Virus King - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Return to Jiangcheng University! Goblin God of Trade!

TL: Yang

‘Bang!’

A dull explosive sound echoed, yet Chen Bai’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Blood-red tendrils and mycelium carpets slowly merged into his body!

[Devoured low-level infected. Gained 0.5 Darklight Virus evolution points! You can also access its original memories in the virus gene bank at any time!]

Chen Bai had absolutely no interest in the memories of these random zombies.

He merely glanced indifferently into the distance.

If there was one ability he desired to evolve the most right now—

It wasn’t the Wall-Running or other powers of the Darklight Virus. There was only one ability he wanted.

Elven Speed!

Since the apocalypse had begun, with the interference of magnetic fields, all vehicles had become useless. Traveling from place to place was a huge hassle.

Even though Chen Bai now had over 70 points in agility, and his full-speed burst was no slower than a car, plus his constitution allowed him to maintain his sprinting pace for a long time—

Running along the highways still didn’t feel right.

For now, moving from the villa district to the urban area of Jiangcheng wasn’t a big deal, but what if he needed to go farther?

Fortunately, the cityscape of Jiangcheng finally came into view!

Silent streets.

Cars collided on the roads, some still flickering with flames.

The once-bustling urban area of Jiangcheng had been utterly erased.

On either side of the road, zombies with dried dark-red bloodstains on their bodies lumbered aimlessly, letting out low growls as they roamed streets teeming with their own kind.

Blood! Flesh!

That was what they craved.

And now, catching a scent on the air, the dull, lifeless expressions on their faces suddenly filled with an unimaginable excitement!

They whipped their heads around to see a black-clad figure standing not far away in the street.

The aura emanating from this figure drove these brain-dead zombies to start running toward him without a moment’s hesitation!

“Roar!”

Excited roars filled the street, bringing every zombie nearby to life, all of them focusing on their common prey.

But it was obvious who was the prey and who was the hunter; that was about to be revealed.

In the buildings along both sides of the road, behind closed windows, Evolvers shivered in fear, not daring to face the horrifying zombies outside.

They could only stand numbly at the windows of their high-rise buildings, waiting for death.

Yet the sudden appearance of this figure in the street left everyone momentarily stunned.

Was this guy insane!?

That was the thought in everyone’s mind.

How many zombies were there on this entire street?!

No one had counted, but in the daylight, if any survivor dared to step onto the street, those bloodthirsty beasts would charge at them at sprinting speed, brutally tearing them apart before they even had a chance to turn into zombies.

And now, another fool had shown up!

However, the next moment left every Evolver standing by their windows in shock.

The figure didn’t seem to care at all about the swarm of zombies charging at him. After briefly determining his direction, he casually glanced at the zombies.

Then…

That wasn’t a human!

In that instant, everyone was certain in their hearts.

That absolutely wasn’t a human!

No normal human could possess such power.

It had to be a mutated zombie!

Yes, that had to be it!

They could only comfort themselves with that thought.

Because on the street, that figure, unarmed, took less than ten seconds to reduce the dozen or so zombies surrounding him to blood splatters.

Then, dark red mycelium carpets sprouted from the man’s body, devouring the zombies, pulsing as they absorbed them, until nothing remained.

When that figure finally turned and quickly left, everyone in the apartment buildings on either side of the street exhaled in relief.

They were terrified, anxious, and confused about what had happened to the world.

Besides the zombies they had seen on TV and in movies, there were now even more terrifying creatures.

Yet it was clear that this supposed terrifying creature merely cast an indifferent glance at everyone in those buildings.

In his previous life, even though he only had an E-Rank talent back then, Chen Bai had still left his dormitory at Jiangcheng University on the first day and fought a bloody battle against the zombies.

Among these people, Chen Bai believed there were bound to be individuals with C-Rank, B-Rank, or maybe even A-Rank talents.

