Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 14 Superpowered Beasts

Seven or eight uneventful days passed. With the addition of the superhumans, the supply search teams were able to travel further each time, carrying more and more goods, and the number of survivors was slowly increasing. As Li Chenglong and Yun Lan led their respective training expeditions, the original 22 superhumans gradually advanced to Level 2. Moreover, amidst the wave of comprehensive training, many survivors applied to join the army, but Li Chenglong and Zheng Yong felt that quality was more important than quantity, so they were strict in their selection. Even so, the army's size increased from 100 to over 200. At seven in the morning, Li Chenglong was having breakfast with Yun Lan, Li Xue, and Zheng Yong when Yun Qian brought over a notebook and said, "Team Leader Li, Company Commander Zheng, according to last night's comprehensive statistics, we currently have 1025 survivors, 207 members of the garrison, and 30 superhumans including Team Leader Li and the other two." The title "garrison" was a temporary name agreed upon by Li Chenglong, Zheng Yong, and Wang Yousheng for ease of management. Moreover, as the supply search team ventured further and further into the past few days, five more superhumans from among the survivors joined Li Chenglong's team.

After listening to Yun Qian's report, Li Chenglong asked, "Yun Qian, you did a great job. You probably haven't eaten yet, right? Sit down and have something to eat." Yun Qian smiled and joined the breakfast tasting. The group finished breakfast chatting and laughing, and then Li Chenglong led Li Xue and the other ability users, along with the supply search team, to set off. As the number of ability users increased, Li Chenglong decided to divide the thirty people into three groups after Li Xue leveled up. One group would set off with the search team in the morning, another in the afternoon, and the third would join the night patrol team to ensure the hospital's safety. The three groups were temporarily led by Li Xue, Yun Lan, and himself, with Li Chenglong leading a team mainly composed of soldiers from the Second Company to handle the more strenuous nighttime hours.

In fact, these past few days, Yunlan usually brought Li Xue out, and Li Chenglong would also have Wu Gang and a few other stronger ability users accompany them, while he himself would bring a few relatively weaker ones. But today, Li Xue told her that she seemed to be close to breaking through, so Li Chenglong took out the remaining four orange crystals and gave them to her so that she could break through in the best possible condition. He had already given away the other six orange crystals and the remaining red crystals as rewards over the past seven or eight days. At that time, after discussing with Yunlan and Zheng Yong, he decided to reward the ability users with a red or orange crystal each time they performed the best or worked the hardest, in order to incentivize them.

Although Li Chenglong also wanted to kill some high-level zombies to obtain high-grade crystals, he didn't know what had happened in the past two days. He had killed several level-two zombies, and even a level-three Licker, but none of them dropped crystals of crimson rank or higher. His luck had been extremely bad. The supply search team's target was a wholesale market 8 kilometers away. They hadn't encountered many zombies along the way. While many members of the team were a little nervous, many of the ability users found it boring. Li Chenglong's team of ability users this time didn't include powerful individuals like Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo, nor did they include Liu Dongliang. They only had Yun Qian, Hao Dahai, and others. Although they were weaker, with this level-four ability user present, ensuring their safety was no problem.

An hour later, the group finally arrived at the wholesale market. Li Chenglong assigned four ability users to guard the vehicles transporting supplies, while he and Li Xue led the other ability users inside to clear out any zombies or other strange beasts that might appear. The ability users worked in pairs to coordinate and minimize losses. Li Chenglong activated his True Sight and sensed a strong energy deep within the wholesale market. He used his walkie-talkie to warn everyone to be careful before heading to the area emanating from the energy source with Li Xue.

When Li Chenglong and Li Xue reached the fresh food section, they found a three-meter-tall rooster greedily devouring pieces of pork on the ground. The pork had been sitting for a few days and was no longer fresh. However, the rooster didn't seem to care, swallowing half a piece of pork in one gulp. Li Chenglong activated his True Sight: Level 3 Exotic Beast, Five-Colored Rooster, a mutated rooster, with Constitution 45, Strength 50, Agility 37, and Spirit 20. Its special moves are Giant Beak and Sharp Claws. "This rooster's stats are very high," Li Chenglong murmured, then pulled Li Xue aside and whispered, "I'll be the main damage dealer. You help restrict its movement, and then you can finish off the enemies. That way, you'll definitely reach level 4."

