Chapter 41: The Terrifying Zombie Willow Tree

A thought crossed Seito's mind: just moments ago, Jiang Yi and Guo Hansueh had only been slightly stronger than him. But if their abilities continued to grow, he would truly never be able to catch up to their pace...

Jiang Yi hesitated, saying, "That should be the case. My abilities are also constantly improving step by step, but I can sense that Guo Hansueh is very different from me. If she truly breaks through, the resulting surge in power will be terrifying!"

It must be said that Jiang Yi had hit the nail on the head. No matter how powerful an ability might be, it would grow stronger alongside the user. When that strength reached a certain threshold, it would hit a bottleneck, and only a breakthrough could unleash even greater power!

This mechanism was completely different from Jiang Yi's leveling system. Yet, he had to admit that his leveling system was far more flawless than he could have ever imagined...

Guo Hansueh was thrilled. On one hand, the extreme abundance of energy within her body left her feeling full of stamina; on the other hand, she was excited by the prospect of becoming even stronger. However, when Jiang Yi turned back to look at the corpse on the ground, he smiled wryly and said, "Do you think that if human ability users can advance, zombies can also evolve once more and grow even stronger?"...

The two of them paused, struck by the high probability of that exact scenario. After all, evolved zombies were already extremely difficult to deal with; if they could grow even stronger, would humanity truly have any path left to survive?

"Forget it, let's not dwell on it for now. Hansueh merely senses that threshold at the moment. If she doesn't know how to break through, what's the use of worrying?"

Not wanting to drag down the mood, Jiang Yi interrupted their thoughts. Seito came to his senses, though Guo Hansueh looked somewhat hesitant, as feelings of that sort were inherently vague and elusive.

She instinctively rubbed her arms, remarking, "Don't you guys feel like it's suddenly freezing here?" As she spoke, she vigorously chafed her skin.

Hearing her words, Jiang Yi shuddered involuntarily. This cold was not a matter of temperature, but rather a bone-chilling frost that penetrated straight to the soul.

Only then did they remember the nature of this place. Guo Hansueh's face turned pale, entirely devoid of the fierce courage she had shown earlier while fighting the monster. "There couldn't really be ghosts here, right? Let's get out of here quickly!"...

The three of them hurried away from the western-style villa, leaving behind a floor littered with zombie corpses, where dark, pitch-black blood pooled and constantly rippled...

As Jiang Yi stepped out of the villa, he instinctively glanced back at the building before leaving. Seito urged him, "Hurry up and move, Jiang Yi!"

Jiang Yi blinked and hastily caught up. "Coming!" Yet he never imagined that the moment he turned his face away, a frail figure was quietly standing behind a shattered window on the second floor of the villa, gazing indifferently at the departing trio! An orange-red crystal flickered brilliantly between its brows...

Having left the villa, Guo Hansueh, whose energy felt somewhat overly hyperactive, proposed continuing the search for zombies. Eager to witness just how powerful Guo Hansueh had become, Jiang Yi and Seito readily agreed.

Jogging all the way toward the female dormitory, their presence quickly alerted the wandering zombies. Within just a few steps, they spotted several zombies closing in from ahead, the stench of decay wafting over from afar. Jiang Yi gestured forward to Guo Hansueh, then obediently stepped behind her alongside Seito.

Eager to test her skills, Guo Hansueh caught sight of the approaching zombies and unhesitatingly shoved her bow into Jiang Yi's arms!

Jiang Yi fumbled to catch it, his arm stinging from the impact! He glared angrily at Guo Hansueh, only to see her reach behind her right hand and pull a purple arrow from the quiver!

Gripping the shaft with both hands, she closed her eyes slightly. Three seconds later, she snapped them open. Her hands flashed continuously, and seven purple arrows were loosed almost simultaneously. They pierced through the cluster of zombies without distinction of order, dropping a vast swathe of them to the ground!

Jiang Yi's eyes widened, and Seito wore an expression of sheer astonishment...

Rushing forward, they saw that every single zombie had a long arrow deeply piercing straight through its forehead! Shocked, Jiang Yi turned back to see Guo Hansueh standing proudly with her hands on her hips, looking quite pleased with her performance. "Don't look at me like that. After drinking your potion, I felt like the energy inside me has never been this abundant. With more energy, I can pull off a lot more tricks. This is just the simplest Wind Thorn."

The moment her voice fell, Guo Hansueh raised her right hand flatly, and three miniature wind blades materialized and began to spin swiftly above her palm. Tiny and delicate though they were, they seemed to possess a mind of their own, darting and circling continuously over her hand. With a triumphant wave of her finger, the three wind blades shot forward instantly. Jiang Yi quickly tracked their trajectory, watching as the blades accelerated rapidly, growing several times larger midway before flashing past. Three zombie heads instantly flew into the air!

"Hiss!" The three of them sucked in a breath of cold air simultaneously. Even Guo Hansueh herself hadn't expected that her wild, whimsical idea would actually succeed!

However, after unleashing this move, Guo Hansueh clearly felt that nearly twenty percent of the energy within her body had been consumed. Even so, her reserves remained more than abundant...

From then on, the journey felt like Guo Hansueh's personal showcase! All the way through, not a single zombie managed to come within ten paces of them. Her abilities allowed her to effortlessly slice off zombie heads with a mere wave of her hand...

