Chapter 49: Can One Become Stronger Just by Popping Pills? Sun Tian's Gamble!

Late at night, at the foot of Iron Fortress Mountain.

“Master Gold! Gu Lang’s party has two Silver-ranked members in total! Their precise levels are unclear, but most likely intermediate. I’ll do my best to set him up, though I can’t guarantee he’ll be finished off.”

“But rest assured, even if he isn’t killed, he’ll be crippled, and then he won’t pose any threat to Iron Fortress.”

Inside the room, Sun Hai paused his writing, tied the envelope to the leg of a carrier pigeon, and released it into the night.

He glanced toward Gu Lang’s residence behind him, his expression conflicted.

“Kid! Old Gold isn’t a good man, and I don’t want to set you up either. But if you don’t act as cannon fodder, then I’ll have to.”

Iron Fortress has remained prosperous until now, all thanks to Gold’s iron-fisted rule.

Sun Hai is nothing more than a puppet himself.

…

At the entrance of the SPC factory, Gu Lang arrived under the cover of darkness, accompanied by his wives.

The gate was made of iron bars, and through the gaps, swarms of zombies could be seen inside.

“Master Gu Lang! Are you sure you want to go in? The corpse tide will arrive in the morning, only eight hours left. Will we make it in time?”

Li Mu Wan’s pale blue eyes swept across the factory. Was it really worth risking everything for a mere possibility?

“Hmph! Gu Lang is just playing along. Since we’re here, we might as well go all out. We have numbers on our side—worst case, we flip the table!”

Yu Qiu Chi patted Gu Lang’s shoulder, like a good friend.

“I’ll ask again: The SPC medicine, does it really make people stronger?”

Gu Lang’s expression was cold, his gaze fixed on Li Qingfeng.

“Yes! I am the product of SPC! This factory has the medicine!”

Li Qingfeng spoke in a low voice. He was a zombie, but retained normal human intelligence.

Gu Lang sneered. This was exactly his goal.

Even if sneaking out risked exposure, he had to go.

If SPC’s medicine could make people stronger, then it was nothing short of a miracle drug.

Why bother grinding monsters if you could just take a pill to grow stronger?

Of course, there might be side effects. He’d worry about those when the time came.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

Gu Lang stretched out his hand, firing icicles.

He cleared out large numbers of zombies through the gate’s gaps.

Yu Qiu Chi reached out, her slender white hand crushing the lock.

The little girl manipulated a horde of zombies, charging ahead.

“Lead the way!”

Gu Lang commanded coldly, now holding a shotgun.

Li Qingfeng silently led them straight toward the factory’s core.

There were plenty of zombies blocking the way, but they were all bronze-level.

Gu Lang didn’t need to act; his wives were more than enough.

Soon, they reached the door of a warehouse.

“This is it, Master Gu Lang. The medicine is inside!”

Li Qingfeng stood at the warehouse entrance, his pale hand pushing open the door.

A creaking sound echoed as the door widened, releasing a musty stench.

Gu Lang instinctively raised his shotgun.

The warehouse was pitch black, with seven or eight boxes in the corner, each bearing the SPC mark.

“You open it, and take one.”

Gu Lang gestured with his gun.

Li Qingfeng said nothing, approached a box, and tore it open, revealing bottles of medicine.

He twisted one open and drank it in one gulp.

Gu Lang watched silently.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, Li Qingfeng howled, then screamed in agony.

Moments later, his humanoid form twisted and mutated, growing larger.

He became a bizarre, pure black zombie covered in fleshy tumors.

But Gu Lang’s control over him did not fade.

Li Qingfeng remained Gu Lang’s puppet.

“Ugh! How disgusting. Is this the medicine’s side effect?”

Yu Qiu Chi wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The little girl darted behind Gu Lang, covering her nose.

Gu Lang’s expression was calm as he examined the attribute panel.

[Name: Li Qingfeng]
[Rank: Silver (Novice)]
[Charm: 100]
[Speed: 100]
[Strength: 100]
[Intelligence: 50]
[Skills: Rend, Wind Blade]

What?

It actually works!

And the attributes went up!

Gu Lang was stunned; he hadn’t expected the medicine to be so effective.

SPC really was connected to the apocalypse!

Li Qingfeng started as Silver, but his attribute points were in the forties and fifties.

Now, he had three full scores of 100!

In Sun Hai’s words, he’d advanced from Silver novice to mid-level!

That leap was something Gu Lang could only dream of.

Too bad—drinking it caused mutation.

Otherwise, he’d certainly dose himself to godhood!

“This was just one bottle. What if he took another, or even an entire crate?”

This was an experiment for Gu Lang—even if Li Qingfeng died, it was worth it.

“Drink another!”

Li Qingfeng didn’t hesitate. His clawed hand grabbed another bottle.

He stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing bottle and all.

This time, Li Qingfeng didn’t scream. His body gradually turned red, then crumbled to ash.

Dead…

“One bottle is the limit?”

Gu Lang frowned. He’d hoped to build an army of drugged-up fighters!

But perhaps this was for the best.

With this restriction, others couldn’t use it.

No chance of a chosen one becoming Gold overnight.

Only Gu Lang was special—he could use it on zombies, with zero side effects for one bottle.

Gu Lang wasted no words, ordering all the medicine onsite to be moved.

He summoned his remaining five Silver puppet zombies.

Each took a bottle and drank it.

The warehouse echoed with zombie screams and wails.

Moments later, five hulking zombies stood before Gu Lang!

All had advanced to mid-level Silver!

“With this combat strength, we can handle the corpse tide!”

Gu Lang grinned, about to withdraw, when his expression suddenly changed.

Wait!

Someone was here!

Almost simultaneously, Li Mu Wan threw an icicle.

It pierced the corner of the warehouse, forcing out a figure.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t shoot! It’s me, Sun Tian!”

The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a face full of pockmarks.

“Sun Tian, Sun Hai’s brother from Iron Fortress!”

Li Mu Wan whispered in Gu Lang’s ear.

“You saw everything, didn’t you?”

Gu Lang’s smile was cold and thin.

“No, no, I just got here!”

Sun Tian was nearly wetting himself.

He’d been here long before, watching everything from start to finish.

This man before him was a monster, controlling Silver-level zombies and doping them up!

What madness was Sun Hai involved in?

“Is that so?”

Ice formed in Gu Lang’s palm.

Sun Tian saw it, trembling in his boots, and quickly spoke.

“Don’t kill me! I know a secret—one that can help you kill Gold!”

Gu Lang paused, not because of Sun Tian’s words, but because of the system.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, mission triggered: Do not kill Sun Tian for now. Accept his quest and complete it. He can help you find a new wife!]
[Mission reward: Surprise gift pack!]

A new wife?

Then he couldn’t kill this man; he had to protect him!

Gu Lang’s expression shifted instantly, becoming more amiable.

“Oh? So it’s Brother Sun Tian! Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. Tell me, how do I kill Gold?”

Sun Tian was stunned, not expecting to be spared.

He immediately breathed deeply, eager to explain.

“Master Gu Lang! To be honest, we’re all forced into this. To survive the apocalypse, we have to obey orders and follow Gold. But he doesn’t treat us as human—he kills at will!”

“But I know Gold’s talent is special. Every month, there are three days when he is weak. We can seize the opportunity to kill him!”

“Also, he possesses a Golden artifact!”