The orange cat didn't bother with the two escaped green mosquitoes anymore; the first-stage mutated beast had lost its allure for it.
It turned its head towards the city center. Despite its massive body, it was incredibly agile, disappearing within a few leaps.
After confirming the departure of the orange cat, Shaun cautiously emerged. He witnessed the advanced form of the orange cat and was utterly shocked.
He seemed to grasp that the evil evolution wasn't about infection within the mutated beasts, but rather about devouring. The virus within the mutated beasts evolved through consumption rather than infection.
The virus inside zombies, on the other hand, evolved through both infection and consumption.
It appeared that the zombie virus was more powerful, but without witnessing the specific effects of evil evolution, he couldn't make a judgment.
If it was about mutual consumption, a terrible idea started to form in Shaun's mind.
The city's mutated beasts were always in the minority, but what about the deep mountains and forests?
With numerous mutated beasts fighting each other and achieving successful evolution, what level of strength had the powerful mutated beasts reached now?
Suddenly, Shaun's body trembled. He thought about the vast oceans on the planet!
There was the true haven for mutated beasts, where the most powerful ones had likely evolved beyond his imagination.
Shaun was now evolving rapidly among zombies, but he was still just a first-stage elite zombie. Even that plump cat could easily kill him!
He gradually focused his thoughts; thinking too much right now wouldn't help.
At least he had the system, something no other creature could compare to.
He looked at the two escaped mutated green mosquitoes in the distance, and his heart was filled with greed.
Their tattered wings could no longer support their flight; they staggered in mid-air, their speed not impressive.
Shaun and the skinny zombie immediately caught up, not willing to miss this opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
However, the speed of two ordinary zombies was too slow. Shaun surged ahead, unleashing an astonishing burst of speed.
Seeing that the orange cat hadn't caught up, the two mutated green mosquitoes slowed down and began searching for zombies wandering the streets.
The nearby zombies had already been wiped out, but luckily, zombies were everywhere.
They finally found several wandering zombies, ready to use their bloodsucking ability.
The bodies of the two mutated green mosquitoes trembled, a hint of excitement emanating from them.
However, this excitement, usually felt in mundane situations, now brought them fear.
Another being of their level had arrived?!
They turned to look; several dozen meters behind them, a zombie dressed in a suit was rushing towards them with two kitchen knives in hand.
They had to abandon the chance to feed and continued flying in mid-air.
Shaun looked at the mutated green mosquitoes hovering three or four meters above his head. Similarly, he had no choice but to hold the two kitchen knives and glare at them.
Both sides seemed to be in an awkward standoff.
Shaun wasn't in a hurry either. The two green mosquitoes were already injured, and continuing to stalemate would only benefit him.
Perhaps he could even defeat the two mutated creatures without a fight, which was his favorite way.
The two mutated green mosquitoes also realized the danger and stared at Shaun with their compound eyes.
Buzz!
The sound of flapping wings rang out again as they charged directly towards him. It was a life-or-death struggle.
Perfect timing!
Shaun was incredibly excited; he tightly gripped the kitchen knives and swung them at the mosquitoes' bellies.
At the same time, he activated his skin-hardening ability!
The proboscis of the mutated green mosquitoes lost its effectiveness and made a metallic clang as it hit Shaun's skin, unable to penetrate it.
Shaun felt joy in his heart; the opponent couldn't breach his defenses at all!
Swish!
The kitchen knife directly slashed into the soft belly of one of the mosquitoes without any hindrance.
Their defensive capabilities were a level lower than even the mutated rats.
Flight and bloodsucking were their strengths. While the mutated green mosquitoes efficiently hunted weaker creatures, they often weren't a match for creatures of the same level.
One of the green mosquitoes' injuries worsened; it struggled to even fly and eventually succumbed to death.
The other mosquito, seeing its companion perish so quickly, frantically flapped its wings, trying to suspend itself again.
But the plump and skinny zombies had finally arrived. They leaped, grabbing hold of the mutated green mosquito.
The mosquito's body suddenly jolted and began to descend instead of rising. A fierce, hostile glint flashed in its compound eyes, and its sharp proboscis aimed directly at the fat zombie.
Unable to breach the defenses of the same-level zombie, could it not even kill this lower-level zombie?