Even so, despite the heavy use of her supernatural powers, Guo Hansueh felt no sense of fatigue whatsoever. The unabsorbed potion inside her body seemed to be rapidly replenishing the energy she expended.

Only now did Jiang Yi understand why the description of the Mana Recovery Potion specifically warned users not to waste it...

A single, tiny vial of potion was enough to elevate Guo Hansueh's strength to an unprecedented intensity within a short span of time.

Of course, this intensity was limited. Once the energy inherent in the potion was completely exhausted, Guo Hansueh would no longer experience this adrenaline-fueled surge.

Powing all the way through, Guo Hansueh led her two tag-alongs back to the foot of the female dormitory building like a queen!

Jiang Yi glanced around. The zombies that had gathered were merely ordinary ones; the evolved zombie they had previously encountered was nowhere to be seen.

Guo Hansueh swept through the passing zombies with a rapid volley of arrows. Finding no sign of the monster they were looking for, she not only failed to feel relieved, but instead looked exceptionally disappointed. Having attained such immense power, she desperately needed a matching opponent to test her capabilities.

"Looks like this trip was a bust. Let's head back!" After searching the perimeter of the dormitory twice without finding a trace of the zombie, Jiang Yi had no choice but to consult the others. Though slightly disappointed, they all knew that evolved zombies were still scarce, and as more and more people discovered the usefulness of crystal cores, it had begun to feel like there were too many hunters and not enough prey.

With nothing to show for their efforts, the three prepared to leave. Just as they turned to go, Guo Hansueh abruptly stopped and stared intently at the concrete path behind them. "Did you guys hear that sound?"

Jiang Yi and Seito froze. "We didn't hear anything. Did you notice something?" Knowing that Guo Hansueh was currently the strongest among them, Jiang Yi wasn't arrogant enough to assume he could perceive everything.

Guo Hansueh watched her surroundings warily. "I'm not sure. It sounded like a roar, coming from somewhere not far away."

Jiang Yi furrowed his brow. "Do you want to go check it out?"

Guo Hansueh shrugged indifferently. "We came out to hunt anyway. Since we've spotted prey, we should go take a look."

A glint of fighting spirit flashed in Seito's eyes as well. "That's right, Jiang Yi! Not only do I need the healing from the blood-recovery potion, but Hansueh also needs an opponent to help her master her new strength!"

Jiang Yi deliberated for a few seconds before drawing his weapon. "In that case, let's go check it out!" Shortly after Guo Hansueh sensed the anomaly, Jiang Yi also began to perceive an unusual aura lingering in the air!

It was a presence he had felt from evolved zombies before, but never so concentrated, so heavy...

Clearly, the zombie radiating such an aura was by no means an ordinary monster. In fact, even the skinned zombie back at the western-style villa probably paled in comparison to the big guy they were about to encounter!

The three of them set aside their lighthearted banter, gripping their weapons tightly to regain a sense of security. Guo Hansueh nocked her bow in secret, ready to unleash terrifying lethality at a moment's notice. Stepping tentatively through the green belt outside the dormitory, the trees that once provided cool shade had grown exceptionally lush since the apocalypse, blocking out the sky and sunlight entirely.

The damp, chilly atmosphere made Jiang Yi feel somewhat uneasy. As they drew closer, the three could actually hear furious roars echoing ahead. Explosive booms constantly rattled through the woods, accompanied by tremors in the ground.

Shock flickered across their faces—could an entity truly trigger tremors? Could they actually win against such a foe?

Drawing ever closer to the roaring commotion, their tension escalated. Facing an unknown and powerful enemy, Seito surprisingly held the calmest mindset. Seeing that Guo Hansueh and Jiang Yi were clearly hesitating, Seito volunteered to scout ahead step by step!

Finally, skirting around a massive pine tree, amid a flurry of explosive crashes, a sight that left the three of them utterly incredulous unfolded before their eyes!

A tremendously sturdy zombie was frantically attacking the trunk of a willow tree in the clearing ahead! If that were all, it wouldn't have shocked them so deeply; what stunned Jiang Yi was that this willow tree had not only grown several times larger than before, but its branches were actually hung with over a hundred zombie corpses!

Every single one of these corpses had been pierced through the head by the willow branches and suspended high in the air. From a distance, it looked like a bizarrely beautiful, colorful flower tree!

Yet, the dark blood endlessly dripping down from the corpses made it impossible to appreciate any aesthetic beauty!

As the dark blood hit the ground, the earth beneath twitched faintly, countless fine green tendrils writhing and crossing like a nest of snakes, rapidly absorbing the fresh blood splashed onto the roots...

Yet this massive tree was not merely standing there passively taking the zombie's assault. Its branches, which usually hung limply to the ground, reacted to the violent impact by whipping wildly—those not currently engaged in the attack lashed out to smash against an evolved zombie on the ground! Seemingly enraged by the assault from a companion, the zombie—wearing a dark coat—threw a punch that forcefully sheared off a layer of bark from the willow. However, its limbs and neck were swiftly ensnared by the willow tendrils. The branches exerted their full strength, pulling and twisting against the trapped monster, yet they managed only to suspend the creature mid-air without inflicting any fatal wounds!