"Engineer Ye is here."
"Congratulations, Engineer Ye."
The few people guarding the entrance to Pit 0 knew Ye Fei had awakened a Superpower, so they let him pass without issue.
Pit 0 was lively inside. A group of Superpower Users were chatting idly while polishing and maintaining their weapons.
Ye Fei scanned the area and saw eight Superpower Users in total—one woman and seven men. As for resources... things like soft drinks, roasted meat, cigarettes, and chocolate, which were almost never seen in Pit 1, were everywhere here.
’Zhang Zhen was right. There’s always a class system, no matter the era.’
The surrounding Superpower Users were clearly used to this, and they all generously invited Ye Fei to sit down and eat.
Just then, Qin Jiezhou walked over. Seeing the surprised look on Ye Fei’s face as he touched the food, he seemed to guess his thoughts and spoke calmly, "Have you read *The Three-Body Problem* by Liu Xinci?"
Ye Fei said, "I think you mean Liu Cixin."
"Whatever. You know what I mean. The point is, we’re now facing an enemy even more terrifying than the Three-Body People. If we want to defeat it, if we want to survive, we have to advance. Advance by any means necessary."
"Many people in Pit 1 would rather cower like rats in a sewer and waste the food we risk our lives to bring back than go out and awaken their Superpowers. I had to resort to certain methods to help them advance. As for those who can’t or won’t advance... all I can say is, I’m sorry."
"I understand."
What else could Ye Fei say in this situation?
Before the mutant apocalypse, Qin Jiezhou’s war-criminal-like speech would have drawn criticism from countless people who would have found him too extreme. But now, he had widespread support. The surrounding Superpower Users were all nodding. Some even felt he was too dovish and gentle, saying that if they were the leader, they would throw all the normal people into a gladiatorial arena to cull the weak and find the strong.
’If they could make normal people grow mushrooms all over their bodies and cut their lifespans in half in exchange for doubling their combat strength, they probably wouldn’t hesitate for a second, would they?’
"Alright, then let’s get ready for the intelligence briefing!"
Qin Jiezhou clapped his hands, gathering everyone.
Soon, the Superpower Users were gathered, discussing their experiences using their Superpowers while also analyzing the types and weaknesses of the nearby monsters.
Qin Jiezhou, however, pulled Ye Fei aside. "Next, I’m going to show you what I believe is the true nature of Superpowers."
He reached out and grabbed a steel rebar, took a deep breath, and... CREAK~ CREAK~
The rebar was slowly bent by sheer brute force.
"With a Superpower User’s hearing, I’m sure you could tell that I just bent a thumb-thick steel rebar."
Qin Jiezhou said, handing the rebar to Ye Fei so he could feel it for himself.
"I soon discovered that Superpowers can get stronger. By constantly using your Superpower and eating large amounts of monster flesh, you can strengthen yourself rapidly! Like... this!"
The moment he finished speaking, Qin Jiezhou’s eyes sharpened.
BOOM—!
His body began to swell, and in the blink of an eye, he became a two-meter-tall giant. His aura was like a ferocious beast roaring, stirring the surrounding air into a gust of wind.
BANG~
He reached out and grabbed another steel rebar, then kneaded it in his hands. The rebar let out a sharp, grating sound and shot out sparks, turning into a ball of scrap metal in an instant.
BANG!
Then, the ball of steel was thrown like a cannonball, embedding itself deep into the granite wall. The flying rock chips stung Ye Fei’s face.
HISS! Ye Fei couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
’Are Superpower Users really this strong?’
’Crushing rebar by hand and throwing it with the force of a cannonball!’
He knew about Superpowers before, but he’d assumed it was just a slight boost to physical abilities. He never imagined it was a *billion*-point boost!
’This guy is practically a human tank, isn’t he?’
The shock of such pure power made him excited. He now craved getting stronger even more.
Nearby, Qin Jiezhou stood with his hands behind his back. He watched the newcomer’s face with great interest, satisfied to see his expression shift from terror to a kind of excitement.
"Now, I can easily twist a steel rebar into a pretzel, kick a car weighing over a ton into the air, ignore bullet damage, and punch like a heavy cannon."
"Doctor Liu theorized that there might be some kind of unobservable, mysterious substance in monster flesh that accelerates our Evolution, allowing us to grow continuously stronger. Later, using the town’s television broadcast tower, we received signals from other survivors and learned that this mysterious substance has been named—Spiritual Power! And Spiritual Power isn’t completely unobservable. Sometimes, it gathers inside certain monsters to form a ’Transparent Crystal.’ Once your Power rises to Elite Level or higher, you can absorb the Energy within them to get stronger fast! This kind of crystal is called a—Spiritual Crystal!"
"This is also why I didn’t bother asking about your Superpower. No matter what it is, as long as you put in the effort with your Cultivation, you can become incredibly strong. By the way, what is your Superpower?"
The Shelter doesn’t support freeloaders. Ye Fei decided to show a bit of his value.
".....That’s a pretty rare Superpower."
Qin Jiezhou was stunned for a moment. He realized he’d miscalculated. He never expected a blind man’s Superpower to be rapid recovery. ’But your eyes haven’t recovered!’
He then asked, puzzled, "How are you supposed to train a Superpower like that? You can’t just have someone chop you up a few times for practice, can you? Fortunately, eating monster meat also makes you stronger, and your physical attributes will definitely improve along with it. Your sense of smell might be very useful then. For now, let’s test your strength and reaction speed."
After a round of tests...
Ye Fei’s 100-meter dash took 10.5 seconds, his neural reaction speed was 280 milliseconds, and a full-power punch with his right fist could strike with 1,100 pounds of force...
These results were incredible, his overall attributes far surpassing those of a normal person. But among a group of Superpower Users, Ye Fei’s level wasn’t just unimpressive; it was insignificant.
"Your only real advantages are that your physical stats are balanced, and your senses of smell and hearing are indeed outstanding."
Qin Jiezhou was much more direct than Liu Ru. With Ye Fei’s current physical condition, going out with them would be a death sentence. Even as a support member carrying back their kills, he was too weak. Not to mention he was blind—a complete and utter burden.
But the man had already awakened a Superpower. To say he was useless wasn’t quite right; with some training, he might have some use. ’Should I have him lead a rookie squad? No...’ He’d just appointed Xu Yi as a squad leader, and Xu Yi had far more charisma than Ye Fei.
After a moment of contemplation, he made his decision:
"Alright, Ye Fei will stay behind and focus on his Cultivation! The first step is to absorb as much Spiritual Power as possible!"
"See that pile of meat over there? Your mission is to eat all of it, then work out like crazy to digest it."
"By the way, who’s on guard duty today?"
Luo Zai immediately puffed out his chest and stood up.
"Excellent. You can be the one to train Ye Fei. But don’t slack off yourself. I expect you to be able to run a 100-meter dash in 7 seconds and deliver a full-power punch with 2,200 pounds of force within three days!"
"Yes, sir!"
Luo Zai replied, his voice filled with excitement.
With that, Qin Jiezhou led the Hunting Squad out. They needed to move while the Sun was high in the sky and the forest was at its brightest, making it easier to hunt monsters and acquire Cultivation Resources.
Ye Fei, on the other hand, pretended he couldn’t see the pile of meat. He was blind, after all.
Inwardly, however, he was stunned. He thought he must have misheard, but after confirming with Luo Zai, the instructions were indeed "within today" and "eat this whole pile of meat."
’Are you kidding me? That pile of meat has to be at least fifty-five pounds!’
’How could he possibly eat all that?’