High-rank talents held a distinct advantage in the early stages against zombies that only had the combat strength of an ordinary adult!

If they couldn’t bring themselves to accept the arrival of the apocalypse now, if they wouldn’t step outside to fight, then their futures would consist of little more than being dead weight or freeloaders in a survivor base—or, more likely, they’d end up dying miserably.

Because later on, when the cities turned into wilderness, high-level zombies, mutated zombies, and mutated beasts would make the threats even more terrifying!

Strength was never just about the grade of one’s talent.

The most important factors were courage and decisiveness!

Thinking of this, Chen Bai glanced at Group Chat No. 001.

The group chat had resumed its discussions.

They were talking about using their talents, dealing with zombies, and analyzing their own strengths.

However, Han Xiao, who had spoken up last night, hadn’t said anything again.

Chen Bai wasn’t worried. He had already told them—he wasn’t there to play babysitter!

Besides, he could see from Group Chat No. 001 that Han Xiao’s profile picture was still lit up.

This meant that guy hadn’t died! He was probably just experiencing the most critical turning point in his life.

Some would call this process “maturity.”

Chen Bai didn’t have much of an opinion on that.

But he didn’t dwell on it either. At this moment, he frowned as he looked at the empty street before him.

The East Mountain area wasn’t too far from the Jiangcheng University campus; neither was in the city center of Jiangcheng.

From Anping Road, where East Mountain was located, to the Jiangcheng University campus, it was just two streets away!

But even with only two streets to cover, weren’t there far too few zombies here?

Originally, Chen Bai had thought that he could at least gather enough Darklight Virus evolution points here to unlock a new ability, like the Wall-Running skill—or the Elven Speed that had recently occupied his thoughts.

But now, he had barely managed to devour just over a dozen zombies. He was still a few evolution points short of awakening that Wall-Running ability.

Could it be that a powerful Evolver had already swept through Jiangcheng, forming a team in just a single day and clearing out the zombies just like him?

Chen Bai was suspicious, but as soon as he saw the vast Jiangcheng University campus ahead, he didn’t hesitate and stepped into the grounds!

In his previous life—

he had personally witnessed that thing’s projection appear on the Jiangcheng University campus on the first day of the apocalypse!

Although he’d only caught a fleeting glimpse above the dormitory, Chen Bai was certain he hadn’t imagined it!

Later, he learned what that thing was. He also learned just how incredible and unimaginable the benefits were if one could harness the arrival of that being’s projection in the early stages.

Now, seeing the scene before him finally aligned with Chen Bai’s impression of the early apocalypse.

On the plaza, along the roadsides, at the sports fields, and near the dormitory buildings, figures stood one after another. They wore once-bright clothes, now smeared with blood, their skin a sickly purple-red, and their bloodshot eyes swept blankly over everything around them.

Upon spotting fresh flesh and blood in their line of sight, they exploded with unimaginable excitement and speed!

Earlier, Chen Bai had been very interested in these zombies, but now, he genuinely had no interest. He could harvest them anytime.

But if he missed the chance to meet that being, it might not be difficult to see it again, but the precious artifact obtainable during the initial phase of the apocalypse would likely be lost to him forever!

‘Bang! Bang!’

The Zombie Claws extended from Chen Bai’s hands, his speed erupting to an unimaginable level!

One by one, the zombies charging at him were sliced apart by his sharp claws.

The dark red mycelium carpets absorbed them instantly!

However, Chen Bai’s frown only deepened.

With his incredible speed, he quickly arrived below the dormitory buildings, but the familiar figure from his memories was nowhere to be seen!

Instead, countless surviving students in the dormitory building above widened their eyes, staring at Chen Bai below.

Although his aura was completely different, many people recognized that the one slaughtering zombies left and right was their school’s very own “King of Looks.”

“Chen Bai! Help us! Chen Bai!”

Excited voices called out, the dormitory buildings surrounded by zombies like birdcages, trapping their lives within!

