet."

Lu Chen's heart stirred at his words.

He immediately activated [Infinite Replication], intending to copy Xiao Lu's talent.

To his surprise, however, the information interface before him was blank.

"Blank?" Lu Chen frowned even more deeply. It was the first time he had encountered anything like this.

"It seems the D-rank [Eye of Healing] she mentioned isn't her true talent," Old Zhou said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps her true talent hasn't manifested yet. This isn't uncommon in the apocalypse. Some people's talents take time to awaken, or require some kind of special stimulus."

"What kind of talent could it be?" Lu Chen murmured to himself.

He had a vague feeling that Xiao Lu's talent was anything but ordinary.

Old Zhou shook his head, indicating that he couldn't be sure either.

"Still, judging by the healing ability she displayed earlier, her talent is most likely some kind of rare support-type potential."

Lu Chen nodded, already having made up his mind. "Then we'll wait for it to awaken."

That night, several campfires burned in the camp, driving away the cold and darkness.

After a day of fighting, everyone was exhausted and fell asleep early.

Danger, however, always came when least expected.

An enormous mutant rat emerged from somewhere and silently slipped into the camp.

Its scarlet eyes glimmered in the darkness, full of bloodthirsty light.

The mutant rat smelled the lingering scent of blood in the air and followed it to the outside of Li Gou'er's tent.

Li Gou'er was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

"Hiss..." The mutant rat let out a low hiss and slashed open the tent with its sharp claws, exposing Li Gou'er as he slept.

It opened its bloody maw and bit down hard on Li Gou'er's arm.

"Ah!" Li Gou'er woke in agonizing pain and let out a piercing scream.

The scream woke everyone in the camp.

Lu Chen was the first to rush out of his tent. He saw the bloody wound on Li Gou'er's arm and the ferocious mutant rat.

"You're courting death!" Lu Chen roared. He was about to charge forward and deal with the mutant rat when he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation beside him.

He turned to see Xiao Lu standing beside Li Gou'er, her face pale.

"Don't... don't come over..." she said weakly, her voice trembling slightly.

Lu Chen stopped, vaguely sensing that Xiao Lu was about to do something.

Xiao Lu slowly reached out and gently touched the wound on Li Gou'er's arm.

The instant her fingers touched the wound, a pale blue light suddenly poured from her palm and enveloped it.

The light was warm and gentle, as though it possessed a wondrous power.

Under its glow, the wound on Li Gou'er's arm began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

More surprisingly, the black toxin that had surrounded the wound rapidly receded and eventually vanished without a trace.

"This..." Lu Chen had never imagined that Xiao Lu possessed such a wondrous ability.

"Ding! New talent detected: [Life Link - D Rank] (allows damage and recovery to be shared between two people). Replicate?"

The system notification sounded in Lu Chen's mind.

"Replicate!" Lu Chen chose to replicate it without hesitation.

The next second, a completely new power surged into his body.

[Life Link - SSS Rank]: Establishes life links between multiple targets, synchronizing healing, sharing statuses, and distributing fatal damage.

There is no limit to the number of people linked. The effect weakens as the number of linked people increases.

Feeling the powerful energy surging within him, Lu Chen couldn't help but smile.

"A talent like this is practically heaven-defying on the battlefield!" Old Zhou said excitedly from the side. "With a talent like this, our chances of survival will increase dramatically!"

Lu Chen nodded and looked at Xiao Lu. "Looks like I didn't save her for nothing."

Xiao Lu seemed to have exhausted a great deal of her strength, and her face grew even paler.

She staggered back a few steps, nearly falling to the ground.

Lu Chen hurried forward to catch her. "Are you all right?" he asked with concern.

Xiao Lu shook her head and said softly, "I... I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Lu Chen helped Xiao Lu back to her tent and let her rest.

Back in the center of the camp, Lu Chen found that Xiao Lu's talent had undoubtedly given him an enormous surprise.

Looks like I'll have to protect her well from now on, Lu Chen thought to himself.

The night wind stirred the campfires, making them crackle.

Xiao Lu lay in the tent, feeling the strange power surging through her body.

The pale blue light seemed to pulse in her palm, radiating a warm glow.

Looking at the light in her palm, she showed hope in her eyes for the first time:

Xiao Lu gazed at the soft blue light in her palm like a drowning person grasping at the last straw. For the first time, hope glimmered in her eyes as she murmured, "Can I... become strong too?"

Lu Chen walked over to her. Firelight danced across his sharply defined face, setting off his deep eyes.

"As long as you're willing, I'll make you the strongest support," he said, his voice low and firm, like a promise and an oath.

Xiao Lu looked up at Lu Chen's powerful eyes, and a warm current welled up in her heart.

She knew that in the apocalypse, only strength could protect her and the people around her.

She clenched her hand tightly, feeling the warm light in her palm as though she were holding the hope of the future.

"I... I'm willing to try." Her voice was weak, but it carried a barely perceptible trace of resolve.

Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction, a faint smile curling his lips.

He knew that Xiao Lu's talent had limitless potential. With a little guidance, she would surely become an indispensable member of his team.

He reached out and gently patted Xiao Lu on the shoulder. "Good. From today on, you're a member of the Godslaying Legion."

Just then, a sudden, piercing alarm shattered the stillness of the night and broke the heartwarming moment.

Red warning lights flashed wildly, like an omen of the apocalypse.

"What happened?" Old Zhou's expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet and cried out, "It's the base's alarm! Could it be..." His face turned deathly pale, as though he had thought of something terrible.

A sharp light flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. He grabbed Old Zhou by the shoulder and asked gravely, "What happened? Tell me, quickly!"

Old Zhou swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "It's... it's the test subjects! The test subjects have gone berserk!"

"Boom!"

A tremendous crash resounded throughout the base.

Immediately afterward, countless piercing screams, the snarls of zombies, and the roars of mutants surged in like a tide, drowning out every other sound in an instant...