Chapter 68: Survival 2

As soon as Qin Hao’s teeth pierced the skin of the small fruit, he felt as if his mouth was flooded with water; a unique energy surged forth, coursing through every limb and bone. His entire body seemed enveloped in water, as though he were undergoing a thorough cleansing. His internal organs were washed, and beads of black sweat quickly surfaced on his skin, but were soon swept away by the influx of water element.

To his astonishment, the fruit even possessed the power to refine and purify one’s body.

Qin Hao was overjoyed.

Once his body was cleansed, the excess water element was naturally drawn in by his mental power, and his mastery over the water element now surpassed even the toxic element he had gained from slaying three thousand Venomspider Fiends.

Without hesitation, Qin Hao consumed the remaining two fruits as well, subjecting his body to another round of purification. This time, the expelled filth was noticeably less, and by the third round, it was almost imperceptible.

Qin Hao understood this did not mean his body was completely transparent, but rather that the fruit’s effect had reached its limit.

But this was already more than enough.

The rich water element, guided by his mental power and influenced by starlight energy, allowed Qin Hao’s mind to surge forward through a crack in the third-level genetic lock, pushing into new territory.

“A third-level mental evolver.”

It had only taken Qin Hao twenty days to break through the mental lock and ascend to the third-level of evolution.

Even he found it hard to believe.

Although his rebirth gave him certain advantages, Qin Hao realized luck was also on his side.

Perhaps even fate was smiling upon him!

“I never expected that what was meant to enhance my life force would instead advance my mental power. Still, this isn’t bad at all. In fact, it gives me a new idea: wherever starlight energy abounds, there must be rare treasures and exotic beasts. I can slay them and absorb their genetic essence.”

With this thought, Qin Hao felt satisfied.

He continued deeper into the Kunlun Mountains.

Yet, while the wilds of Kunlun teemed with beasts, true exotic beasts were hard to find. The blue planet’s starlight had only recently begun to shine, and the changes to the world were still too subtle.

Just as Qin Hao was about to resume his search, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

It was the Hero System.

[Ding! Mission Predictor activated. Main quest detected. Estimated time to occurrence: 10 minutes.]

Qin Hao immediately checked the mission forecast.

[Survival 2]

All heroes on the blue planet have unlocked the first-level genetic lock. A new trial mission begins. In 24 hours, an alien civilization will deploy a second wave of hunting creatures near the heroes. You may escape or hunt the alien creatures. Survive for 24 hours. The second wave includes: 5,980 heroes. Cooperation is permitted.

Mission completion requirement: If even one person out of 5,980 survives, the mission is considered complete.

Fixed mission reward: 50,000.

Qin Hao was astonished by this task.

“How could it be happening so soon? Even if the reversal of time is accelerating, how could the heroes have all unlocked the first-level genetic lock within a single month?”

“It was supposed to be three months later.”

“And why are there so few heroes?”

Countless questions swirled in Qin Hao’s mind.

But soon, he began to see the answers.

“Last time, it took three months for all the heroes to unlock the first-level genetic lock, and over seven thousand survived.”

“Now there are a thousand fewer. It must mean they faced greater dangers. What was the crisis?”

“Because I hunted exotic beasts at night, and others like Zi Hui would do the same. Now that the secret of evolving through consuming exotic beasts is out, many people are trying it.”

“I can create steel traps, and the people at the Northern Base can set explosive traps.”

“The aliens are being cleared out, but their overall numbers must remain the same, so the beasts that vanish from the Metropolis must be replaced elsewhere, making the lands outside the city ever more dangerous.”

“Those heroes probably died out there.”

“With fewer heroes, there are fewer to drag the group down, so the rest reached the first-level genetic lock more quickly.”

There were many other butterfly effects. Zi Hui’s livestreams had caught the attention of other countries, who either tried to capture and research the Hero System or poured resources into their own heroes. Either way, it sped up the progress of [Survival 2].

Qin Hao stopped worrying about countless butterfly effects and focused on the present.

He no longer had time to wander the Kunlun Mountains; he needed to return to the Metropolis.

Activating the spatial disk, Qin Hao traversed through space.

Meanwhile, in Congo, the poorest country in Africa, a man severed the head of a Fang Demon with a single stroke, his pitch-black hands eagerly snatching up the starlight crystal from the ground.

Over the past month, after the initial days of hiding and cautiously improving himself, he had slain over a hundred Fang Demons daily, amassing 3,100 starlight crystals.

He spent 3,000 crystals to purchase basic strength, agility, and physique potions. He hadn’t bought any combat techniques, but after consuming the three potions, he met the minimum requirement to unlock his first-level genetic lock.

With just another 100 crystals, he could activate the lock and become a true first-level evolver.

Having finally saved enough, the hero bought the genetic lock potion without hesitation and immediately unlocked the first-level life genetic lock.

The next moment, heroes worldwide received the [Survival 2] mission.

Of the nearly 6,000 heroes, at least a third wondered why the mission was called Survival 2 and not Survival 1.

Only after reading the mission details did they realize that some heroes had already survived the first crisis before them.

And upon seeing that only one survivor was needed, every hero was gripped by a deep sense of foreboding.

...

In the Metropolis.

After the mission announcement, the heroes grew anxious, not knowing what manner of monster would target them. Many, upon seeing the mission, thought of Zi Hui.

Zi Hui was among the first heroes.

In her trial, she had faced 2,000 Fang Demons, 200 Snake Fiends, and a single Venomspider Fiend.

No one knew if they would have to face such monsters themselves, but it was clear that the second wave would not send Fang Demons, but something far more powerful.

These would be first-level hunting creatures.

How could they possibly withstand them?

Many heroes thought of Zi Hui and that man.

The mission called for cooperation in slaying these monsters. Unanimously, they came to the same conclusion.

Let Zi Hui fight alongside them to resist the alien creatures.

But Zi Hui’s thoughts were the exact opposite.

“Quick, Professor Fu, record a new video and broadcast it using the Eye of Ten Thousand Sects. Tell all heroes to find a secret place and hide alone. The survival trial is a trap. The fewer people, the better. Make sure the word gets out.”

“Yes, Lady Zi Hui, I’ll send the message immediately.”