Now, with such a powerful figure appearing in such a manner, everyone instinctively cried for help!

But Chen Bai only gave them a glance before ignoring them entirely.

Not only that, but a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

He had already told them: zombies had the sharpest senses of hearing and smell!

If they stayed quiet in their rooms with the doors locked, the zombies would calm down when they couldn’t find prey. But making such loud noises—

Chen Bai could only give them two words:

Courting death!

His figure flashed by, leaving quickly, and the zombies that hadn’t yet gathered in clusters couldn’t hinder him in the slightest.

The plaza—nothing!

The library—nothing!

The dormitory buildings—still nothing!

How could this be!?

Chen Bai’s expression darkened ominously. Even though he might’ve been off by just a few dozen minutes, surely his luck wasn’t that terrible, right?

Standing in the middle of the plaza, he exhaled slowly, watching the waves of zombies closing in on him from all directions.

A blood-red killing intent flashed in his eyes!

At this moment, he stopped searching for that familiar figure. Since he was already here, he might as well take the opportunity to conduct a thorough harvest.

Otherwise, if he didn’t find anyone and didn’t even manage to increase his strength, it would be a total waste!

In the vast sea of zombies, Chen Bai’s presence ignited an unimaginably bloody dance!

…

With the attributes granted by his awakened Darklight Virus, these low-level zombies were no match for him at all—it was a massacre, pure and simple.

An utterly one-sided massacre with no chance of resistance!

The only downside was that the limitations of his Darklight Virus’s level slowed down his rate of killing due to the time required for devouring.

Devouring took time—five to six seconds, to be precise!

And during that time, if Chen Bai killed too many zombies and couldn’t immediately devour them, the evolution points he absorbed would be significantly reduced.

Only living virus-infected hosts could provide Chen Bai with the most optimal genetic evolution!

Kill!

Kill!

Chen Bai’s pupils became completely overtaken by crimson.

How many students were at Jiangcheng University?!

Nearly sixty thousand!

As one of the top universities in the country, that number was normal.

And now, how many zombies were there?

While it was impossible for every student to have turned into a zombie, the numbers here were still staggering. Just outside the teaching buildings, dormitories, and on the campus plaza, the quantity of zombies was beyond imagination!

This frenzy of killing and devouring made Chen Bai sink into it, almost losing himself for a moment.

He wasn’t being controlled by the Darklight Virus; it was simply that the flood of dopamine and adrenaline was clouding his mind!

But Chen Bai didn’t care about that right now. He only knew that with each strike, as the Darklight Virus spread instantly, a series of notifications from the Cosmic Will echoed in his ears:

[Devoured low-level infected. Gained 0.5 Darklight Virus evolution points! You can also access its original memories in the virus gene bank at any time!]

[Devoured low-level infected. Gained 0.5 Darklight Virus evolution points! You can also access its original memories in the virus gene bank at any time!]

[Devoured incomplete low-level infected. Gained 0.1 Darklight Virus evolution points!]

[…]

The Darklight Virus spread around him, enveloping Chen Bai, as if in that moment his whole body had been covered in a black and red mycelium carpet, transforming him into a scarlet warrior clad in a dark, red-streaked armor!

The terrifying horde of zombies seemed to sense the disturbance, slowly converging in his direction.

However, just then, a peculiar sound cut through the void!

It sounded like a bell ringing, carried by the wind.

At the same time, a strange voice interrupted Chen Bai’s descent into endless slaughter:

“Interesting little one! I am willing to halt my steps for you!”

The crimson in Chen Bai’s eyes vanished instantly. He spun around, his gaze landing on an empty bench in the middle of the plaza, where a figure had appeared in his line of sight.

A short body, a large head, and slender limbs—an appearance unmistakably like that of the legendary goblins!

No, not just similar—this was a goblin!

The president of the Goblin Merchant Guild across all worlds, the God of Goblins and Trade in the boundless universe: Redo