In an instant, Shaun activated his mind transfer. His skin-hardening ability appeared on the fat zombie's body.
The attack of the mutated green mosquito once again failed, and its bloodsucking ability couldn't be activated either.
In its simple mindset, it couldn't comprehend why this lower-level zombie possessed such high defensive capabilities.
It turned to attack the other zombie, but the result left it utterly hopeless.
It couldn't breach the defenses of either of the two lower-level zombies. Had even the low-level zombies evolved to this extent?
Shaun had already approached, holding the kitchen knives. With three zombies surrounding them, the mosquitoes met their demise in an instant.
Looking at the corpses of the two mutated green mosquitoes on the ground, Shaun was extremely excited. He squatted down and began to devour them.
"Ding! The host is devouring the flesh of a first-stage mutated creature. Evolution points +10..."
In a short period of time, his evolution points had increased by six hundred.
His evolution points reached 1240/2000, bringing him closer to becoming a second-stage zombie.
What surprised him even more was that after finishing their consumption, the fat and skinny zombies both underwent advancement. They became fifth-stage and fourth-stage zombies respectively.
Currently, the fat and skinny zombies could only participate in supporting battles.
However, when they both evolved into elite zombies, they would play a significant role.
Just as Shaun and the two zombies left the area, nearby regular zombies quickly surrounded them.
By continuously devouring the corpses of the mutated green mosquitoes, he gained evolution points. Perhaps a few advanced zombies would appear again.
Shaun abandoned his plan to head for the city center.
He had personally witnessed the orange cat, after completing its evolution, madly rushing towards the city center!
The only reason that could make mutated beasts excited was the presence of creatures of the same level!
There were likely third-stage mutated beasts in the city center. This was Shaun's conjecture, but it was highly probable.
He couldn't even handle second-stage mutated beasts. Going there recklessly would be a suicide mission.
He continued down this street. The city center wasn't far from here, and there should be plenty of first-stage mutated beasts.
Survivors would be even better; that would be true risk-free evolution.
The three zombies no longer walked ostentatiously; they kept observing their surroundings, cautious and apprehensive of sudden appearances by mutated beasts.
The encounter with the orange cat and mutated green mosquitoes had made Shaun realize that the city center might no longer be under the dominion of zombies.
Just as the three zombies were passing by a mall, a cold, electronic voice suddenly resounded in Shaun's mind.
"Ding! Triggering a random mission..."
"Generating mission..."
"Ding! Issuing a random mission, Annihilation of the Ant Colony!"
"Mission Summary: In the mall ahead lies an ant colony. Despite the danger, it's full of temptation. Isn't this the essence of evolution?"
"Difficulty: Unknown!"
"Mission Duration: Unlimited!"
"Reward: Unlock a new system function!"
Shaun was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't expected a mission to be issued, let alone one that promised a new system function as a reward.
The current functions of the system included host information, tasks, and inventory.
Both tasks and inventory had significant effects on him.
Instead of entering the mall directly, Shaun activated his Insightful Eye.
He raised his head, swaying his field of vision continuously, trying to lock onto the number of mutated ants in the colony.
Name: Mutated Ant Queen.
Tier: Second-stage.
Talents: Energy Devour, Rapid Reproduction.
Skills: None.
Shaun was overjoyed. Although it was a second-stage mutated beast, the ant queen seemed to lack attacking power. Even its virus enhancement only seemed to boost its reproductive capabilities.
His field of vision rotated again, attempting to find other mutated ants.
Name: Mutated Soldier Ant.
Tier: First-stage.
Talents: Tremendous Strength.
Skills: Great Eruption Bite.
In a short time, Shaun confirmed the combat strength of the ant colony: a single first-stage mutated beast and an essentially useless ant queen.
A true haven for evolution!
If he devoured them, it would likely propel him directly to a second-stage elite zombie, significantly enhancing his power in an instant.
He reinforced the skin-hardening ability on the fat and skinny zombies, letting them take the lead, and they directly entered the mall.
According to the information provided by his Insightful Eye, there were only two mutated ants, both on the fifth floor.
He could take his time advancing, floor by floor.
"Skin-hardening" was a classic "bullies prefer picking on the weak" skill. It couldn't even withstand a swipe from the orange cat's paw, but it made dealing with even first-stage mutated beasts a breeze.