Virus King - Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Awakening of Respiratory Transmission Evolution! The Terrifying Flu!

TL: Yang

“Sister Song, I never thought I’d still be alive to see you!”

Qin Lingyu hugged Song Ziqiong, who was dressed in a long black dress. In that moment, all her prior fear and grievances seemed to finally pour out.

“Fuhai is dead. They’re all dead. It’s just me and Qiuqiu left! Wuuu…”

Song Ziqiong embraced Qin Lingyu with a gentle smile, patting her on the back.

“It’s all right, I’m here now! Even if it’s just us, we can survive in this apocalypse. We don’t need anyone’s help. We women can get by just fine on our own!”

She said this, but as she held Qin Lingyu in her arms, her tone was completely different from the look in her eyes.

Her nose twitched slightly; on this woman, she detected a scent that was all too familiar.

It was a smell she’d forced herself to swallow down the past few days, making it deeply ingrained in her memory.

But today, it permeated heavily from this woman.

Song Ziqiong glanced at Chen Bai, who was walking in from outside the courtyard, and wanted to glare at him. In the end, though, her gaze only turned into a plaintive look.

Chen Bai showed no reaction whatsoever.

After casting a glance at the two of them, he entered the villa.

There was no need for him to focus too much on clearing out the villa district.

After all, killing those low-level zombies offered very little experience.

As for evolution points, Jiangcheng was filled with zombies. He could go harvest and devour them anytime he wanted!

Moreover, he really did need to start preparing for a trip into Jiangcheng!

Since the apocalypse had broken out, opportunities were everywhere!

Everywhere lay benefits that would be unimaginable in the future.

In his previous life, Chen Bai had only possessed an E-Rank talent. If not for his luck and narrowly escaping death multiple times, gaining the Demon Hunter profession, he might never have made a name for himself in the apocalypse.

However, in the very early stages of this apocalyptic outbreak, the opportunities available—even just within Jiangcheng alone—were countless!

And Jiangcheng, as one of the major cities of the Dragon Nation, would later become one of the country’s cities surrounded by the most secret realms. It had advantages from the beginning that even the rest of the Dragon Nation lacked!

Chen Bai’s goal was a unique item that, in his previous life, had been rumored to be unattainable by anyone…

After comforting Qin Lingyu for a while, Song Ziqiong finally walked over, her face showing no trace of displeasure, and said: “The sweeping has already begun. What should we do next?!”

Chen Bai looked at this woman, patted his thigh, and she instantly understood.

“Once all the zombies in the villa district are cleared out, have the non-combat members demolish the surrounding villas. Expand the area around your Villa 002 to create a larger space for a central city lord’s residence and gathering point.

Then, the most important task: use the corpses of the slain zombies to feed the Flesh Mountain Wall. Enclose the villa district first, then wait for it to divide and expand layer by layer!

The combat-capable members should form teams and enter Jiangcheng, advancing as they go, clearing zombies and leveling up!”

Song Ziqiong nodded, and only then did Chen Bai get to the main topic: “What is your talent?”

It seemed Song Ziqiong had anticipated his question, and without a moment’s hesitation, she replied:

[Amethyst Eyes (S-Rank)]: Can transform everything in one’s line of sight into amethyst crystals, and can materialize these crystals for defense and attack! Each time the spiritual attribute reaches a certain threshold, corresponding abilities are unlocked!

Amethyst Eyes?!

Chen Bai looked at Song Ziqiong’s violet pupils—an S-Rank talent?

As expected, having this woman with him really was a massive stroke of luck!

Noticing Chen Bai’s surprise, Song Ziqiong seemed to remember something and quickly added:

“Oh right, the Amethyst Eyes have an initial ability, Insight Crystal! It can reveal the talents of Evolvers and the attributes of monsters, as long as their spirit isn’t significantly higher than mine…

The remaining skills require a spirit attribute of 20 to unlock further.”

At that moment, Chen Bai raised an eyebrow in astonishment as he looked at Song Ziqiong.

An insight ability!

This was one of the most valuable skill types in the apocalypse!

In the apocalypse, knowing the abilities, attributes, and professions of others in advance provided an unimaginable advantage!

