In the early stages, mutant ants are not particularly formidable creatures. However, by the later stages, each one becomes terrifyingly powerful, surpassing even mutated lions and tigers in the post-apocalyptic world. According to scientists, ants can lift up to 400 times their body weight! Imagine how frightening it would be if an ant were the size of a wild boar.
"This ant is still small, only the size of a fist, and its strength is equivalent to ten zombies. By next month, the virus in its body will evolve, making it the size of a soccer ball, and even more terrifying—comparable to the combined strength of over a hundred zombies."
Ye Chen's eyes gleamed. "If I can capture it and extract its genes to integrate into my own body, I can become a genetic super soldier!"
A genetic super soldier! This is a remarkably powerful profession in the later stages. Ye Chen recalls that in his previous life, there were the top ten strongest genetic warriors, each incredibly powerful. They could destroy a building with a single punch, far beyond the comprehension of ordinary humans, truly the mightiest of the new humans!
"As long as I can catch this ant, I can become a genetic soldier." Ye Chen was excited. Though the conditions to become a genetic soldier are extremely difficult, with only one in a thousand survivors being able to overcome the monster genes, it was a testament to how challenging it was to become a genetic warrior. These survivors were immune to the virus, but still, only a few could succeed.
However, Ye Chen was confident. In his previous life, he was a genetic warrior, and although he couldn't compare to the top ten, he made a name for himself in many regions.
With that in mind, Ye Chen quietly closed the door, sealing the mutant ant inside, waiting until he was strong enough to capture it.
After closing the door, Ye Chen moved on to the next room. The door was slightly ajar, and the room was eerily silent. Ye Chen didn't let his guard down; he could smell the strong scent of blood in the air. If he guessed correctly, the room must be filled with zombies, and quite a few of them.
With a slight sense of tension, Ye Chen propped the door with his foot. The door felt as heavy as a mountain, but he took a deep breath, mustered his strength, and slowly pushed it open. For a moment, it felt like even time was holding its breath.
The door opened slowly. Inside the room stood seven or eight figures, as still as statues. As the door opened, they all turned their heads to look at him.
Ye Chen's heart pounded fiercely. Without any hesitation, he turned around and ran, sprinting to the stairs in a flash. As he did, he heard the ferocious howls from the room, and the seven or eight figures rushed out, chasing after him.
"Damn it!" Ye Chen's face was grim. He had estimated that there were only three or four zombies in the room, but there were seven or eight, more than he could handle in his current state.
Even the only petrol bottle he had was already used up, leaving him with just a watermelon knife. As he dashed up the stairs, Ye Chen quickly slipped into the room where he had hidden earlier. He shut the door, locked it, and within seconds, the growling came closer, accompanied by the sound of pounding on the door.
Fortunately, the doorway was narrow, allowing only four zombies to pound on it at once. It would hold for a while.
"Stay calm! Stay calm!" Ye Chen reminded himself. In such moments, panicking was as good as signing his death warrant. He was drenched in cold sweat, his brow furrowed in thought. A moment later, his eyes lit up, and he turned into the bedroom.
In the bedroom, there was a large white bed with neatly folded bedding on it. Ye Chen walked over and pushed the bed with all his might, moving it to a new position. His eyes lit up, and he pushed the bed directly to a spot three feet away from the living room door.
Then Ye Chen went into another bedroom, pushing out another bed of the same size and stacking it on top of the first one. The two beds together were about one meter high, blocking the path to the living room. Although the zombies could jump well, it would take them a few seconds to clear the beds and enter the living room.
Ye Chen needed just those few seconds of delay! He went into the kitchen and found two tanks of gas under the stove. He quickly took one out and placed it by the beds, turning on the gas. The hissing sound of the gas filled the living room with a strong smell.
Ye Chen closed one of the bedroom doors to minimize the gas in that room. Then he went to the light switch, pressing it to see if there was still power. There was. He dismantled the socket, tampering with the connection to make it faulty. After reinstalling the socket, he placed a stool upright on the floor, balanced a frying pan on it, and positioned a broken mop handle so that it would hit the door when opened.
Additionally, he found a clothes drying rod and set it up so that it was leaning between the frying pan and the mop handle.
After setting everything up, Ye Chen glanced at the door. The door frame was shaking, with the white paint on the walls chipping off. It wouldn't be long before it was broken down.
Ye Chen went to the kitchen, wet a towel, and used it to cover his nose before crawling into the closed bedroom. Within a minute, there was a loud "bang" as the door was broken down, followed by a "boom." The windows shattered, and intense heat seeped through the door crack.
A hint of satisfaction appeared in Ye Chen's eyes. His plan had worked. Once the door was broken down, it would hit the mop handle. The mop handle would move, causing the clothes rod to fall and hit the frying pan, pressing the light switch. With the faulty socket connection, a spark was all it took to ignite the gas-filled room.
Once everything calmed down, Ye Chen slowly opened the door, holding the watermelon knife. The living room was in shambles. The glass table was shattered, the sofa and beds were charred, still smoldering.
Ye Chen smiled wryly. If another eight zombies appeared, there was no way this room could hold them. But he didn't worry too much. After all, the hotel had no shortage of rooms.
He walked over to the beds. All eight zombies were dead. Two of them, close to the gas tank, were blown to skeletal figures, charred and shriveled. The others smelled like roasted meat.
Ye Chen left the room to make sure no other zombies were nearby before returning to start dissecting. Amazingly, he found two pieces of mutated meat in the eight zombies. It was incredible luck. One piece was the size of a fingertip, while the other was as big as a fist!
Ye Chen was overjoyed. Since the mutated meat was hidden near the zombie's heart and he had only used half a tank of gas, the explosion wasn't strong enough to completely burn the zombies. Otherwise, the mutated meat would have been lost.
He took the mutated meat to the bathroom to wash it. He put the fingertip-sized piece in a bag, planning to give it to his sister, Ye Zhu, later. The fist-sized piece was cut into three-inch-long slices, which he slowly consumed.
"This fist-sized piece of mutated meat will double my strength!" Ye Chen's eyes sparkled. Once he digested the meat, he felt his strength increase significantly. He felt lighter, as if he had lost several pounds, and could do a backflip with one hand.
Now, in terms of strength, Ye Chen was on par with ordinary zombies.
"Now I can handle two or three zombies without using petrol." Ye Chen was elated. With increased strength, he could better protect his loved ones.
That's why he consumed the mutated meat himself instead of saving it for his sister, Ye Zhu. He was the one hunting zombies every day. Only by being strong enough could he ensure his sister's safety!
Ye Chen checked the time. It was about right. He put away his watermelon knife and returned to his room.
"Brother." Ye Zhu heard the knock and looked through the peephole. Seeing it was Ye Chen, she opened the door. She saw Ye Chen covered in zombie blood, his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue, and his chest soaked in sweat.
Ye Zhu stared at her brother, the one who had always protected her, her eyes welling up with tears. She threw herself into his arms, not caring about the filth.
Ye Chen patted her head. "Come on, you're too old to cry like this."
Ye Zhu slowly released him, her head down. After a moment, she spoke, "Brother, I want to go with you this afternoon!"