Chapter 1

【World: Biohazard Crisis】

【Mission: Eliminate the T/G Virus, Purify This World】

Boom!

With a deafening explosion!

A cloud of dust and debris erupted amidst the tide of decaying corpses, causing the zombies to emit a chorus of howls!

As the choking dust and smoke slowly dissipated, a human silhouette gradually emerged from the chaos.

"Where... am I?"

Xia Tianming looked around in shock at the unfamiliar surroundings, his eyes filled with confusion and unease.

He clearly remembered that just a moment ago, he was at home playing the old game *Prototype*.

But then, accompanied by a flash of lightning and a thunderclap outside the window, his computer screen suddenly exploded, and everything went black. The next thing he knew, he found himself in this desolate, unfamiliar environment.

And he had just heard a strange voice in his head.

What biohazard crisis?

Mission?

Purify... the world???

So, he had been transported to a dangerous post-apocalyptic world filled with biohazards?!

Before he could think more about it,

Roar!!

A beast-like roar suddenly echoed!

A zombie, its body riddled with decay, charged straight at him!

This tattered and highly decomposed zombie was so rotten that large chunks of flesh fell off with every step, exposing its white bones!

Its left eyeball had fallen out, hanging by a single nerve, swinging wildly outside the eye socket with each frenzied step!

It looked absolutely terrifying!

The first reaction of any normal person upon seeing such a zombie would be to run.

But with zombies snarling and closing in from all directions, there was nowhere to escape.

It seemed that after being transported, he had landed right in the middle of a horde of zombies, a surefire start to a hellish scenario!

However, when Xia Tianming saw the zombie charging at him, he felt an inexplicable wave of hunger.

It felt like... this zombie would taste quite delicious?

Damn!

Why would he have such a crazy thought???

After this thought crossed his mind, Xia Tianming's feet began to move involuntarily, advancing towards the zombie...

As the distance between them closed, Xia Tianming could already smell the putrid stench emanating from the zombie's decaying body!

Roar!

The zombie opened its rotting mouth and lunged at the audacious human who dared to approach it!

Xia Tianming, though terrified, instinctively swung a punch!

Punch!

For some reason, whether due to the zombie's advanced state of decay or something else, Xia Tianming's punch went through the zombie's chest as if it were soft tofu, easily piercing through!

His fist passed through the zombie's ribs, smashing through the shriveled, non-functional organs, and emerged from its back, covered in clotted, putrid blood!

However, the zombie's only weak point was its head, and piercing its chest did not kill it.

It opened its foul mouth and continued to lunge at Xia Tianming's neck, despite the arm that had pierced through its chest!

"Damn!"

Xia Tianming cursed, clenching his other hand into a fist and delivering a powerful blow to the zombie's grotesque head!

With a muffled "thud"!

The zombie's head exploded like a shattered soy sauce jar!

Red, yellow, and green fluids flowed down his arm, utterly disgusting!

The next scene made Xia Tianming's eyes widen in disbelief!

The skin on his right hand, which had shattered the zombie's head, began to sprout black-red tentacles!

They seemed to have a will of their own, greedily sucking up the zombie's fluids that had splattered on his arm.

Still unsatisfied, they crawled up the zombie's exploded head and body!

The black-red tentacles writhed wildly over the zombie's body, like blooming blood roses!

They crushed the zombie's decaying flesh, bones, hair, and even its tattered clothes into a dark red pool of blood!

The tentacles greedily devoured this pool of blood, quickly absorbing it all.

This bizarre process of consumption took less than two seconds!

After consuming the zombie, Xia Tianming felt no discomfort; instead, a refreshing and invigorating sensation spread throughout his body, as if he had been reborn.

And this feeling...

Was truly exhilarating!

【Blacklight Threshold: 1/300】

After consuming the zombie, this information suddenly appeared in Xia Tianming's mind.

Blacklight... threshold?

Could it be the Blacklight virus?

Recalling the black-red tentacles that had extended from his arm and the way the zombie was crushed into a blood ball and absorbed, this was one of the signature abilities in the *Prototype* game—[Devour]!

The Blacklight virus could crush and devour all organic matter, converting it into nutrients to enhance its own abilities!

The most perverse aspect was that it could even steal others' abilities!

In a sense, the Blacklight virus was the king of all viruses!

And the Blacklight threshold might be equivalent to skill points in the game.

Once the threshold was broken, other virus abilities could be unlocked.

For example, Blacklight claws, Blacklight blades, Blacklight whips, and camouflage.

With the Blacklight virus, he would be at the top of the food chain in this biohazard world!

While Xia Tianming was thinking about this,

The other zombies had already closed in, and a rough estimate put their number at no less than a thousand!

Xia Tianming was at the center of the zombie horde, like a drop of milk in a pool of ink, with the ink (the horde) surging inward, trying to engulf him!

An ordinary person might have been terrified and paralyzed by such a scene.

But Xia Tianming, with the Blacklight virus in his body, felt an inexplicable surge of excitement, as if countless delicacies were being offered to him.

He stood there, his hands trembling with excitement, and a slight smile involuntarily curved his lips.

If he devoured all thousand zombies, he could probably break through several thresholds!

However, being at the initial stage of the Blacklight virus, facing so many enemies could also put him in a perilous situation.

After all, even in the game, Alex Mercer could be killed by minor enemies in the early stages.

But now, even if he wanted to escape, there was no way out. The gaps in every direction were filled with zombies, and as far as the eye could see, the horde was surging!

Xia Tianming, at the center of the horde, could already feel the ground trembling beneath him!

Roar!!!

A one-armed zombie charged at Xia Tianming first, its mouth opening like a blooming flower with six petals, each lined with terrifying fangs!

If it bit him, a large chunk of flesh would be torn from his body!

This was a mutated zombie.

It opened its petal-like mouth and lunged at Xia Tianming's head, trying to engulf and swallow it whole!

But with the Blacklight virus, his reaction speed had also increased.

Xia Tianming, quick as a flash, grabbed two of the zombie's mouth petals with both hands and ripped them apart, tearing the zombie's head into two halves!

Another one-shot kill!

The black-red Blacklight tentacles extended from his arm pores again, crushing the mutated zombie into a blood ball and devouring it completely, leaving not a trace behind!

【Blacklight Threshold: 3/300】