by Tai Baiyang
“Ding!”
Half an hour later, Zhang Mu finally heard the familiar sound of the system.
In the dark, an invisible but powerful wave swept over the whole world in just a second.
“Testing Field Number Forty-Seven, the debugging period is over. All data will return to normal difficulty. Restarting the world.”
The voice was still cold without any emotion.
Zhang Mu was once again immobilized and yet this time he could think clearly. All survivors were able to think clearly rather than getting overwhelmed by a deep fear like the first time.
When the voice disappeared, Zhang Mu could see that in the distance, the mutated monkeys were shrinking. Although he couldn’t move, he was still able to see that the eyes of the nearest mutated monkey was losing its intelligent light. What replaced it was wildness belonging to any ordinary animal.
Zhang Mu was secretly pleased that everything happened according to what he had seen in the future. He didn’t cause a Butterfly Effect, at least, not currently.
When the mutated monkeys shrunk to half the size they were, the wave stopped spreading. Zhang Mu knew that the weakening of the monsters was over.
At this moment, the mechanical voice in the people’s head quickly changed. The voice echoed again with much disdain and banter, “Congratulation! You are still alive and got through the hardest time of the initial stage. From the moment your bodies are freed, the ability of all the monster will be adjusted to the same level. If you want to know what level they are on, you can have a try!"
The voice paused for a while, then continued, "However, the new era is just beginning. Restarting the world is both good and bad for you because you are on the same level as the other creatures. For having survived until now, I guess that except for being lucky, you should also be the owner of basic cognitive abilities. So you must have realized that without weapons, you aren’t even equal to an unenlightened monster. As you are deprived of your hegemony over the world, you are supposed to recognize which layer of the food chain you are on now. As a compensation, you will quickly find something different in your bodies. Seize the opportunity. After all, it is the only way out for you. Haha, I have said too much. Don’t let me down, human beings!”
As the voice stopped, everything returned to normal. Zhang Mu moved and pulled out Little Black who had hid in Yuan Rui’s clothes, looking at it up and down.
Why didn’t its wings move?
The colour of its back became different.
Moreover, shit! It even couldn’t speak!
Return my Little Black back to me! Asshole! You turned it into a worm that didn’t have any thoughts or fighting capacity!
Just as Zhang Mu was going to cry, he heard an indolent voice in his mind, “Who can’t speak?! I just didn’t want to answer you. Release my wings immediately. What wings can’t flap and colour of my back changing, it was all your delusion.”
The Obsidian Beetle broke free from Zhang Mu’s hand, hovering in the air and stared at Zhang Mu with a contemptuous look.
Zhang Mu was shocked.
What happened! Why did Little Black’s intelligence grow so much that it could mock me after the weakening? It's even breaking through the absolute obedience of the blood contract.
Seeing Zhang Mu and the Obsidian Beetle staring at each other, Yuan Rui said slightly, “Uncle, I just felt very hot, as if the energy inside my body was breaking out.”
Energy surged out from Yuan Rui's body the moment she put her hand on Zhang Mu’s shoulder. After she sent out all of it, she took a deep breath, freed from the bloated feeling.
Zhang Mu was completely shocked. Yuan Rui's energy was different from the former energy she had for healing wounds. When he took in her energy, Zhang Mu felt his power slightly increase. Judging from how precious a dose of a strength drug was, with Yuan Rui's energy having the same effects, Zhang Mu immediately realized its value!
Warned by Yuan Rui's change, Zhang Mu remembered that there was something different in the human body after the debugging period.
Human beings had been living good lives for so long. As a result, when they lost their hot weapons, they were suppressed by the other creatures and became the most vulnerable prey immediately.
Yet, Zhang Mu had analyzed when he was in the future that those mysterious beings who caused all this were, in fact, more inclined towards human beings. Though they did pull human beings down to the same level as the other creatures, they were partial to the human beings. Maybe, they had planned to pick out the best ones among the human beings.