As a leader and ruler, such an ability was absolutely essential.

This time, Chen Bai finally allowed a faint smile to appear, nodding.

“Not bad! Make good use of it. But I’ll say it again—don’t forget to level up! Little Ge and Chu Xin are fine; they have both your protection and mine. But I know you have ambition, and the best foundation for ambition is still strength!”

Song Ziqiong nodded firmly, then cast a sly glance his way.

“So, what about that woman? How are you planning to handle her?”

Hearing the obvious hint of resentment in her tone, Chen Bai raised an eyebrow. Was she faking it, or was she genuinely jealous?

He didn’t really believe it, but he replied nonetheless.

“Just give her some random position, like with Lu Li. I’ll sort it out properly once I’m back.”

“Back? You’re leaving?”

Chen Bai looked at Song Ziqiong and smiled lightly.

“Staying here doesn’t help me improve my strength in the slightest. While you all scout and kill zombies around the outskirts of Jiangcheng, I’m going to head into the city.”

“Where to?”

Chen Bai gave a mysterious smile.

“Jiangcheng University!”

…

Chen Bai didn’t leave immediately. He was never one to act without preparation.

Moreover, before departing, he indeed had something else he needed to do!

[Virus Sovereign (SSS): You possess an innate mastery over any virus or bacteria within your body! Any type of virus can be used to your advantage. Each time you absorb or come into contact with infectious bacteria or viruses, you gain evolution points, which can be used to unlock additional abilities. Current evolution points: 2.7]

Previously, after using the Darklight Virus to devour two zombies, he’d gained 1 evolution point. However, that point was mainly for the exclusive use of the Darklight Virus, and it was nowhere near enough to enhance or awaken it further.

Chen Bai had been planning to activate the Wall-Running ability, so this time, the Darklight Virus was not the star.

Instead, it was another option that he’d unlocked earlier but hadn’t yet evolved any further.

[Infectious Disease Evolution]: Develop infections akin to traditional diseases, transmissible through physical contact, bodily fluid exchange, airborne droplets, and so forth. Higher levels may allow for unknown methods of transmission

Among the three evolutionary branches of Virus Sovereign, Chen Bai felt that this Infectious Disease Evolution might be the weakest.

After all, things like the common cold, tuberculosis, or even the plague…

These weren’t even considered fatal illnesses in modern society, let alone in a world of Evolvers!

Even if he mastered these abilities, what would it really accomplish?

However, Chen Bai had noticed something—he’d glimpsed the possibility of mental infections within this category.

Although those kinds of mental illnesses were commonly seen in modern society, this discovery was enough for Chen Bai to realize that his Virus Sovereign talent still had untapped potential.

Enhancing the Darklight Virus could wait. Clearing the villa district would take far too long, and he didn’t want to waste his valuable time here.

For hunting zombies, Jiangcheng was probably crawling with them, so there was no need to explore every villa in this area.

With that thought, Chen Bai’s focus returned to Virus Sovereign, specifically to the Infectious Disease Evolution branch.

In the next moment, several unique evolutionary options appeared before him again.

[Respiratory Droplet Transmission: Enables large-scale infection through airborne droplets. Infection incubation period is average, and the power is relatively weak, depending on the target’s physical constitution. Abilities include common cold, flu, tuberculosis, infectious pneumonia, etc.!]

[Liquid Transmission]: Enables large-scale or targeted infection through bodily fluids. Infection incubation period is short, and the power is relatively strong. Abilities include immune system weakening, organ failure, etc.!]

[Mental Infection: Enables large-scale or targeted individual infection through mental energy. Infection incubation period is extremely short, and the power varies based on the user’s and target’s mental strength. Specific abilities include anxiety, schizophrenia, mental collapse, etc.]

The last option was out of the question. It required even more evolution points than the Darklight Virus did—an absurd amount, in fact.

Right now, he couldn’t afford the enhancement. And even if he could, it wasn’t worth spending such a huge amount of evolution points to strengthen this ability.

As for the second option, Liquid Transmission.

This liquid…

Emmm…

Chen Bai didn’t have any plans for that at the moment.

Of course, the transmission through liquids didn’t only include what he was, ahem, initially thinking.

