Chereads / doomsday reboot / Chapter 36 - Pain Index

Chapter 36 - Pain Index

Roar~!

The surrounding dark space suddenly became bright, and Chen Chao appeared on a dilapidated street surrounded by wrecked cars. From behind these cars, one after another, rose zombies with rotting bodies and grimacing faces.

Chen Chao gripped the heavy gun barrel. Unlike an iron rod, the form and weight of the long spear gave him a sense of familiarity he hadn't felt for a long time. His eyes gleamed as he charged towards the zombies ahead.

Roar~!

Seeing Chen Chao, these zombies immediately roared and charged forward, their faces grimacing, their eyes filled with bloodlust, moving swiftly like cheetahs. They could not only run but also jump, possessing simple thinking abilities!

Pfft!

Chen Chao's platinum spear shot out like a meteor streaking across the moon, swift and agile. The sharp spearhead pierced straight through the head of one zombie!

This zombie didn't dodge and was hit in the neural center, causing its body to fall forward stiffly. Chen Chao twisted his body, taking advantage of the momentum to pull out the spear and swing it at the three zombies approaching from all sides!

Bang!

The spear shaft swept across the neck of one zombie, crushing its spine. Chen Chao's arm swung, and the spear shaft, like a live dragon, suddenly pierced through the throat of a zombie attacking from behind.

With a shake of the spear shaft, the throat tore open, and the head fell off.

Stab, smash, thrust, poke, block...

Chen Chao employed various spear techniques in succession. Within ten seconds, six zombies lay at his feet. These zombies were different from those outside; their physical strength was over 20 times that of a normal person. It was impossible to defeat them with brute force; skill was required.

The remaining zombies quickly surrounded Chen Chao, reducing the space in which he could move to about a meter. He couldn't wield the spear properly. No matter which zombie he targeted, the others would pounce, tearing him to shreds!

This moment was the hardest part of the test!

Chen Chao had dealt with surrounded situations many times before. He remained calm, tapping the spearhead on the ground to leap high into the air, using the head of a zombie as a stepping stone to jump out of their encirclement and regain distance. Then, he waved his spear, defeating the first zombie to approach!

As the remaining zombies lunged again, Chen Chao repeated the maneuver. After pulling away several times in this way, the remaining zombies were soon defeated one by one!

Ding!

The rapidly changing time froze at the number 48 seconds.

Chen Chao was surrounded by bodies and severed heads. The scene of the dilapidated street suddenly flashed, and he was back in the pure white space. The dark metal sphere hovered in front of him, with a square screen displaying two paragraphs.

"Test passed, skill evaluation: A3!"

"Do you wish to continue challenging?"

Chen Chao chose "Yes" without hesitation.

The next challenge was at the S level, the top tier!

"I don't know if I can pass it..." Chen Chao felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness. He had tried many times before, but his spear skills had never broken through to the "S" level. He hoped this test would be the breakthrough.

"S-level test initiated..."

"Mission: Survive for 60 seconds!"

As the voice finished, Chen Chao's view changed again, returning to the same dilapidated street corner. He was somewhat puzzled, "Survive for 60 seconds?"

"Timing starts..."

The synthetic voice echoed in his mind, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Before Chen Chao could even think, a vast number of zombies emerged from behind the wrecked cars, a dark, overwhelming tide with a strong smell of decay. There were at least a hundred zombies!

"So many!" Chen Chao was startled. It was no wonder the mission was to survive rather than kill. With this number of zombies, even if he could constantly pull away and defeat them one by one, his energy would be depleted halfway through!

Roar~!

The zombies roared and surged forward like a black tide.

"So fast!" Chen Chao's pupils dilated, almost wanting to swear. Not only were there so many, but their physical strength was far greater than the zombies before, at least 30 times stronger, double his own!

If he could use his special abilities, Chen Chao might have some hope, but they were disabled, and he could only rely on his base physical strength to fight!

He waved his spear, pushing aside a few zombies and dodging among those closing in, seeking survival rather than kills!

Roar!

The number of zombies was overwhelming. As time passed, they soon gathered around Chen Chao. He tried to jump out of their encirclement, but was pulled down by several fast zombies grabbing his trouser legs.

In the next moment, his body was engulfed by a sea of zombies.

Huff!

Chen Chao suddenly opened his eyes and found himself still standing in the pure white space. The previous scene felt like a nightmare, but the pain of being bitten and torn apart by zombies was still vivid in his memory.

"This is the S-level difficulty..." Chen Chao's mouth twitched slightly.

At this point, the screen on the dark metal sphere displayed his previous stats.

"Survival time: 23 seconds!"

"Zombies killed: 8!"

"Skill evaluation: A3!"

"Test failed!"

Chen Chao chuckled inwardly. It had only been 23 seconds, but it felt like minutes. He was still 40 seconds away from reaching the S-level...

"Next, the second test: Genes!"

The lips of the three-eyed woman on the dark metal sphere moved slightly: "Detect target genes..."

A pale golden beam shot out from the third golden vertical eye on her forehead, like a spotlight on a stage, enveloping Chen Chao's body.

"Gene recording: 1%, 2%, 3%..."

"Cell analysis: 1%, 2%..."

The screen on the dark metal sphere flashed with numerous unseen symbols, raining down like a curtain.

This process lasted for about three minutes before all the symbols disappeared, plunging the screen into complete darkness. After a few seconds, a message reappeared: "Gene rating: S-level!"

Chen Chao's eyes lit up.

"Indeed, a multiple evolver who has obtained evolution energy from dangerous species has the highest-level genes. On the top 100 warrior rankings of the later era, at least 80% of the people are A-level genes, belonging to special evolvers. Once chosen, these genes are permanently fixed and cannot be replaced. Therefore, many people in the later era, even if some are extraordinary talents who have honed their skills to the S-level, cannot obtain an S2 rating due to their lack of willpower and gene quality!"

"The only one to achieve an 'S2' rating, Zeus, relied on his S-level genes!"

Chen Chao was very satisfied. Even if he only obtained an S1 rating, he could still receive precious treasures. As for an S2 rating, he dared not hope for it yet.

The final test was willpower!

What is willpower?

Most people first think of resilience and persistence!

But scientifically speaking, willpower is control!

It is the absolute control over all instincts of the body!

"Test begins..."

As the synthetic voice sounded, Chen Chao immediately felt like he was lying on an operating table, his body bound and unable to move by white bandages.

"Comprehensive analysis, first item: Collecting pain index..."

"Please select the challenge level!"

"A, then."

Chen Chao lacked confidence and decided to experience the A-level pain index first.

As soon as he made his choice, the words "Start" echoed in his mind. Immediately, a floating knife appeared out of nowhere and sliced towards his ten fingers. The sharp blade quickly cut through the nails, splitting the fingers in half. The nails were torn off, and intense pain flooded in like a tide, causing his brain nerves to tremble wildly and veins to bulge on his forehead.

Chen Chao gritted his teeth and endured with all his might.

However, before he could get used to the pain, suddenly, the knife flew towards his body, carving wounds like a spider's web across his flesh and疯狂切割 at some nerve-sensitive organs.

The burning, tearing pain made Chen Chao roll his eyes. Although he had suffered numerous injuries since childhood, he had never experienced such a feeling of being tortured in thousands of cuts.

He panted heavily, holding his breath and enduring.

After an unknown amount of time, all the pain suddenly disappeared like a dream. Soon after, Chen Chao's ears were filled with the synthetic voice: "Pain index 62.8, A-level test passed. Do you wish to proceed to the S-level pain index test?"