The vial of evolution liquid entered Shen Chen's stomach. As he breathed deeply and entered absorption mode, a faint current of energy flowed through his body. Shen Chen greedily sucked up the fluid like a sponge. The potent effects of the medicine swept through his body with a crushing force, making his body emit light snapping sounds. His muscles and bones strengthened. He felt a cold feeling.
Finally, he opened his eyes. His eyes were radiating. He suddenly walked out of his room onto the balcony. Looking at the strong steel rails on the balcony, he lightly rested his hand on them, then squeezed. As Shen Chen exerted force, five fingerprints appeared on the steel railing. Shen Chen kept a straight face, continuing to exert pressure on the railing. The prints on the steel gradually deepened. In the end, it caved in by a whole finger's depth.
Content, Shen Chen let go. It seemed like he had finished another fifteen percent of the first level of strengthening and had reached thirty percent. The speed somewhat surprised him. If he continued progressing at this speed, he would only need to consume six or seven more vials of evolution fluid before he could reach First Tier. By that time, he would truly have the power to protect himself in the apocalypse. He could also start practicing some martial arts techniques that had leaked from the military during his previous life.
Shen Chen looked at the remaining vials in his room in consideration. 'It seems like I should let my brothers drink the fluids soon, too.'
…
Zhang Xiaoya charmingly lay in Zhao Zhen's arms, a faint blush still on her cheeks. Gazing at the man next to her, who seemed to have aged a lot, for the first time Zhang Xiaoya thought she had made the right decision in choosing him in spite all her friends' dissuasion. At least she was still alive.
Perhaps her gaze was too scorching, because Zhao Zhen turned around slightly. "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, I'm thinking about Shen Chen."
Hearing her mention Shen Chen, Zhao Zhen immediately became severe. "What? Do you also hold objections against boss like that idiot Lin Qianqian?"
Zhang Xiaoya quickly waved her hands. "Why would I? I was just thinking, if it weren't for him, we'd probably be dead by now."
Only then did Zhao Zhen let out a sigh of relief. "That's right. Boss saved our lives. Don't be like Lin Qianqian. Don't hang out with her, either. She treats Boss with such animosity. In my opinion, that woman either has a screw loose, or she has something to count on."
Zhang Xiaoya nodded. "I heard her family is very powerful. She's some official's daughter. She's out of Pan Di's reach. No wonder she's so arrogant."
Zhao Zhen scoffed. "So what if they're officials? It's Doomsday now. There are zombies everywhere. To me, this is the true age of justice. Whoever has true strength can live on!"
Zhang Xiaoya nodded in agreement. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She said, "Oh, right. Boss ordered Ye Xiaoyu to manage the food today?"
Zhao Zhen furrowed his brows. "What? You have something against that?" He patted Zhang Xiaoya's shoulder and said, "That girl is very strong. She's no weaker than us men. Shen Chen seems to treat her differently, too. You guys live in the same room. You must get along with her. Don't fight over trivial things!" Then Zhao Zhen stared into Zhang Xiaoya's eyes intently. "Both of our parents aren't in S City. No one knows what happened to them. Xiaoya, we are each other's family in this world. I don't want you to die. I don't want to see you turn into a zombie! I'm serious!"
Zhang Xiaoya was a little stupefied. She didn't expect to have such a high standing in Zhao Zhen's heart. His words moved her greatly. She nodded with tears in her eyes.
Knocking came from the door. "Zhen, Boss is calling us!"
Zhao Zhen immediately got out of bed and kissed Zhang Xiaoya's forehead. He smiled, then put on his clothes and left the room. Under Zhang Xiaoya's longing glance, he followed Pan Di and Guo Yuan into Shen Chen's room.
Three tubes of evolution fluid were placed in front of Zhao Zhen, Guo Yuan, and Pan Di. The three of them stared at Shen Chen in surprise.
Shen Chen smiled coolly. "Don't you want to know how I suddenly became so strong?"
Their eyes lit up. Zhao Zhen asked in surprise, "Boss, do you mean…?"
"You'll know once you drink it," Shen Chen said with a smile, pointing to the evolution fluid.
The three of them exchanged a look, an uncontrollable delight on their faces. They picked up the evolution fluid without a thought and finished it in one gulp.
Instantly, the three of them felt a sensation that was impossible to put into words, as if a volcano had exploded in the depths of their bodies and lava had poured out. The energy that surged out put them in excruciating pain. Guo Yuan's knees went weak, and he fell to the floor.
"Boss…" Zhao Zhen said shakily. His face was red, as if he had just drunk wine. He hurt like he was being torn apart.
Pan Di gritted his teeth. The veins on his neck stood out.
