Chapter 347: Entering The Shelter Again
Although the water blade was unlikely to pose much of a threat to powerful survivors at its current level, Vikram wasn’t in a hurry.
The previous water blade had been clearly unstable. Even after taking shape, faint ripples constantly flowed across its surface, making it far from perfect.
As long as Divya continued practicing, the water blade’s sharpness, stability, and lethality would undoubtedly improve.
For now, however, there was no point in continuing the experiment.
Divya had only just awakened her ability, and after using it repeatedly, she was already feeling exhausted.
With Vikram supporting her, she slowly returned to the underground living area.
After dinner, Divya immediately lay down on the soft, spacious bed and quickly fell asleep.
Vikram didn’t disturb her, allowing her to rest peacefully.
She slept incredibly well. By the time she woke up the next day, it was already eleven in the morning.
Divya rubbed her messy hair before looking at Vikram, who had just walked into the room.
"Vikram, what exactly is happening to me? Is this a side effect of using a special ability? Why do I constantly feel like I’m about to faint?"
Whether it was the excruciating headache she had experienced when awakening the ability or the dizziness after repeatedly using it yesterday, Divya couldn’t understand what was happening.
She urgently wanted to know the reason.
After all, this kind of sudden unconsciousness was almost impossible to resist.
It was one thing if it happened inside their own territory, where everyone could protect her while she rested.
But if she were fighting outside and suddenly collapsed before the battle had even begun, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Vikram thought for a moment before speaking.
"I think I know the reason."
Seeing Divya’s confused expression, he continued,
"Legendary-grade special abilities are controlled by mental power, not just physical strength."
"Your physique hasn’t reached the required standard yet, which is why you fell unconscious when you first awakened the ability yesterday."
Divya suddenly understood.
"So that’s why..."
Vikram nodded.
"The same applies when you use the ability repeatedly. Every activation consumes mental power. Once it’s exhausted, there’s a high chance you’ll collapse on the spot."
"So don’t overuse your ability unless it’s absolutely necessary."
"No wonder..." Divya muttered.
"I thought I was perfectly healthy. I didn’t expect using a special ability to make me faint so easily."
She then looked at Vikram curiously.
"But what exactly is this mental power? Why can’t I find it on my status panel? It still only shows the four-dimensional physique."
She opened her status panel.
Besides her four physical attributes, there was now only one additional section.
Special Ability:
Tsunami Wave Lv.0
Divya blinked in surprise.
"It even has levels?"
Vikram nodded.
"Legendary-grade abilities can be upgraded. As their level increases, their power, range, and the amount of mental power they consume will also increase."
"As for the Spirit attribute, it won’t appear until all four of your physical attributes exceed 100 points."
"Only then will your status panel unlock the Spirit section."
"Hundreds..."
Divya lowered her head and looked at her current physique.
Realization slowly dawned on her.
She had already noticed that every time her physique crossed a multiple of ten, her body underwent noticeable changes.
Now it seemed the biggest transformation would occur once all four attributes surpassed one hundred.
"I wonder what it’ll feel like then..."
Looking at the water sphere floating above her palm, Divya smiled.
"Maybe I’ll really become a superwoman by then."
As she spoke, she dismissed the water sphere with a thought before pushing open the door and walking outside.
Looking at the water sphere formed by her special ability, Divya smiled to herself and walked toward the door.
Just as she was about to open it, Vikram gently caught her wrist.
"What?" she asked, looking at him in confusion.
Instead of answering immediately, Vikram smiled, guided her back onto the bed, and whispered,
"I want to see just how much stronger you’ve become."
Divya instantly understood what he meant, and her cheeks flushed a deep red.
A while later, the quiet room was filled with her soft moaning and embarrassed complaints.
"Even if I become a superwoman," she said, pouting as she looked at him, "there will always be a Superman like you who leaves me completely exhausted."
Vikram only chuckled at her complaint, while Divya couldn’t help but smile despite herself.
Following that he also invited Luna, Sophia and Anjali.
They wanted to refuse it, by saying, "Tonight is the day the new natural disaster arrives. We can do this later."
But Vikram didn’t hear their suggestions, and again one by one they all started moaning his name with love.
After his little Vikram finally calmed down, Vikram prepared to leave the Shelter alone.
Just as he was about to head out, Divya walked over.
"Are you going to hunt zombies again?" she asked.
Vikram nodded.
"I’m planning to clear a Zombie Lair. I also want to see if I can obtain some gems or other useful resources."
Hearing that, Divya’s eyes lit up.
"Can I come with you?"
"I’ve only just awakened my ability, and I want to test it in actual combat instead of only attacking trees."
Vikram thought for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. It’ll also be a good opportunity for you to become familiar with your ability."
A smile immediately appeared on Divya’s face.
Unlike before, when going out alone, Vikram didn’t drive his favorite vehicle. Instead, after a long time, he chose the Universal Motorcycle and rode away from the Shelter with Divya seated behind him.
Their destination was clear—a Zombie Lair.
Currently, besides high-grade Crystal Cores, the only items capable of enhancing one’s physique were various gems. Without exception, they either dropped from Epic-grade zombies or could only be obtained from the relic treasure chests left behind after clearing zombie lairs.
There had once been many zombie lairs near the Shelter.
However, after Vikram’s last large-scale sweep, almost all of the nearby lairs had been wiped out, leaving none in the surrounding area.
"I wonder if these Zombies have evolved after not visiting a Zombie lair for so long."
"I am terrifyingly strong now. I hope they don’t disappoint me."
