Chapter 72

Xu Zhi and the others also walked over, reporting their names. Upon hearing that Xu Zhi was also a Level 5 Awakened, Su Hui was even more astonished. He originally thought his evolution speed was incomprehensible, but now he realized that geniuses were everywhere, and he wasn't the only one who stood out.

Su Hui was very enthusiastic, especially after learning that Chu Nan and Xu Zhi were also Level 5 Awakened. He deliberately tried to befriend them. Invited by Xu Zhi, Su Hui readily agreed to join them, becoming a member of the group.

The group of fourteen people encountered no danger on their way back, carrying the food and water they had found, and returned to the base where Xu Zhi and the other twelve had been staying for the past few days. This was a building that had mostly collapsed, but a few rooms below were still relatively intact, storing some food. Xu Zhi and the others rested here at night.

Chu Nan and Su Hui followed the others inside, piling up the food and water they had found. Then, Xu Zhi began distributing the food and water, giving each person a small portion.

"Everyone, finish eating and get some rest early. Erzi, Xiaohui, you two will take the night watch," Xu Zhi instructed. Su Hui, however, was very talkative, much more so than Chu Nan, and quickly became familiar with everyone. He learned that Xu Zhi had indeed been a soldier before, having just retired, while Su Hui's original job was working at the vehicle management office.

As everyone introduced their previous occupations, it turned out they came from all walks of life: there were shopkeepers, waiters, security guards, factory workers, and civil servants. When they learned that Chu Nan had been a veterinarian, they were quite surprised, as he didn't seem to fit the role.

The atmosphere was very harmonious during the casual chat. After finishing his meal and resting for a while, Chu Nan excused himself, saying he had something to do and needed to leave temporarily, then left alone.

Xu Zhi couldn't help but say, "Chu Nan, leaving alone at night is very dangerous."

Chu Nan could tell he was genuinely concerned and smiled slightly, saying, "I have some things to do, I'll be back soon."

With that, his figure disappeared into the darkness. Xu Zhi, who didn't know Chu Nan well, could only shake his head when he saw Chu Nan's determination to leave.

Su Hui walked up, watching Chu Nan's figure disappear into the darkness, and said, "This Chu Nan is really a bit strange. It seems he doesn't want to be part of our group, just coming here to freeload on food and water, and then leaving. His character is really not good, I didn't expect him to be such a person."

Xu Zhi replied, "Maybe he really has a reason to leave. Forget it, we're just passing acquaintances. I just hope he doesn't run into danger." With that, he turned and walked back to prepare for rest.

Su Hui hesitated for a moment and then came to sit beside Xu Zhi.

They wondered why Chu Nan would leave alone in the dark, but they didn't know that Chu Nan was heading for the 300 corpses of the Undead and the Mutated.

If he could obtain the pineal glands from these 300 corpses, Chu Nan knew he could certainly advance to a higher level and realm.

In such a perilous environment, the most important thing to survive was to improve oneself, and not to miss any opportunity.

Level 5 Undead and Awakened had already appeared, and Chu Nan understood that his current strength was not the strongest. He needed to become even more powerful.

Following the same route, Chu Nan cautiously moved forward, observing all directions and listening carefully. He made sure that Xu Zhi and the others were not following him and that no other Undead or Mutated were tracking him. In this night full of danger, he was particularly cautious.

Finally, Chu Nan returned to the place where the battle had taken place during the day. From a distance, he saw the numerous corpses lying in all directions and let out a sigh of relief.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Chu Nan darted forward and began carefully extracting the pineal glands from the heads of the corpses.

Over the past few days, he had extracted countless pineal glands, becoming extremely proficient. He quickly extracted the pineal glands, used a magnifying glass to charge them with energy, then crushed them and absorbed the genetic force inside.

Continuously extracting pineal glands, charging them with the magnifying glass, and then crushing them to absorb the genetic force, the genetic force flowed continuously into the pineal gland in his brain, making the genetic force in his brain stronger and more abundant. Eventually, it would reach a point of transformation.

Finally, Chu Nan extracted the pineal gland from the bone-armored Undead's corpse. This bone-armored Undead had evolved to Level 5, and its pineal gland had changed from reddish-brown to grayish-white. When Chu Nan charged this pineal gland with energy and then absorbed it, a powerful surge of genetic force rushed into his brain, and then, with a loud boom, his brain exploded.

Chu Nan knew he had finally broken through.

The genetic center exploded, and the vast genetic force inside surged throughout his body, continuously improving his genetic structure. Defective genes were expelled from his body, while beneficial genes were strengthened.

