Old Zhou

Biodata

Background / History

Imprisonment and Escape

Old Zhou worked as a researcher at Professor Zhao’s base before being imprisoned for opposing experiments on living people. Lu Chen discovered him locked in an iron cage while stealing the laboratory’s database. To secure his release, Old Zhou offered information about the base and revealed that Test Subject No. 09 was still alive. Lu Chen cut the lock, and Old Zhou led him to her isolation room 13.

After escaping the laboratory, Old Zhou examined the stolen talent-fusion research and recognized its extraordinary potential. He fled through the industrial ruins alongside Lu Chen and No. 09, struggling to keep pace because of his physical weakness. By dawn, Lu Chen was supporting him as they sought shelter in an abandoned shopping mall 15.

Joining the Godslaying Legion

At the mall, Old Zhou studied talent-fusion records and proposed that fusion might extend beyond two talents. He also began investigating the Talent Compatibility System and devised a simpler testing method using the database Lu Chen had supplied 16.

When Lu Chen asked what he could contribute to the newly founded Godslaying Legion, Old Zhou offered to research zombies, develop stronger weapons, and transform humans into more advanced beings. Lu Chen appointed him chief scientist and promised to fund his research, while warning that failures would not be tolerated 16.

Conflict with Professor Zhao

Old Zhou recognized the base’s alarm as a warning that its test subjects had gone berserk. He informed Lu Chen that his father remained in the heavily guarded medical area under Professor Zhao’s forces 18 19.

During the escape through the drainage pipe, Old Zhou warned that hundreds of soldiers and an armed drone were waiting at the exit. He hacked the drone while Lu Chen held off the attackers, allowing its weapons to be turned against Zhao’s forces. He subsequently warned Lu Chen when Zhao prepared to activate the fusion bodies 21 22.

On Lu Chen’s orders, Old Zhou later joined Xiao Lu at the laboratory. Using a cracking program he had developed over several years, he opened a security door so they could reach the trapped researchers 23.

Appearance

Old Zhou is an elderly, hunched man whose disheveled appearance reflects his imprisonment and exhausting escape 13 15.

• Hair: Unkempt and compared to a bird’s nest 15.
• Eyes: Clouded when Lu Chen first finds him 13.
• Clothing: A filthy white laboratory coat 15.
• Eyewear: Reading glasses used when examining research documents 16.

Personality

Old Zhou initially expresses strong opposition to cruel human experimentation, describing Zhao’s treatment of living subjects as inhumane. He shows concern for No. 09 and Xiao Lu, interrupting his research to ask about their condition 13 15 18.

He is easily frightened by immediate danger, trembling before Lu Chen and panicking at escaped experimental creatures. Scientific discoveries, however, provoke intense excitement: his hands shake while reading fusion research, and he enthusiastically considers its possibilities. His later offer to transform humans contrasts with his earlier objections to Zhao’s experiments 16 19.

Despite his fear and poor stamina, he becomes determined when helping Xiao Lu reach the trapped researchers 23.

Abilities & Skills

Scientific Research

Old Zhou’s value to the legion lies in his research knowledge rather than documented combat powers.

• Interprets advanced talent-fusion records and identifies No. 09’s recorded fusion success rate of 99% 16.
• Proposes investigating whether more than two talents can be fused 16.
• Offers expertise in zombie research, weapons development, and human modification; these are proposed research directions rather than completed achievements 16.

Talent Assessment

Old Zhou develops and applies methods for evaluating talent potential.

• Creates a simplified compatibility test from the stolen database, acknowledging that it is less precise than the full Talent Compatibility System 16.
• Tests A Gui and reports an SSS-rank Wind Element Control talent 16.
• Recognizes that Xiao Lu’s talent has not fully awakened and explains that some talents require time or a special stimulus to manifest 18.
• Admits that he does not know medicine, although he can check for radiation exposure 15.

Hacking and Security Bypass

• Drone takeover: Hacks an armed drone and transfers control during the confrontation at the drainage exit. He requires time and Lu Chen’s protection to complete the intrusion 21.
• Security-door access: Uses his personally developed cracking program to open a laboratory security door within minutes 23.

Equipment / Items

• Reading glasses — Used to examine research documents 16.
• Improvised iron bar — Carried defensively while exploring the abandoned mall 16.
• USB drive with a cracking program — Connected to the laboratory’s security-door control panel during the researcher rescue 23.

Relationships

• Lu Chen — Rescuer, leader, and research patron. Lu Chen values his knowledge and appoints him the Godslaying Legion’s chief scientist 13 16.
• Professor Zhao — Former research superior who imprisoned him for opposing human experimentation. Old Zhou later helps defeat Zhao’s security measures and warns Lu Chen about his experimental weapons 13 21 22 23.
• Test Subject No. 09 — Reveals her survival and leads Lu Chen to her cell; later expresses concern when she collapses and is entrusted with looking after her 13 15 16.
• Xiao Lu — Examines her incomplete awakening and later assists her at the laboratory. She welcomes him warmly and calls him “Uncle Zhou” 18 23.