With a physique over a hundred, he felt an inexhaustible surge of power throughout his body. At the moment, it wasn’t just for strength and physique; more than that, he wanted to find a suitable opponent to practice with.
But he was also not so stupid, Phantom Druid was also with him, but instead of Universal Vehicle, it was moving on its legs.
And its speed was easily competing against the Universe Motorcycle.
"Hoo—"
After driving three or four kilometers, seeing the gradually increasing number of Zombies on the road, Vikram knew they were heading in the right direction.
Around his Shelter, most of the Zombie Lairs had already been destroyed, making it difficult for the zombie population to grow.
The increasing number of Zombies here could only mean one thing, there were several underground Zombie Lairs nearby.
Sure enough, after driving another dozen meters, a familiar flesh-and-blood structure appeared before them.
Without hesitation, Vikram parked the motorcycle, and the two of them got off.
The surrounding Zombies quickly noticed the two survivors who had dared to approach their lair.
With ferocious roars, more than thirty Zombies rushed toward them from all directions.
Just as Vikram was about to step forward, Divya stretched out an arm to stop him.
"Leave this to me."
Vikram smiled and took a few steps back.
"Alright. Show me what you’ve learned."
Hearing his approval, Divya took a deep breath.
A stream of water gathered above her palm, rapidly condensing into a floating water blade.
Although it still wasn’t perfectly stable, it was far more refined than yesterday.
With a flick of her fingers, she pointed toward the charging zombies.
"Go!"
Swish!
The water blade shot forward like a streak of blue light.
It instantly sliced through the neck of the leading Zombie before continuing onward.
Without slowing down, it pierced through the heads of two more Zombies before finally losing its form and scattering into ordinary water.
Seeing that the attack had been effective, Divya immediately summoned another water blade.
This time, her movements were noticeably smoother.
One blade after another flew across the battlefield.
Some pierced through Zombie skulls, while others severed their necks.
Within moments, more than twenty Zombies had collapsed to the ground.
Although a few water blades missed their vital points, they still left deep wounds, greatly reducing the Zombies’ combat ability.
Watching from behind, Vikram nodded with satisfaction.
Divya’s control over Tsunami Wave was improving at a visible rate.
She was clearly becoming more proficient with each attack.
The remaining Zombies continued charging mindlessly.
However, without Vikram making a single move, they were all cut down by Divya’s successive water blades.
Soon, silence returned to the area.
Looking at the corpses scattered across the ground, Divya let out a long breath.
Her face was slightly pale from the mental strain, but a bright smile appeared on her face.
"I did it."
Vikram walked over with a smile.
"Not bad."
"Your control has improved much faster than I expected."
The two of them collected the Crystal Cores from the fallen Zombies one by one.
Afterward, Vikram stepped forward and smashed the exposed flesh-and-blood structure of the Zombie Lair with a single strike of his tungsten steel hammer.
The entrance instantly collapsed.
Without hesitation, the two of them jumped into the underground lair together.
Having entered Zombie Lairs several times before, Vikram quickly led Divya to the central chamber where Zombies evolved into higher ranks.
What caught his attention was that the strongest Zombie in the lair had already reached the Violet-Gold rank, yet it was still absorbing nutrients from the surrounding Zombies.
"Could it be that this lair can evolve a Zombie by more than half a rank... and directly create a Legendary-level Zombie?"
"That would be troublesome."
Standing beside him, Divya also looked at the grotesque scene with a solemn expression.
Since awakening her ability, she had become much more sensitive to danger. Even from a distance, she could feel the oppressive aura emanating from the Violet-Gold Zombie.
By now, Vikram had a rough understanding of the physique corresponding to each monster rank.
Below Epic rank, the strongest monsters generally wouldn’t exceed forty points in any physical attribute.
Epic-rank monsters usually possessed fifty or more points of physique.
Above that was the Violet-Gold rank, only half a step away from Legendary, with physiques generally ranging between sixty and eighty points.
Even at that level, they were already opponents that most survivors couldn’t defeat.
Large shelters would likely need to mobilize dozens of elites just to have a chance of killing one.
However, a Legendary monster was an entirely different existence.
Vikram still remembered the Legendary Zombie inside the hospital.
Apart from its slightly lower speed, its remaining three attributes had all exceeded one hundred points.
If Zombie Lairs could truly nurture Legendary Zombies, then even he would have to treat them with caution.
Thinking of this, Vikram’s expression became serious.
"The forces on the surface are developing rapidly..."
"...but beneath the ground, where survivors rarely pay attention, the dangers created by the Wasteland World are evolving just as quickly."
As he spoke, his movements didn’t slow in the slightest.
He raised his pistol and accurately shot every Zombie surrounding the Violet-Gold Zombie, leaving only the strongest one alive.
Without the surrounding Zombies supplying it with nutrients, the giant flesh cocoon in the center immediately ruptured.
Roar!!!
The Violet-Gold Zombie landed heavily on the ground, letting out an earth-shaking roar.
Divya instinctively summoned a water blade, preparing to attack.
However, Vikram raised a hand, signaling her to stop.
"Don’t interfere."
"I want to personally test the strength of a Violet-Gold Zombie."
Divya nodded and immediately stepped back, remaining alert in case Vikram encountered any unexpected danger.
The enraged Zombie, furious that its evolution had been interrupted, instantly charged toward Vikram.
Its massive claw tore through the air, accompanied by a nauseating stench.
Facing the incoming attack, Vikram remained completely calm.
He simply raised his fist.
Bang!
The Zombie’s gigantic arm exploded into a shower of flesh and blood the moment the two attacks collided.
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