Virus King - Chapter 109

Chapter 109: The Rise of Group Chat No. 001! Devouring Bloodlines?

TL: YYang

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Rays of light surged up!

Simultaneously, beams of light appeared around the three of them.

This was the hallmark of leveling up!

In this level 12 secret realm dungeon, they hadn’t contributed much to the battle, but as part of the team, they still gained considerable experience for their level. After all, Crow’s Embodiment of Fear and Meng Meng’s Dream Link had also played a role.

As for Han Xiao, he had unexpectedly broken free of mental control, pulling Zhao Changlin out from under the manipulator’s influence.

Gaining experience was reasonable enough.

Chen Bai had no time to pay attention to any of this. The prompt from Cosmic Will brought the three back to their senses, and they quickly turned toward the pitiful corpse of the fallen boss. This dungeon boss had certainly died with a grudge!

The three wanted to ask questions, but in the end, none of them could bring themselves to do so.

Either a talent or a skill—these were the cards in an Evolver’s hand, not something casually revealed to others.

However, wasn’t this White Emperor’s arsenal of killing moves just a bit too much?

They still vividly remembered the previous skill that could restore his status continuously!

“What are you three still standing around for?! Once this video is made public, think about what codenames you’ll use. You wouldn’t want your Evolver ID numbers and real names on display, would you?”

With these words, the three snapped back to reality.

Appearing in the video guide meant drawing the attention of countless Evolvers, especially with it being a Nightmare-level dungeon.

And this would be only the second one in the world!

Such an honor was certainly unforgettable.

“Forget the other stuff. Just label us by our group name, like we discussed in the chat. Some of those group names are too cringy, though. Let’s go with Group Chat No. 001, Team 001, or just use 001 as a prefix.”

“Agreed!”

“All set!”

Chen Bai nodded and finalized his choice in the Cosmic Will’s prompt.

The next moment, a Cosmic Will notification once again appeared in every Evolver’s prompt box.

[Cosmic Will: Dragon Nation Evolvers ‘001—Bai,’ ‘001—Meng Meng,’ ‘001—Han Wang,’ and ‘001—Crow’ have cleared the Nightmare-level dungeon ‘Red Star Psychiatric Hospital (Lv 5-12)!’ The dungeon video walkthrough has been permanently archived! Viewing price: 5 copper coins!]

[First-clear members of the Nightmare-level dungeon ‘Red Star Psychiatric Hospital (Lv 5-12)’ have received +1 Reputation Point!]

The Cosmic Will announcement once again plunged the entire Evolver community into shock!

Another Nightmare-level dungeon?

And again, it was that same Bai!

But why did each of their codenames now have a “001” in front of them?

What did this “001” signify?

Some were perplexed, while others already understood.

Those who had seen that special post on the forums right before the apocalypse hit had an even clearer picture!

This small team, which had just cleared a higher-level nightmare dungeon, had formed right before the apocalypse, gathering members who had already awakened early!

And in the moment this news exploded, the forum was in an uproar again!

Most notably, it wasn’t the Dragon Nation Evolvers making the uproar—it was the Evolvers from other nations!

> “What the hell is going on with our Evolvers in the White Eagle Empire?! How come the Dragon Nation’s Evolvers keep showing up?!”

> “Baka! Two Nightmare-level dungeons cleared, and it’s always those damn Dragon people! What are our Great Fusang Empire warriors doing?”

> “Is the Dragon Nation, the lion of the East, awakening again?! In the apocalypse, shouldn’t they still be fighting among themselves? How could this happen?”

> “This shouldn’t be a victory for the Dragon Nation. That Evolver called ‘Bai’ is actually a man of the Goguryeo Empire! According to our historical records…”

> “…”

It was obvious that after a week in the apocalypse, the cost of posting, though still somewhat tight for many Evolvers, was not as prohibitive as before.

Last time, it was just Bai acting solo. But this time, in this dungeon that surpassed level 10, it had become a full team effort!

The 5 copper viewing fee wasn’t much at all.

After the uproar settled, everyone’s gaze unanimously turned toward this newly cleared Nightmare-level secret realm dungeon!

At the same time, Chen Bai and his group had arrived beside the boss’s corpse.

Ordinarily, with each dungeon’s first clearance, the drop rate would increase to an unimaginable degree.

But even so, Chen Bai hadn’t expected this boss to be so extraordinarily generous!

What did it mean to hit the jackpot?

Chen Bai felt he was truly witnessing it. Perhaps it was due to Meng Meng’s presence? Or maybe Meng Meng had adjusted the drop rate somehow?

Chen Bai didn’t know, but he knew one thing—compared to Zhao Changlin lying on the ground, that damn Plague Rat King might as well have been a sewer rat.

Which, in fairness, it was.

But its stinginess was absolutely infuriating!

In the dazzling glow of the loot on the ground, Chen Bai immediately spotted two items shaped like scrolls within his field of view!

Chen Bai exhaled and held back from examining them right away. Instead, he glanced at Han Xiao.

“Gather everything up; we’ll divvy it out later. I’ll take care of some finishing touches first!”

Han Xiao seemed to guess what Chen Bai was about to do and hurriedly gathered the loot into his arms. Then, he and the other two looked at Chen Bai with a mix of horror and awe.

Sure enough, that dark red mycelium mat reappeared in Chen Bai’s hand!

The black and red tendrils, seemingly alive, wrapped completely around the corpse in front of him.

It pulsed.

The pulsing of the mycelium mat resembled the digestive system of some massive creature, breaking down and absorbing food.

Even Crow and Han Xiao couldn’t help but feel a chill and revulsion watching this sight.

Meng Meng, on the other hand, wasn’t repulsed in the slightest—in fact, she looked at it with curiosity.

It seemed that anyone who could awaken an SSS-Rank talent wasn’t ordinary.

Or perhaps, they weren’t exactly “normal” either!

For now, however, Chen Bai had no time to care about their reactions.

Because, during the Darklight Virus’s devouring process, a prompt appeared—a unique notification he had never seen before!

[Devoured a special lifeform. Darklight Virus detects an intermingling of a unique bloodline within this lifeform. You may choose to devour the bloodline or expel it.]

…

TL: Fusang refers to a location far east of China in ancient Chinese literature, aka Japan. Goguryeo is an ancient Korean kingdom which includes part of mainland China. And we obviously know what the White Eagle Empire is.