Li Xue nodded, first gathering energy in her hands while chanting incantations. Two ice arrows shot out, directly towards the rooster. The rooster, engrossed in its pork, was unaware that its legs were instantly frozen solid. "Cluck cluck cluck!" the rooster crowed angrily, its wings straining to free its legs from the ice. Then, an ice wall crashed down, slamming the rooster into a daze. "Cluck cluck, cluck cluck, cluck cluck cluck," blood trickled from the rooster's comb, fueling its rage. Two more ice arrows flew towards it, but the rooster spread its wings and dodged them. Reaching a high point, the rooster saw Li Chenglong and his companion, then stretched out its beak, flapped its wings, and charged towards them.

"Exploding Light Bullets!" Li Chenglong unleashed several waves of light bullets to block the rooster's advance, igniting its feathers. Seeing its beautiful feathers damaged, the multicolored rooster charged forward. Li Chenglong pulled Li Xue aside, but the rooster, charging too fast, couldn't stop and crashed into a concrete wall. "Star Dragon Slash!" Taking advantage of the rooster's disorientation, Li Chenglong drew his Dragon Emperor Sword and unleashed a powerful attack. A blue, dragon-shaped light wave shot towards the multicolored rooster. The rooster had just recovered and tried to block with its wings, but it overestimated their defensive capabilities. The Star Dragon Slash's sword energy sliced ​​off the rooster's wing, and blood gushed out. Seeing that one of its wings had been severed, the multicolored rooster considered fleeing.

The colorful rooster scratched at the ground with its two sharp claws, preparing to charge. Where its claws struck, deep furrows were carved into the concrete. Li Chenglong and Li Xue prepared to defend against the rooster's attack, but the rooster, lacking any sense of martial ethics, turned and fled to the left halfway through its charge. Seeing the rooster trying to escape, Li Chenglong seized the opportunity, rushing forward and severing one of its claws with a powerful stroke. The rooster, now crippled, lost its ability to move. Li Chenglong plunged his sword into the rooster's heart: "Xue'er, finish it off." Li Xue, already prepared, unleashed a rapid-fire water sphere, ending the rooster's life.

At this moment, Li Xue's spiritual sea began to churn, and the third level of the Martial Tower flashed a dazzling blue. Then, a beam of light, light blue, burst through the gate of the fourth level of the Martial Tower. A light blue mermaid figure gradually materialized behind Li Xue, then scattered, causing several large fish tanks containing fish, shrimp, and crabs to explode. Although the scene caused by Li Xue's upgrade wasn't as spectacular as Li Chenglong's and Yun Lan's, it was still quite magnificent. Ordinary ability users only experience minor changes when they upgrade. Like Hao Dahai's upgrade a few days ago; he was originally a fire-type ability user, and when he upgraded to level two, he only felt a sudden, intense heat throughout his body, and then he leveled up.

Li Chenglong activated his True Eye: Li Xue, an A-rank mermaid level 4 awakener, with physique 85, strength 80, agility 87, and spirit 95. She possesses super perception, purification power, level 3 Extreme Cold Ice Arrow (max level 6), level 2 Qi recovery, level 2 Ice Shield, level 1 Azure Staff, and level 1 Healing. Li Chenglong couldn't help but wonder where the previous rapid water bullet had gone. At this moment, Li Xue had already withdrawn her aura and recovered from her upgrade state. Li Chenglong immediately went up to her: "How do you feel?" Li Xue opened her palm, and a stream of water transformed within it, sometimes into a person, sometimes into an elephant, and sometimes into a small dog. Then Li Xue stopped the water flow and said, "I feel great." Li Chenglong asked his question, "I remember you had a Rapid Water Bomb skill at level one, but I noticed it was gone when I used the Eye of Truth just now. What happened?" Li Xue paused and said, "When I was leveling up and learning skills just now, it prompted me that I had too many skills and had to choose one to give up. But I didn't want to give up the new skill. Considering that Rapid Water Bomb had very low damage and was a bit useless, I decided to just focus on being a support and gave up that skill."

Li Chenglong hadn't expected there to be a limit on the number of skills. He wondered which skill he would have to give up when he reached level five. Just as Li Chenglong was pondering this, the other ability users and members of the search team heard the sounds of the battle and rushed over. They found a huge chicken lying on the road, blood oozing from its wings, legs, and breast. Hao Dahai pointed at the giant rooster and said, "This chicken must weigh over two thousand pounds! Captain, you killed it so easily! That's amazing!" Yun Qian activated her level two perception ability and sensed that Li Xue was completely different from before. She exclaimed in surprise, "Li Xue, you leveled up?" Li Xue smiled sweetly, "With the help of my brother and everyone else, I successfully leveled up." Everyone congratulated Li Xue.

