Chapter Thirty: Enhanced Skills, The King of the Apocalypse Corpses!

"Sir! Please be careful. I think these people are all Chosen Ones, and that kid leading them, he might even be a Silver!" The old merchant spoke with caution.

Zhao Kaitian burst into hearty laughter. "Have you forgotten? The reason our Zhao family rose so quickly after the apocalypse is because we took over this monster-infested military zone! The zombies inside are high-level, and the resources we get from killing them are abundant. Thanks to this, our Zhao family is filled with powerful people—besides me, we have two other Silver masters and forty-two Bronze fighters!"

"That outsider, if we bring him into the military zone and guide him straight into the most dangerous areas, isn't it a simple matter to get him killed?"

"Of course, more importantly, I want to use him to help us defeat the strongest female zombie in the military zone!"

At these words, the old merchant drew in a sharp breath. "Sir, as far as I know, that one is Gold!"

"So what? It's not us who'll die. If the kid can't handle it, we can just sell him off! Besides, there are three major families in Dawn City. The other two have also produced new strongmen. If we don't break through soon, it's only a matter of time before we're surpassed!"

...

A short while later, inside a luxurious room in the camp.

Gu Lang and his many wives were settled here, at least for now. Gu Lang closed the doors and windows, then turned to the women.

"So, you've all seen it just now. What do you think?"

The little girl put her hands on her hips, her face full of disdain. "That big guy Zhao Kaitian is clearly no good!"

Li Muwan spoke coldly, "This place looks safe on the surface, but in reality, it's a dragon's den. The Zhao family holds absolute power—ordinary survivors are just tenants here. On the way in, I saw many survivors who were skin and bones, not even getting enough to eat."

"A safe zone like this can't possibly be as prosperous as they claim. I don't trust Zhao Kaitian."

Julie gave a sly chuckle and sat beside Gu Lang, kneading his shoulders as she spoke. "Little brother! If you ask me, there's no need to waste words with them. Big sister will protect you—why not just kill him? Then all the resources in the villa will be ours."

Yu Qiuchi spoke with some distaste, "Kill him? There are so many people in the city. Even if we win, we'll be battered and bruised. What if someone else takes advantage of the chaos?"

Gu Lang pondered. His wives' plans were sound, but not suitable for the present.

He understood that times had changed. There were now three major families here, rules, and the structure of a human society. They couldn't just run wild in the wilderness as before.

To say nothing of the other two families—they hadn't even shown themselves yet.

Now was the time to lie low and grow stronger, to complete the system's tasks.

Once his attributes were high enough, he would break through to Gold. Then he could crush everyone, and killing would not be too late.

As for Zhao Kaitian, he was clearly no good, but it was not yet time to kill him.

"Here's the plan: in a few days, we'll follow them to the military zone, see if we can complete our task, or at least scout the area in advance."

Gu Lang continued, "For now, our strength isn't enough. It's time to grow stronger!"

Moments later, Gu Lang led his group out of the city once more, heading for the nearby city of Dawn.

The suburban villa was five kilometers from the city—not too far, not too close.

On the way, Gu Lang took out a reinforcement card from his storage pouch.

Yes, this was his trump card—a way to quickly boost his power.

But he only had two of these cards, and would save one as a last resort.

With so many skills, which should he enhance?

After some thought, Gu Lang decisively crushed the card. "Strengthen the skill: King's Authority!"

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully using the reinforcement card. Your skill King's Authority has been promoted to Gold level, evolving into: Imperial Presence!]

[Imperial Presence: Randomly control up to 100 zombies within a 500-meter radius. Can be used repeatedly, but the upper limit does not change.]

What the—? It soared straight to a hundred!

Gu Lang was thrilled; he hadn't expected the skill's enhancement to be so dramatic.

"Doesn't this mean I can form a zombie army without even needing to win them over?"

Just as he thought this, the system's voice sounded again.

[Reminder: Skill levels are linked to host levels, divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold... Imperial Presence is now Gold, and its effect is greatly enhanced!]

So that's how it works.

"If Imperial Presence is now Gold, can I subdue Silver zombies?" Gu Lang murmured. If that was possible, he'd be invincible! Silver zombies in the wild would no longer be threats—they would be free labor!

"Spread out and see if there are any Silver zombies nearby!"

Gu Lang ordered his wives to search so he could test his skill's power.

Yu Qiuchi leapt onto a utility pole and scanned the surroundings.

The little girl quickly sent her zombies out to search for Silver zombies as well.

Li Xiaoxiao activated her blade technique and vanished in a flash, searching the entire street.

But even after searching for ages, none of the wives found a Silver zombie.

"Lord Gu Lang, Silver zombies are even rarer than Silver humans—they're not easy to find."

Gu Lang nodded; he'd been prepared for this.

"Alright, Silver zombies are a chance encounter at best. We'll worry about them later."

He settled for second best and set his sights on the Bronze zombies.

There were plenty of Bronze zombies in Dawn City—seventy or eighty right before him.

Gu Lang stretched out his hand and unleashed Imperial Presence.

Boom!

A faint green shockwave swept out, covering a radius of five hundred meters.

The Bronze zombies in front of him shuddered, their eyes suddenly much clearer.

Success!

Gu Lang felt as if he suddenly had more than eighty extra limbs, all at his command.

But the skill took a toll—after one use, he was a bit winded.

Julie hurried over, her slender, pale hand wiping the sweat from his brow.

At that moment, the little girl suddenly widened her eyes and called out, "Brother Gu Lang! I found one! Across the street!"

Everyone followed her gaze. Diagonally across the street, outside a milk tea shop, stood a burly middle-aged man—it was a Silver zombie.

The reason was clear: a pair of fleshy wings sprouted from his back!

The wings flapped, carrying the zombie as it drifted through the air.

It seemed to have been attracted by the commotion caused by Imperial Presence and was now wandering nearby.

"Well, look at that! Delivered right to our doorstep?"

At that moment, the system's voice echoed in Gu Lang's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on triggering a new mission: the Zombie Queen is your new companion—it's time to develop your relationship. Carry the Zombie Queen and defeat or capture that Silver zombie in battle!]

[Reminder: Carry means having her ride on your shoulders!]

Carry her?

Gu Lang was stunned. He glanced at the Zombie Queen's attire.

Her white dress, already shortened from previous battles, revealed her pale, slender legs.