The situation would still lead to him being questioned.
"I can't think of any immediate solutions right now. I'll take it one step at a time."
Fang Ming made up his mind.
He planned to cultivate spiritual rice.
For a handyman disciple to be able to cultivate spiritual rice in a spiritual field was a form of vocational skill. Learning it would only bring benefits and no harm, and who knew when it might be useful in another world.
There was no harm in learning it.
Compared to other handyman disciples, he already had an overwhelming advantage. If all else failed, he could simply leave.
It wouldn't be a major problem.
...
Fang Ming then embarked on his journey of inter-world trade.
Constrained by his identity as a handyman disciple in the cultivation world, Fang Ming could neither acquire large quantities of food and supplies from the cultivation world that the zombie world needed, nor travel to the zombie world.
When trading with the cultivation world using crystals from the zombie world, there was also a risk of exposure.
The former was not much of an issue, as there was nothing Fang Ming wanted from the survivor bases. Ordinary firearms, in terms of convenience or power, were difficult to wield effectively in the cultivation world.
However, the latter was quite critical, as Fang Ming urgently needed to improve his cultivation realm.
Fang Ming was somewhat eager to open up a third world.
But this required a hundred days.
During these hundred days, Fang Ming made a great effort to conceal his activities and did not reveal any flaws in the cultivation world. However, in the zombie world, he traversed several ruined cities and gathered information about gene serums.
...
"God's Forbidden Zone... human evolution... so that's how it is..."
In the apocalypse, the essence of a ruined civilization was constant struggle.
Even former military units, with their discipline, would devolve into predatory bandits in the apocalypse.
And if they could be bandits.
Fang Ming could be one too.
If, during his last visit to the zombie world, Fang Ming, with only his spiritual farmer's weed-removal spell and the first layer of Qi Cultivation, would have faced a grim fate against a barrage of firearms.
Then, with a collection of offensive and defensive talismans, Fang Ming could temporarily be considered a master who had cultivated Qi Cultivation to the fifth layer.
This level of strength was already sufficient to infiltrate some large bases.
Therefore, upon hearing about a large base that possessed gene serums.
Fang Ming directly assaulted it.
Countless bullets flew, but under the golden light talismans, all bullets were blocked ten centimeters away from Fang Ming.
After using the fireball talismans, which unleashed raging fires, Fang Ming could see the terror and fear on the faces of the gunmen.
Subsequently, after a period of slaughter and forced interrogation.
Fang Ming obtained the blue, crystal-clear bottle before him.
This was the gene serum manufactured by the base.
According to the researchers here, it was the culmination of their study of four types of zombies.
The God Serum.
A serum that allowed humans to open God's Forbidden Zone, develop one hundred percent of their bodies, and control their genes.
This serum was not solely developed by this base; it was obtained from the data of a pre-apocalypse biological research laboratory.
The reason it was pre-apocalypse was that the laboratory that attempted to research the God Serum and achieve human evolution had instead spread a toxin to all of humanity, turning everyone into zombies.
The apocalypse was a man-made disaster, and though not intentional, humanity ultimately had to bear the cost.
The zombies were unintentional, but the intention was human evolution, which later spiraled out of control.
This was a world where a loss of control had reduced civilization to ruins.
However, since there was an intention to evolve humanity, once zombies were created, it was only a step away from the God Serum. After the data was retrieved, several large bases, over three years and with numerous zombie specimens, had developed the God Serum.
It could unlock the forbidden zone within the human body...
Control genes...
However, mass production had not yet been achieved, and it could not be mass-produced.
Furthermore, the current version of the serum was only 1.45.
It could not achieve complete control over all human genes.
The effects were limited.
"It sounds a lot like a gene lock..."
"After taking it, does it unlock the first stage of the gene lock?"
After various toxicity tests.
Fang Ming consumed the 1.45 version of the gene serum himself.
Immediately, he felt his control over his own body become more "microscopic."
Cultivators, in general, have weak physical bodies but strong spells and artifacts.
When two cultivators fight, they unleash offensive spells and resist with defensive spells; they do not use their physical bodies to resist magical artifacts or spirit artifacts.
Although there is a path of body cultivation, it is not something ordinary cultivators pursue.
Generally speaking, the physical bodies of ordinary cultivators are far weaker than magical artifacts and spells of the same level.
Fang Ming was like this originally.
His ability to infiltrate large bases and resist or evade various firearms relied on his spiritual power and talismans. Without talismans or spiritual power, after exhausting his spiritual power, ninety-nine percent of his strength would vanish on the spot.
Fang Ming's physical body was a weakness.
Now, although this God Serum was not yet perfect, it allowed him to slightly escape this weakness. At the current stage, Fang Ming's physical body was comparable to some body cultivators of the same level, even surpassing them.
Fang Ming's Qi Cultivation was at the first layer, and with the use of talismans, he could temporarily rival a cultivator at the fifth layer. Now, Fang Ming estimated that his physical body's strength could withstand a cultivator at the third layer.
One layer of spiritual power, three layers of body refinement, could be said to be a rough comparison.
And unlike body cultivators who temper their physical bodies, he was opening God's Forbidden Zone and controlling genes, improving his physical body from a microscopic level. While seemingly similar, there was an essential difference.
Fang Ming had also gained some benefits from this zombie world, finally improving his own strength.
However, Fang Ming could already feel that the potential of this zombie world was exhausted. The so-called God Serum, the culprit behind the apocalypse of this world, could only improve one's physical body to the point of withstanding a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Cultivation.
Qi Cultivation was merely a handyman disciple's cultivation technique.
Cloud Sea Technique was an outer disciple's cultivation technique.
The spiritual power of the third layer of Qi Cultivation was only comparable to the spiritual power of the first layer of Cloud Sea Technique.
Any outer disciple who had begun cultivation could rival the cultivation level of a body cultivator who had opened God's Forbidden Zone.
This was far too low.
Although the God Serum could continue to be perfected, the research time would likely be measured in decades.
Fang Ming could not wait that long.
"The power-up system in this world is truly lacking."
"The so-called opening of God's Forbidden Zone and controlling genes is likely only equivalent to unlocking the first tier of a gene lock..."