"Thank goodness you're here. We almost couldn't hold out during the wolf pack attack just now!" Zhao Xiyue said, looking at Zhang Chen with a captivating gaze.
"Huh? I thought you guys were deliberately attracting these monsters to level up!" Zhang Chen asked in surprise. "If not, why use the attractant?"
"Attractant? What attractant?" Zhao Xiyue looked confused.
Zhang Chen activated his Absolute Vision and looked towards the military base. He saw an energy source underground behind the city wall, continuously releasing energy outwards.
A moment later, a line of prompts slowly appeared:
[This location contains an excessive amount of bio-attractant, which will cause large-scale beast tide attacks in a short period. The remaining time until the next beast tide attack is 59 minutes and 22 seconds...]
Another beast tide was coming soon? Zhang Chen frowned. From Zhao Xiyue's words, it was clear they were completely unaware of this.
Many members on the city wall had witnessed Zhang Chen's strength. Seeing him again now, they all cheered. It was like welcoming a returning warrior.
Seeing this, Ke Erde felt very uncomfortable. He was supposed to be the one enjoying the cheers and admiring gazes. Zhao Xiyue was supposed to be his too. Yet, this lucky kid had stolen all the spotlight.
Zhang Chen and Zhao Xiyue jumped onto the city wall and met Zhao Longchuan. They exchanged a few pleasantries.
Zhao Longchuan suddenly beckoned Ke Erde over, then said to Zhang Chen, "Let me introduce you to a friend. He accurately predicted the arrival time, monster types, and attack characteristics of every beast tide. Without him, we probably wouldn't have lasted until now!"
Ke Erde adjusted his demeanor and approached Zhang Chen with a smile. "My name is Ke Erde, a previous轮回者 (reincarnator), belonging to the Prophet organization. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He didn't extend his hand for a handshake. Instead, he looked down at Er Pang below the city wall and continued, "Your luck is truly incredible, having such a powerful energy beast protecting you. No wonder you dare to wander around in the apocalyptic night. You are truly fortunate!"
"Although I also have an energy beast, it's not as strong as yours, so I could only climb up step by step in the apocalypse. The difficulty far exceeds your imagination!" As he spoke, he turned back and stroked the Winged Wind standing on his shoulder. The implication was clear: I also have an energy beast. Although it's slightly inferior to yours, my personal combat strength is superior. These words were also meant for Zhao Xiyue, to let her know that personal strength is more practical than becoming stronger through pets.
[Winged Wind, B-class energy beast, skilled in reconnaissance and sonic attacks.]
"The Prophet organization is annihilated. Who are you?" Zhang Chen asked coldly, not paying attention to Ke Erde's boasting.
"Who said the Prophet organization is annihilated? That's slander!" Ke Erde was stunned and quickly defended himself.
"Whether it's annihilated or not, what's the deal with you releasing excessive bio-attractant in the city?" Zhang Chen pressed again.
"Bio-attractant?" Zhao Longchuan exclaimed in surprise. "You mean the beast tide attacks are not a normal phenomenon of the third stage of the apocalypse, but we are the only ones being attacked? And it's all caused by bio-attractant?"
"That's right. Beast tides only occurred at the beginning of the third stage with the mutated rat tide. After that, there were none!" Zhang Chen stated seriously.
"You... what is your objective?" Zhao Longchuan quickly pulled Zhao Xiyue to his side and shouted loudly. The team members on the city wall heard the commotion and immediately became vigilant, slowly surrounding Ke Erde.
"I suspect he's using the Prophet organization's name as a front, raising your levels, and then killing you to upgrade!" Zhang Chen said.
"This..." Zhao Longchuan's heart skipped a beat. Indeed, there was such a possibility. Most people in the camp were now intermediate Transcenders. Killing them would only yield "Energy Gathering Crystals," which were useless to those above advanced Transcender. So... he wanted to cultivate everyone to become advanced Transcenders or higher before slaughtering them... Thinking this, Zhao Longchuan and Zhao Xiyue exchanged glances, breaking out in a cold sweat. If it weren't for Zhang Chen, they would probably have been sold and still counting the money for him.
"Hahahaha, even if you've discovered it, what of it?" Ke Erde, seeing through, wanted to continue his act. But he noticed the Zhao Longchuan and Zhao Xiyue siblings' almost blind trust in Zhang Chen; they believed whatever he said without hesitation. At this point, pretending was pointless.
He leaped up suddenly, and the Winged Wind on his shoulder instantly transformed into its amplified form, carrying its master into the air. "I admit, your Wolf King is indeed powerful, but I'm in mid-air now, and your Wolf King can't be effective. What can you do to me?"
"I let you trash like yourselves grow for your own good. Even if I kill you in the future, at least you've experienced the joy of becoming strong, right?"
"I wasted so much time, sharing my combat experience and information about apocalyptic monsters, and this is the reward I get?"
"Human hearts are truly unpredictable. You people don't deserve to live in this world!"
"Let me let you feel the fear of being dominated by evolved powerhouses!" Ke Erde raised both his hands, and a powerful energy flow slowly gathered and condensed between them, emitting a dazzling light.
[Super Energy Burst]: Condenses all the body's energy to unleash a devastating, wide-range attack (1000% of attack power), usable once every three days!
Zhao Longchuan was about to order his subordinates to fire energy beams while the opponent was charging, but Zhang Chen stopped him. This powerful attack was a good opportunity to test his own skills.
"Die!" Ke Erde laughed maniacally. He suddenly threw his hands forward, and an energy sphere the size of a building instantly plummeted towards everyone's heads.
[Shield of the God of Light]! Zhang Chen gently held it up with his left hand.
*Hummm!*
A semi-transparent golden shield, covering the entire military base, appeared out of thin air.
*Boom!*
The colossal energy sphere struck the shield like a child throwing a small pebble at a shield. The energy was instantly dissipated into nothingness! The golden light emanating from the golden shield directly scorched the Winged Wind, emitting the aroma of roasted meat.
Ke Erde, filled with horror, plummeted from mid-air, suffering severe burns over a large area of his body. Similarly, as an evolved being, Zhang Chen's base attributes were already six times that of the same level, and entering the evolved state doubled it again... Plus the divine talent buffs... Zhang Chen could instantly kill low-level survivors with a snap of his fingers, overwhelm those of the same level, and fight against higher-level survivors with one hand. Such battles were hardly exciting. The shield's 300% scorching attack alone almost burned Ke Erde to death... It was truly a boring fight...
However, the moment Ke Erde landed, he used the last of his strength to pull a small item from his ring and pressed it. Instantly, a strong smell emanated from within the city wall. Zhao Longchuan's pupils contracted, and he cried out, "Not good!"