For instance, it could spread through rats, fleas, mosquitoes—creatures that viruses loved to use as carriers.

But really, what kind of flea or mosquito could penetrate the body of an Evolver, or even a zombie’s physique?

Clearly, that was a bit far-fetched.

So, respiratory droplet transmission through the air remained the most reliable.

And it was also the most practical!

Chen Bai focused his attention on the first option.

[Do you want to awaken the evolution of respiratory-transmitted infectious disease? This awakening requires 2 evolution points!]

The evolution points required were even higher than what the Darklight Virus awakening had needed!

However, he’d already made up his mind, so Chen Bai didn’t hesitate.

In an instant, all the accumulated evolution points were poured into this ability!

Chen Bai felt a special kind of energy gradually accumulating in his lungs.

It was a strange sensation—if he wanted, he could release a single breath, and these viruses would immediately materialize, floating in the air. Just a shallow breath from anyone nearby would be enough to infect them!

This was truly an unavoidable attack!

And in the next moment, his Virus Sovereign talent gave him a straightforward feedback message.

[Respiratory Infectious Disease Evolution awakened. Ability acquired: Influenza!]

Hmm!?

Chen Bai couldn’t help but feel a bit thrown off. Seeing such a familiar term coming from the so-called “Cosmic Will” notifications—it made him feel just a little out of place.

But he quickly refocused, directing his attention to this so-called “Influenza.”

He’d assumed this ability would need to be upgraded with evolution points, similar to the Darklight Virus, in order to improve its effectiveness. But now, looking at it, it was evidently quite different from the Darklight Virus.

Because this “Influenza” was actually a talent skill!

It was similar to the Darklight Virus’s “Devour” ability, though of course, the two were entirely distinct!

[Influenza (Talent Skill): Can release influenza viruses, causing all targets within range to contract the flu. The incubation period varies depending on the target’s constitution relative to the user’s. The longest incubation time is 30 minutes, while the shortest is 1 second!

Duration depends on the target’s constitution and the user’s constitution. After infection and outbreak, the target’s physical stats decrease, and they will “sneeze” every few seconds.

Each sneeze significantly lowers attention, disrupts concentration on mental skills, interrupts chant-based skills, interrupts cast-based skills, and drastically reduces accuracy of bodily-release skills.]

(PS: The specific effects of this talent skill are determined by the user’s constitution.)

Holy crap?!

Even Chen Bai couldn’t help but widen his eyes in astonishment.

He had anticipated that the Virus Sovereign abilities, even the less flashy ones, wouldn’t be totally useless. But he never expected that this ability—which he had initially written off as a joke—would actually be so eye-poppingly powerful!

Lowering physical stats after infection was one thing.

But this sneezing effect—what the hell was that?!

A major drop in focus!

In a battle, that could be the difference between life and death.

Imagine if both sides were waiting for the other to show a weakness, and then, at the most tense moment, one of them couldn’t hold it in and sneezed—what kind of outcome would that lead to?

And furthermore:

Loss of focus for mental skills, interruption of chant-based skills, disruption of cast-based skills, and a massive drop in accuracy for bodily-release skills.

Take, for example, Han Xiao’s mental control. If he sneezed while using his powers, the strength of his mental abilities would be drastically reduced.

Or Shui Chuan’s water-element control—if his chanting or spellcasting were interrupted by a sneeze, it would completely break his flow!

And for someone like the Overlord, whose spear techniques relied on precision—if he sneezed in the middle of a thrust, what kind of disastrous result would that cause?!

The picture was too beautiful; Chen Bai dared not imagine it!

This time, he no longer underestimated it at all.

This flu, this influenza, this sneezing effect—it was a downright ridiculous debuff!

Thinking along these lines, Chen Bai glanced at the respiratory-transmitted disease evolution again.

But a cold notification shattered his daydreams.

[Do you wish to advance the respiratory-transmitted disease evolution further? This evolution requires 30 evolution points and a Constitution 80.]

Yeah, no thanks. Never mind.

Chen Bai immediately closed the Virus Sovereign talent tree.

Damn.

The increase in evolution requirements for this was way harsher than for the Darklight Virus.

…

The source’s numbers were a bit off, but I tried to infer the values.