Zhang Mu's guess was supported by many practical examples and it was very close to the truth. For example, after this debugging period, the development of human's potential would promote the speed of their ability awakening. And the evolvers who had awakened a part of their powers during the debugging period could enjoy a huge boost.
Moreover, the voice had warned everyone clearly that the degree of difficulty had been adjusted. At this time, the people who had the intelligence would try to adjust to the new lifestyle and fight in order to survive. As for the weak who couldn't accept reality, they would gradually be eliminated.
Actually, after the debugging period, everything that happened was to develop the cream of the crop among the humans.
As for the evolvers, the strong ones like Yuan Rui would feel more powerful while the ordinary people like Zhang Mu felt nothing. After all, he didn’t have an awakening potential at all, so there was no use in stimulating him. Zhang Mu felt a sense of crisis. The disparity between him and the awakened evolvers was getting narrow and his advantage would disappear after the world restarted.
Meanwhile, the Obsidian Beetle whose blood vessels were connected with Zhang Mu also got preferential treatment. Not only was its power and intelligence not weakened, it also received a boost in power because it was regarded as an evolutionary ability.
Looking at Little Black, Zhuang Mu didn’t know what to say. It was good that they could now defeat the mutated monkeys easily, but he felt like Little Black, whose intelligence had been improved, would become as cunning as himself.
It would be difficult for him to ask it to do things in the future.
As there was a strong empathy between Zhang Mu and Little Black, it knew what Zhang Mu was planning. The Obsidian Beetle threw a contemptuous look at Zhang Mu and flew towards Yuan Rui, lying on her shoulder comfortably and ignoring Zhang Mu’s gloomy face.
It distinctly knew that Zhang Mu right now, hehe, needed its help.
Chapter 36: Start working
"Come on! Don't look at me that way. Maybe I don’t need your help! You are so arrogant!"
Taking advantage of when Little Black wasn't paying attention, Zhang Mu slapped it again and then turned to Yuan Rui to whisper, "Yuan Rui, stay right here and wait for me! Since those monsters have been weakened a lot, you can rest assured staying here! Since Little Black is haggling with me, I won't bring it either. It will stay with you."
"No! Uncle, I can stay here alone! Since I won't be far away from you, if anything happens, you can come in time. It would better if Little Black follows you. It's too dangerous. There were already so many monkeys outside the Grottoes, let alone inside."
Zhang Mu still insisted to go on his own, which made Yuan Rui worry. She said with a high voice, "Little Black and I came here to give you our hands. If you don’t want me here, I’ll go back. After all, I’m just a burden in your eyes."
"Don't take care of me, bring Little Black."
Yuan Rui shouted towards Zhang Mu, turned around and went back along the road she came from.
She really got angry and decided to leave.
Zhang Mu always had Black Beetle protect her and faced the monsters alone. Yuan Rui finally got angry as she thought it would be her fault if Zhang Mu lost his life one day.
Zhang Mu was shocked. He had never thought that the soft and delicate Yuan Rui would become so serious and imposing. If not for the fact that they were still a dis
tance away from the sentries and that the guards hearing having been weakened, they would have been found by the monkeys.
Actually, Zhang Mu couldn’t let her go off alone. In the night, she wouldn't even be able to escape if she were to run into a first-ranked zombie, let alone mutated animals.
Thinking of that, Zhang Mu stepped forwards and held her back. He said, "Fine! I'll bring you! Come back right now, do you want to die?"
Hearing that, Yuan Rui laughed happily even though Zhang Mu was blaming her, rendering Zhang Mu speechless.
This girl's mood was really capricious and unpredictable.
Zhang Mu made such a decision, but it wasn't completely because of Yuan Rui. He thought things over and found that, even though the mutated monkeys had been weakened, he might be in trouble without the help of the Obsidian Beetle. With its help, he would recover his peak combat power and protect Yuan Rui if they were ever to be besieged.
No more nonsense! Zhang Mu asked Little Black to turn big and land on the ground ahead.
Little Black obediently listened to his orders because it knew it was not a good time to argue.