Seeing that it was almost time, Li Chenglong said, "Hao Dahai, get a few strength-type awakened individuals over here to help move this rooster onto the truck." Hao Dahai was surprised: "This rooster can be eaten?" Li Chenglong hadn't known that some alien beasts were edible until Yunlan told him a couple of days ago. She said Xiaofeng said that alien beasts were different from zombie beasts, and many alien beasts were edible. Moreover, the meat of alien beasts contained some energy, which was beneficial to both ability users and awakened individuals. The meat of high-level alien beasts might even awaken ordinary people into ability users. This made Li Chenglong feel a great pang of regret; he hadn't even thought to bring back the big cat he killed that day. This made Li Chenglong realize that without the Dragon Spirit, there were many things he couldn't know, so he used his mental power to sense the Dragon Spirit again. He found that the little golden dragon that the Dragon Spirit had transformed into was still asleep, and he didn't know when it would wake up. Li Chenglong smiled and told everyone about the effects of the alien beast meat. After hearing this, many people immediately surrounded the rooster, and some even wanted a fire-type ability user to roast a piece and try it.

Li Chenglong said, "The meat of mutant beasts is still quite precious. Although this rooster must weigh at least two thousand jin, after deducting the inedible parts, it's only a little over a thousand jin. There are over twelve hundred people in the hospital right now. If we distribute it evenly, it'll be at most one jin per person. Our points system has been in place for six or seven days now, so we'll do a tally when we get back, and we'll distribute the chicken meat according to the points system. You'll definitely get a share." Li Xue stepped forward and said, "Brother, you stipulated that children and people over 65 years old don't need to participate in the points system. What about them?" Li Chenglong said, "Once the dishes are ready, let's give each of them half a jin. Too much wouldn't be good." Li Xue nodded, indicating that she completely agreed with the decision.

At this moment, the supply search team reported that they had basically loaded everything they could and could return. Li Chenglong ordered everyone to remain on alert and prepare to return to the hospital. Yun Qian then came over and said, "This time, we've harvested over 2,000 jin of various meats, over 1500 jin of vegetables and fruits, 153 bags of rice, 100 barrels of cooking oil, 200 bags of flour, and dozens of sacks of various dried goods." Li Chenglong hadn't expected such a rich harvest and said, "Going to farther places yields even richer results. After we get back, let's change our operational strategy. From now on, the supply search team will only go out once a day, from 8:30 am to 6 pm. The two groups will rotate daily instead of the morning and afternoon shifts. This way, we can obtain even better supplies."

Li Chenglong paused, then continued, "Yunqian, I've spoken with Zheng Yong, and we've decided to put you in charge of logistics. Don't worry about it making leveling up difficult; we'll compensate you with crystals of the same level, so you won't fall behind others. But you absolutely must keep a close eye on these supplies; they're our lifeline. If anyone tries to embezzle or abuse their power, tell me, and I'll punish them severely." Hearing Li Chenglong's trust in her, Yunqian solemnly vowed not to let him down.

Because of the fruitful results today, everyone chatted and laughed along the way, creating a very harmonious atmosphere. As soon as they returned to the hospital, news of the search team bringing back the mutant rooster spread quickly. Yun Lan, Zheng Yong, Wang Yousheng, and representatives chosen from the survivors, Wu Suqiang and Liu Qingqing, all came out to greet them. After communicating with them, Li Chenglong first announced the uses of the mutant beast's meat, then announced that the kitchen should immediately begin cooking the chicken in separate pots, and that the chicken would be distributed according to a points system. This made many people who usually liked to slack off regret their actions, but there was nothing they could do. Now that there was a security patrol team, if they dared to steal from others, they would definitely receive severe punishment.

Upon hearing that Li Xue had successfully leveled up, Yunlan first offered her heartfelt congratulations. Then, she pulled Li Xue aside to spar with Li Chenglong. However, Li Chenglong, mindful of the commotion they'd caused during their last sparring session, said they'd do it another time. Yunlan exclaimed that Li Chenglong was definitely scared. But Li Chenglong remained unmoved, going to help Yunqian tally the scores, leaving only Yunlan and Li Xue playing around.