040 Second-Grade Mutant Emerges!

[Verification of intelligence successful. The host receives the following rewards:]
[All host abilities increased by one level.]
...

"Again, ability levels."
Staring at the panel in his mind, Xue Feng muttered under his breath.

[Current host attribute panel]:
Strength: 33
Agility: 36
Spirit: 33
Endurance: 38
Luck: 33 (+100)
Abilities: Divine Lightning (Tier 2, Level 1), Stone Skin (Level 8), Time Zero (Level 5)
...

"Hmm?"
Looking at his panel, Xue Feng paused in surprise.
His four basic attributes had reached nearly three times that of an ordinary person.
But that was the result of repeatedly verifying intelligence and accumulating rewards.
There was no mistake.
Yet when he glanced at the [Abilities] section, he was indeed a bit taken aback.

"Divine Lightning, Tier 2, Level 1..."
A brief moment of confusion, and then he quickly understood.
For abilities, level ten should be a limit.
Breaking through level ten meant advancing to a new tier.

"But this second-tier Divine Lightning... I wonder what it can do..."
As he pondered, Xue Feng turned his head to look at the zombies approaching.

He raised his hand.
A terrifying arc of lightning, as thick as an arm, appeared instantly, flickering with a violet glow, almost tearing through the air!

In an instant, it struck one of the zombies.
A sharp crackle sounded.
That zombie convulsed violently, its body emitting the pungent scent of scorched flesh.

But that wasn’t all.
The violet arc moved at incredible speed.
Upon contact with one zombie, it exploded outward in a circular blast, leaping onto the nearby zombies.

Crackle—crackle!
The smell of roasted meat grew stronger.
The violet arc continued to leap, quickly spreading to every zombie in range.

A single wave—wiped out!

Staring at the aftermath, Xue Feng was genuinely shocked.
Divine Lightning had evolved from single-target damage into an area-of-effect ability?

Previously, Divine Lightning could cause explosions, but only affected a limited area.
The farther from the epicenter, the less damage the zombies suffered.

Now, however, Divine Lightning could lock onto surrounding enemies and automatically jump between them.
And the damage was far from negligible!

In other words,
If he had possessed second-tier Divine Lightning when first entering the water treatment plant,
Just one strike would have eliminated all the zombies—
No need for a prolonged battle at all.

Feeling the mental exhaustion that followed the use of Divine Lightning,
"This second-tier Divine Lightning consumes much more energy," Xue Feng mused.
"But it makes a perfect trump card—the damage is impressive."
He withdrew his hand, thoughtful.

The scene had not gone unnoticed by Gu Xiaoqian, who had been following him all along.
She rubbed her slender eyes, staring in disbelief.
"Was that... lightning?"

"It was—and it wasn’t," Xue Feng replied calmly, not inclined to explain further.
He turned to the large water purifier, waved his hand, and stored it directly in his spatial inventory.

This act, resembling magic, left Gu Xiaoqian gaping.
"That... that huge water purifier?"

"It's stored."

"Where did you put it?"

"Right here."

Seeing her wide-eyed bewilderment, Xue Feng chuckled.
He raised his hand and, with a wave, brought the water purifier back out from storage.

Gu Xiaoqian gazed at the scene, struggling to process it.
"Is this... some kind of magic trick?"

"This is no magic," Xue Feng laughed lightly.
"Want to know what it is?"

"I do!"
Gu Xiaoqian nodded eagerly.

But Xue Feng didn't elaborate. Instead, he pointed to his own face.
"Kiss me, and I'll tell you."

"You..."
Gu Xiaoqian blushed instantly.
Finally showing your true colors, huh!
She had guessed right—this man was clearly after her body!

But Gu Xiaoqian had no intention of trading herself for Xue Feng's protection.
She valued her chastity greatly.
If survival meant giving up her body,
How was that any different from a woman of the brothels?

"Don’t want to know? Then forget it."
Xue Feng shrugged indifferently, storing the water purifier again.
"I’ll say this now—once I’ve finished everything here, I will get you out."
"But once we leave the water treatment plant, your safety is no longer my concern."

Just as expected!
Gu Xiaoqian was furious, yet helpless.
Over the past days, she had learned one thing:
In the apocalypse, power reigns supreme.
Survival is the ultimate goal.

Thinking of this, she bit her lip hard, finally loosening her grip.
"I... I agree."

"Agree to what?"
Xue Feng looked down on her, his face sporting a teasing smile.

"I’ll... I’ll kiss you, and you’ll tell me what that magic trick was!"
Gu Xiaoqian bit her lip, summoning all her courage.
At the same time, she still held a bit of hope.

'A kiss on the face shouldn’t count as a first kiss...'

"Alright, go ahead."
Xue Feng shamelessly presented himself, as if inviting her to do as she pleased.

Gu Xiaoqian steeled herself, closed her eyes, and leaned in.
'Just once, just one kiss, Gu Xiaoqian. Once you figure out how he did it, you won’t be at his mercy anymore!'

She leaned forward slowly.
But in the next second, she felt her lips enveloped in warmth.

She opened her eyes in a hurry.
Instead of Xue Feng’s cheek, she was met with his mischievous gaze.

"Mmm—"
Gu Xiaoqian pushed him away angrily, covering her mouth.
"You said a kiss on the face! How could you go back on your word?"

"Yes, I said on the face, but you were too slow. I turned to look at you, and you took advantage of it."

"You!"
Seeing Xue Feng’s innocent expression,
Gu Xiaoqian could barely contain her rage.
How could someone be so shameless!

"Fine, just tell me what that thing was!"

"That thing... is an ability."

"An ability?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

Xue Feng feigned confusion.

Gu Xiaoqian was nearly beside herself.
"You need to tell me how to get abilities!"

"Oh, you mean that..."
Xue Feng shook his head with a smile.
"Miss, that’s a different price entirely."

"If you want to learn how to unlock abilities, at the very least..."
His gaze slid toward Gu Xiaoqian’s plump chest.

"You!"
Gu Xiaoqian quickly wrapped herself tighter, furious and embarrassed.
"You lecher—I won’t play your games!"
"I’d rather die than let someone like you succeed!"

With that, she turned to leave on her own.

But just then—

Boom!

A massive figure crashed down from the sky, landing hard in front of Gu Xiaoqian.

She froze and looked up.

Before her crouched a bizarre humanoid creature, its limbs splayed on the ground.
Its entire body was crimson, as if skinned alive.
There were no eyes on its face.
From the mouth, which stretched to both jaws, hung a tongue over half a meter long.
That tongue, dripping with blood and mucus, was slowly extending toward her.

...