Chapter Seven: Genetic Unlocking Materials

Once the commotion died down, the nine newcomers split into three teams.

Tang Tianjie’s final teammate ended up being Li Zang'ai, the flamboyant, eccentric youth. In the surface world, Tang Tianjie thoroughly despised such “scum of society,” but with no better options, he had to settle. At least the guy looked strong and might be useful in a fight—or as cannon fodder, if necessary.

Chu Qingfeng invited Wang Dongwei to join his team.

But Wang Dongwei declined.

The girl with the melodramatic flair, Yali Takanashi, was the least trustworthy of the newcomers, and the overweight Zhu Xiaoyong was, both physically and mentally, perhaps the weakest among them all. Yet Wang Dongwei actually chose to team up with the two of them. The silent funeral director in the black suit, Xu Han, became teammates with Chu Qingfeng and Yan Luo.

“No wonder they say he’s a failed attempt at surpassing human limits,” Chu Qingfeng, the psychologist, shook his head.

“Hm?” Xu Han looked at him.

“That guy’s just being kind-hearted, trying to look after the other two. But in a world overrun by zombies, dragging along two dead weights could be fatal. To still show compassion in such a world—he must have been an innocent, good person in reality.”

“And innocent good people rarely fare well in society.”

“By the way…” Chu Qingfeng glanced at Tang Tianjie, who was busy talking to Li Changxin, oblivious to their conversation, and whispered, “You’re incredible!”

“I know you did it on purpose. Someone as cool-headed as you, who’s broken through human limitations, wouldn’t lose his temper so easily. I can’t stand that guy either, but I’d only keep it to myself. I didn’t expect you to go all out—a slap across the face, no hesitation!”

Chu Qingfeng gave him a thumbs-up.

Yan Luo opened his mouth, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He really wanted to tell Chu Qingfeng, who was looking at him admiringly, that it honestly hadn’t been intentional. He’d been in the process of embracing the emotion of “irritation”—his one point of emotional value would have passed quickly, but Tang Tianjie just so happened to lean in at that precise moment.

And so… his hand had slipped.

There were plenty of weapons in this villa, but no food. With two days to survive in this world, no one wanted to starve for so long.

They had to venture out to search.

Besides, people tend to follow the crowd—now that teams were formed, even with the threat of zombies outside, the promise of potential gain made several hearts beat with anticipation.

The scratching at the iron gate had ceased.

“I’m opening the door—get ready! Li Zang'ai, if any zombies show up, use your knife!”

The flamboyant youth’s expression darkened slightly. He hated nothing more than being ordered around, especially by someone with that repugnant air of superiority. Still, he understood the circumstances and gripped his curved machete tightly.

The iron gate swung open once more.

A zombie pressed against the doorway let out a guttural moan, reaching forward. It was a gaunt Caucasian, its clothes soaked with large patches of filthy blood, with dark red muscles and tendons protruding from rotting skin.

This time, everyone was mentally prepared. Yan Luo absorbed no emotion from the scene. Li Zang'ai’s right hand flashed with cold steel—a powerful slash severed the zombie’s arm! With another step, he brought the blade down on its neck.

A sharp crack sounded. Dirty blood spurted as the zombie’s cervical vertebrae snapped. Its head lolled, and the flamboyant youth hacked repeatedly until the neck came free—a pale, exposed brain rolling across the ground.

There were more zombies outside the gate. The remaining two were dispatched with quick shots to the head. In the surface world, Tang Tianjie’s status made access to firearms easy—even the heavy Desert Eagle was familiar to him, so the Colt M1911 in his hand felt light and effortless.

“Damn!” a voice cursed from the void.

Yan Luo received a prompt: You’ve felt a surge of emotion:

Irritation +2

The invisible newcomer guide, Mu Bai, stared at the ground, where a cluster of light shimmered—the faint shape of a double helix, like DNA, wrapping around a green orb resembling a cluster of viruses.

Gene unlock material!

Every world modulator possessed a gene slot. Gene points could unlock these, but firstly, there weren’t many genes that could be unlocked directly; secondly, gene points were extremely precious—one or two per main storyline at best, required for both unlocking and upgrading.

Obtaining gene unlock material was like saving precious gene points! Even if it could only unlock a specific trait, to have one drop after killing just two zombies—what insane luck was this?

Low-level monsters like zombies theoretically wouldn’t drop such a thing even after killing a hundred thousand!

“What’s this?” Tang Tianjie picked up the glowing orb.

“Gene Unlock: Virus?”

The guide’s voice sounded from the air: “That’s an unlock material, which can activate a specific gene. For world modulators, there are two main power systems: skills and genes. Genes—have you played League of Legends? Think of the talent tree.”

“Gene points are like talent points. Once spent, you gain passive attribute bonuses. Unlock materials let you immediately activate a specific gene without spending your talent points. This one is Gene Unlock: Virus? That should be an occult gene, quite valuable.”

Tang Tianjie’s face broke into a grin.

“Hmph, don’t get too excited just yet!” Mu Bai sneered coldly. “Whether you get a skill or a gene material, use it carelessly now and you’ll regret it forever! Both skill and gene slots are limited, and reassigning them comes at a huge cost—even veterans find it hard to bear.”

“There are four major gene branches: Combat, Perception, Psionics, and Occult.”

“Each person can only unlock eight genes! If you don’t plan according to your strengths and future development, you’ll end up in despair.”

“For example, someone specializing in close combat who unlocks a meditation-focused Perception gene—what use is that? Or a mage who fights with spells, but picks Strength, Physique, Block, Critical Hit, and Armor Penetration from the Combat branch—congratulations, you’re the next Gandalf!”

Mu Bai’s words poured cold water over Tang Tianjie’s enthusiasm.

Occult Gene: Virus—its effect was to grant the world modulator the “virus” ability, but understanding and utilizing it would require exploration and effort.

Tang Tianjie dismissed it.

“Let’s go!”

Even knowing that his luck as a limit-breaker was different from the others, seeing a Gene Unlock: Virus drop after just two zombies, even Chu Qingfeng the psychologist couldn’t suppress a flicker of excitement.

At his call, Yan Luo, wielding a fire axe, and Xu Han, brandishing a kitchen knife, left the courtyard together, heading for a lone zombie wandering the street.

Meanwhile, the teams of Wang Dongwei, Yali Takanashi, and Zhu Xiaoyong, as well as Tang Tianjie, Li Changxin, and Li Zang'ai, also moved out onto the road.

Tang Tianjie, with his silenced Colt M1911, was practically wielding a divine weapon compared to the other newcomers and the sluggish zombies. But what left everyone speechless was Yali Takanashi, the melodramatic girl, who pulled a “weapon” from her backpack—a pillow.

“Yali, what are you doing with that?” Wang Dongwei stared wide-eyed at his teammate.

Come on, this was a zombie hunt, not a pillow fight!

“This is the Heavenly Seal! I’m going to use my magical weapon to smash the zombie’s head!” Yali Takanashi declared heroically, charging the zombie with her pillow raised.

“Don’t go!” Wang Dongwei hurriedly grabbed the little girl, holding her back. “That’s a suicide charge…”