"Boom!"
Their blatant provocation drew the attention of the mutated monkeys standing closest to them. Regardless of the big the Obsidian Beetle, they dashed out fiercely towards Zhang Mu and Little Black. Without intelligence, they forgot all rules and orders.
Dropping the long sticks they held, the mutated monkeys rushed at them with their arms and legs, their previous battle formation was nowhere to be seen.
That’s exactly what I want!
Zhang Mu was pleased. If they still listened to order and kept the previous formation, Zhang Mu might get in trouble. However, they had forgotten everything and just fought against Zhang Mu without any strategies. So there was nothing to fear.
"Protect Yuan Rui well!"
Zhang Mu put Yuan Rui on Little Black’s neck, asking it to fly up. The mutated monkeys couldn’t pose any threat to Yuan Rui if she was four meters away from the ground.
Hovering in the air, Little Black was waiting for Zhang Mu to attack.
"Splash!"
A mutated monkey ran to Zhang Mu and didn’t even notice that it was alone to attack and that its fellow allies were 10 meters away from it.
The mutated monkeys jumped even higher than Zhang Mu, scratching towards his head as if it had figured out how tasty Zhang Mu’s brain was.
Courting death! I’ll kill you first!
Facing the mutated monkey’s strike, Zhang Mu kept his calm and squatted down. He moved when the mutated monkey swiped down towards his face.
He quickly stabbed with his knife while also steadily receiving the impact of the monkey’s attack.
A monkey, a knife, and a human.
Zhang Mu sneered and twisted his knife, watching as fear took over the monkey’s features. But very quickly, all fear disappeared. Because Zhang Mu attacked at a very high speed, the monkey couldn’t respond and Zhang Mu successfully stabbed through its heart. The mutated monkey’s hot blood spilled on the blade.
Surrounded by mutated monkeys, Little Black kept calm and got closer towards Zhang Mu. With its leg, it picked up the first-ranked beast core along with the monkey’s brain and started eating happily.
Yuan Rui couldn’t stand it anymore and touched Little Black’s head, "Little Black, you are so disgusting."
Hearing that, the Obsidian Beetle unwillingly swallowed everything down quickly.
Having being interrupted in its meal, Little Black was unhappy and attacked monkeys to vent its spleen.
In order to keep Yuan Rui balanced, Little Black tore up the monkeys without lowering its head. Surrounded by monkeys, Little Black swung its body around, stabbing through the monkeys with its thorn
When the Obsidian Beetle was weighed down to the ground by the corpses hanging off its thorns, it tried to shake them off by moving around wildly.
"Slow down!"
"Little Black you are doing this on purpose! Don't get the blood on me! It’s disgusting!"
Hearing Yuan Rui’s cries, Zhang Mu cut down the head of the monkey in front of him and picked up the beast core quickly. Then, he chased after them with a smile on his face.
Chapter 37: The Monkey King Appears
For Little Black whose power had been promoted, the weakened mutated monkeys were a piece of cake. Corpses were strewn all over the road. It was too horrible to look at.
Little Black was still angry and tore the monkeys apart bloodily. A Bloodthirsty light rose in its eyes as its savagery as a monster showed through. The Obsidian Beetle headed for the Great Buddha while chewing on the first-ranked beast cores.
The cores were all picked up by Little Black, so Zhang Mu just ran after it.
Seeing the Obsidian Beetle like this, Zhang Mu thought, "Goddamn it, I forgot about this."
Zhang Mu closed in on Little Black and blocked with his sword the beetle who was still immersed in its killing spree. Just as Little black swiped reflexively at Zhang Mu’s head, its blood vessels shrunk hard, which made it recover consciousness just in time and it stopped immediately.
"That’s enough, you scared Yuan Rui. Crouch down, let her come down."
Zhang Mu lectured Black Beetle and caught Yuan Rui who was quivering.
"I don’t know why! I just felt an unknown energy run through my body and confront my own energy. When they fought, my mind went out of control."