His muscle strength, bones, blood vessels, internal organs, vision, hearing, and cell activity were all enhanced by the genetic force. In particular, nearly half of the continuous genetic force directly surged into his right leg, stimulating the golden gene, making it release even greater power.

The golden force surged and quickly broke through the invisible constraints within his body, resonating with his left leg. Gradually, a faint golden glow emerged in his left leg. In the darkness, Chu Nan's legs were both bathed in a gradually increasing golden glow.

Chu Nan closed his eyes, and all his senses were operating at an extraordinary level. The adrenaline had reached its peak at Level 5, no longer increasing, but the golden force had been further strengthened. Not only his right leg, but also the golden gene in his left leg had been awakened. Now, both of his legs possessed the awakened golden force.

In his mind, waves of information were automatically translated into understandable messages.

"Level 6 genetic center... Level 2 golden force... Awakened..."

His physical strength had been significantly enhanced, reaching more than six times that of an ordinary person. The golden force could now enhance not only his right leg but also his left leg, giving it strength comparable to his right leg.

This was terrifying. Once Chu Nan activated the golden force in both legs simultaneously, his speed and explosive power would increase exponentially, beyond imagination.

Moreover, after both legs were golden, ordinary blades and swords would find it difficult to harm him.

"Is this what a Level 6 Awakened is like... At Level 5, my right leg was golden, and at Level 6, my left leg is also golden... Could it be... that after the golden gene is awakened, the golden force will eventually make my entire body golden?"

Chu Nan thought this, and his heart couldn't help but race with excitement.

Just imagining his entire body turning golden, like a golden statue, not only would the explosive power, speed, and attack strength reach a terrifying level, but his body would also be impervious to blades and bullets, like the legendary indestructible body. The thought was exhilarating.

At that time, what would he have to fear from Undead or Mutated?

That would truly be a human combat weapon.

Even with deep breaths, Chu Nan couldn't hide his inner excitement.

This time, his improvement wasn't just the golden force reaching Level 2 and both legs turning golden. His physical strength was further enhanced, and his speed, agility, reaction, strength, vision, and hearing were all improved compared to Level 5. However, this improvement wasn't particularly exaggerated, and the extent was not as large as Chu Nan had imagined.

For example, at Level 5, Chu Nan's physical strength was five times that of an ordinary person, and now at Level 6, it was only six times, which wasn't a significant improvement.

However, with the Level 2 golden force, the effect was completely different.

"It seems that not only does the higher the level of awakening mean greater power, but the type of awakened gene is also very important," Chu Nan mused.

He gradually realized that the type of awakened gene was crucial. For example, although Xu Zhi was also a Level 5 Awakened, he had only awakened his hearing gene.

This hearing gene allowed him to hear all kinds of sounds within a kilometer, providing a powerful auxiliary effect. It was something the others couldn't match, ensuring he wouldn't be easily ambushed, making him extremely valuable in team actions.

However, in direct combat, compared to Chu Nan's golden gene, Su Xianyi's hardened skin, or Miao Xiu's temperature control, it was far inferior.

Of course, Su Hui's right fingernails, which had evolved to cut through metal like a cat's retractable claws, were also extremely terrifying in attacks, making him stronger in direct combat than Xu Zhi's hearing gene.

Sitting cross-legged among the 300 corpses, Chu Nan quietly experienced the new sensations brought by the Level 6 awakening. The genetic force in his brain's pineal gland was once again depleted, and his body was strengthened by the genetic force. With his current physical strength, even the Level 5 adrenaline surge wouldn't cause severe aftereffects.

Level 5 adrenaline, Level 2 golden force, six times the physical strength of an ordinary person, plus the genetic weapon, the spider claws, this was the full strength of the Level 6 Awakened Chu Nan.

His body slightly swayed, and a series of crisp sounds came from his bones, sounding clear and pleasant. Chu Nan straightened up, stood from the pile of corpses, and made a few punches in the air, then retracted them, a satisfied look on his face. This feeling of control was very satisfying.

Picking up the spider claws, he looked up at the moon, which was faintly red, and then left the area, returning to where Xu Zhi and Su Hui and the others were gathered.

Although his strength had become much greater at Level 6, the genetic force required for further evolution had also increased. Although Chu Nan hadn't planned to stay with Xu Zhi, Su Hui, and the others, he could rest well at night with someone on watch at their base.

The most troublesome thing about traveling alone was the lack of a watch at night, which was the most dangerous time. A person couldn't go without sleep forever.