If not for the fact that they trusted Shen Chen, they probably would have thought that he had just fed them poison. The sensation was like being flayed from the inside out.
"Don't be nervous. Close your eyes and sit down with your legs crossed. Carefully perceive this power," Shen Chen shouted suddenly. His words soothed the three brothers, and they felt reassured. They nodded, anxiety disappearing from their faces. They sat down with their legs crossed and perceived everything as Shen Chen ordered.
Shen Chen stared at his watch, watching beads of sweat seep out from their foreheads, each frowning, enduring all the painful torture. He couldn't blame them for feeling anxious. The first time a human drinks the fluid, it did bring great discomfort. Shen Chen had felt the same way in his previous life. Although he didn't have that feeling in this life, it didn't mean that Zhao Zhen and the rest wouldn't feel pain. They could only endure it all through sheer force of will.
Three hours ticked by. Zhao Zhen was the first to open his eyes. He waved his fists in surprise, an excited look on his face. Zhao Zhen scratched his head and said, "Boss, why do I feel a mysterious power? I feel so much stronger, like I have endless energy. This medicine is amazing!"
However, Shen Chen frowned. After three hours of absorption, judging from the speed at which Zhao Zhen swung his fists, he may have only absorbed thirty percent. This meant that Zhao Zhen had barely reached the standard of a neo-human. The low ratio might make it very difficult for him to survive in the future, but he didn't say this to Zhao Zhen.
Great confidence radiated from Shen Chen's eyes. So what if he only absorbed thirty percent? He was already one step ahead. He was certain that with his experiences from the previous life, it won't be impossible for Zhao Zhen to reach the level he was at in his previous life with his help.
Shen Chen's brows relaxed, then he said with a smile, "Let's wait for Third and Fourth."
"Okay."
Approximately two more hours later, Pan Di and Guo Yuan woke up one after another. The moment they opened their eyes, a brilliant light flashed out of their pupils. Shen Chen took a sharp breath. In his previous life, Third and Fourth only had a ratio of around forty percent. They had just been ordinary neo-humans. But in this life, they were able to obtain the radiance that only people who reached sixty percent had. They were above average among neo-humans.
'Is this evolution fluid more effective the earlier you drink it?' Shen Chen carefully recalled those King Tier and Saint Tier masters from his previous life and felt more certain about his speculation. If this were the case, then he must pick up his pace in collecting and drinking the evolution fluid.
"Boss, it's so effective."
"Boss, it's awesome."
Pan Di and Guo Yuan could barely believe it. They started running around in the spacious room. Their speeds were much faster.
Suddenly, Pan Di shouted and punched the wall. A bowl-sized hollow cavity appeared in the wall. Pan Di held his hand and jumped, crying in pain, yet he had an uncontrollable joy on his face.
Seeing this, Guo Yuan punched the wall too. He also made a cavity. This was completely unimaginable before. Seeing this, Zhao Ze also itched for a try.
Watching the three of them, Shen Chen held his forehead and said helplessly, "Go back to your own rooms if you want to test out your fists. Don't tear my room down!"
The three of them all burst out into laughter. This was the happiest day they had had since the apocalypse started. With the evolution fluid, and with this kind of power, they would definitely survive through the apocalypse.
Suddenly, Zhao Zhen, Pan Di, and Guo Yuan exchanged a look, then they all snickered. They stared at Shen Chen naughtily, all looking very eager.
Shen Chen went blank for a second, then chuckled. "Why are you guys rubbing your fists?"
"Boss, how about we fight?" Pan Di said with a grin.
Guo Yuan joined in, too. "Boss, we won't tear down your room, but you've got to let us release this awesome power!"
Shen Chen laughed. "You're really impatient. Fine, you just drank the evolution fluid, and you're full of power. Let's fight, then."
"Alright!" Pan Di was confident in his combat capacity. He chuckled and said, "Watch out, boss!" After he said that, he ran up and punched his heavy fist toward Shen Chen with a whipping wind.
The punch was completely different from his punches of the past. A normal person's punch theoretically had about thirty kilograms of force. Wrestlers' punches could reach about one hundred and fifty kilograms. But after Pan Di drank the evolution fluid, his punch was at least two hundred kilograms in power.
Shen Chen kept a straight face. When the fist was only an inch away from his face, he twisted and pushed the punch away. Then he pushed forcefully. Pan Di felt a strong power from where his fist had reached, and took a few steps back from the impact.
An expression of disbelief flashed in Pan Di's eyes. He was used to fighting. He knew that his punch from earlier, with the help of the evolution fluid, was enough to punch through a dozen bricks, but Shen Chen didn't move an inch against such a force. He even managed to corner him with a single push. How strong was he?
Shen Chen shook his head. "You three, all at once! Let me test the strength in your bodies!"