Zhang Mu cast a contemptuous glance at it and said, "No more nonsense! You ate the mutated monkeys’ cores. The energy they contain collided with yours, which can affect your capacity to think properly. The more you keep killing and eating, the bigger the problem will grow. If you don’t stop, you will explode."
"I don’t know why I can’t stop."
Little Black lay down obediently, but Yuan Rui was still afraid of it as it was the first time she had seen its bloodthirsty side. Unexpectedly, the friendly Little Black could be so horrible when it went crazy.
Zhang Mu had neglected the fact that Little Black didn’t know the function of the beast’ cores as it was the first time it had eaten them. The core could have several different attributes. It could harm the consumer’s mind and health if improperly used. It could lead to either the person losing his mind or his body exploding. The mutated animals’ bodies were stronger. They could endure these side effects as long as they ate in moderation while the human beings, whose body and meridians were more vulnerable, might not be able to stand the backlash of conflicting attributes.
In his past life, Zhang Mu had witnessed an evolver's body explode after he consumed a core whose attributes were in conflict with his.
The bloody body still hovered in the back of Zhang Mu's mind. It was in an atrocious state.
It was difficult to find a core whose attributes matched yourself. That’s why the rarer core, the more expensive it was. Many era merchants earned much money through selling cores.
"Will you eat in moderation next time? I gained nothing, as you ate them all."
Zhang Mu punched its head. Little Black couldn’t say anything, so it kept quiet. Actually, if Zhang Mu hadn’t shown up immediately to stop it, the beast inside its body would have destroyed its intelligence.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Golden eyes shined from the entrance of the grotto, staring at them.
"Boom!"
Its whole body was reflected by the torches on the ground. It was three meters high with strong muscles. Arms that were as strong as stone stood like pillars from the ground. A white breath was being blown from its nose.
"King Kong?"
After seeing clearly what was standing in front of them, Zhang Mu shouted out.
"How could it be? It's only the third day of the cataclysm, how could the King Kong appear already?"
This monkey was twice as tall as Zhang Mu. It was a mini-version of the King Kong, a fourth-ranked monster. In his memory, the stone chimpanzee known as the fearsome King Kong was three floors tall and its s
peed and agility were much higher than that of the evolvers at the same level.
Yet, Zhang Mu found something different. Although the little King Kong’s arms were covered in stone, it wasn't granite.
Is it a mutated monkey that was in the process of evolving into the King Kong?
It would explain why it became the leader of the mutated monkeys. The King Kong’s blood had a dominant effect.
Seeing the corpses on the ground, the mutated King Kong felt sad and stood itself upright, roaring while beating its chest.
After it calmed down, it glared at Zhang Mu and Little Black who were standing amongst the corpses of his brethren. King Kong was certain that it was Zhang Mu who killed its subordinates.
Unexpectedly, it still had intelligence, emotion, and judgement even after it was weakened. During the debugging period, its intelligence must've been unimaginable.
After noticing the King Kong’s mood change, Zhang Mu felt lucky that he didn’t break into the Grottoes alone. Otherwise, he would've been in danger.
"Roar!"
The King Kong jumped more than 10 meters and arrived in front of Zhang Mu immediately.
Looking at King Kong from a short distance, Zhang Mu found how shockingly strong its body was.
In his past life, Zhang Mu had just looked at King Kong from a distance and didn’t examine it clearly.
Although Zhang Mu had gotten through many difficulties and danger, he was still scared to face the King Kong. As for Yuan Rui, she was so frightened she had fallen to the ground. However, Little Black stared at King Kong fiercely and bravely roared.
The little King Kong had lost its patience. Its intellect wasn't high enough to warn him of Zhang Mu and Little Black's strength. As it didn’t feel any danger, it thought Zhang Mu had no ability to threaten it.
The hesitance in his eyes was replaced by a fierce light.
Chapter 38: A Tough Battle
A huge fist punched toward Zhang Mu before he could even respond. The fist covered by stone seemed like it would smash his head in an instant.