Chapter 81: Release of the Third Batch of Hero Systems

Tan Xiaowei was a crucial piece in Ling Bo’s “delay plan.”

In the sixth year of the apocalypse, while Ling Bo was distracted, Tan Xiaowei was gang-raped and killed. When Ling Bo returned home, the murderers mocked him, saying they hadn’t expected Tan Xiaowei to be a virgin.

Ling Bo went mad on the spot and slaughtered every one of the murderers.

Seven murderers, their families, superiors, subordinates—everyone who stood in Ling Bo’s way was killed by him.

The management of the capital was drenched in blood by Ling Bo’s rampage, and for a time, the world seemed to tremble.

At that time, Qin Hao hadn’t joined any organization; he watched the battle coldly, thinking that after Ling Bo killed the leadership, he would take the banner himself. But unexpectedly, Ling Bo took his own life at home.

And so, within the capital, Qin Hao became the greatest hero and was chosen as the administrator of the capital base.

In this life, Qin Hao would never let such tragedy happen. Ling Bo was too important to all humanity.

“You should be in Magic City. Did you come to the capital for something? Am I part of your plan as well?”

“Plan?” Qin Hao retorted.

“After Zihui’s concert, the whole country was searching for you. I caught your traces on the Skynet—on August 23rd, at 10 p.m., you repelled thugs at a street-side barbecue stall during a brawl.

On August 24th, at 6 p.m., you stopped a car with your bare hands at the night market.

On August 25th, at Zihui’s concert, you traveled from Yangchuan City to Magic City.

In all three events, you were present, and your strength soon exceeded ordinary people. By the end of those fights, you had become a Level One Cognitive Evolver, even stronger than most Level Ones. At that time, I deduced that Hero Points could be gained through the internet—like a celebrity’s popularity. But while fame is intangible, Hero Points can actually boost strength.

Unfortunately, the alien civilization seems to have noticed this, leading to the Aurora Catastrophe.”

Qin Hao couldn’t help but admire Ling Bo for his insight.

Just from scraps of video footage, Ling Bo had guessed the truth.

“You’re absolutely right,” Ling Bo nodded, his expression still cold, as if indifferent to everything.

“Is your innate power precognition?” Ling Bo asked.

Qin Hao shook his head.

Ling Bo was a rare dual-talent evolver. His first talent was insight into human hearts—not quite mind-reading, but he could tell if someone was lying.

His second talent was earth manipulation.

Ling Bo was terrifying—he was the first to discover the limits of evolvers and didn’t keep it to himself. He announced his findings so many heroes could benefit, but not all were able to withstand the pain of expanding their minds or endure the monotonous forging of life force.

Thus, lying to Ling Bo was pointless.

But now, Qin Hao was powerful—a Level Three Cognitive Evolver, able to shield his thoughts from Ling Bo’s perception.

Ling Bo couldn’t guess Qin Hao’s intentions. After a brief silence, he said, “I’m telling you all this not to test or boast about my logic or how much intel I control. I just want you to know you can share everything you know with me—or tell me what I should do next. I won’t object to any of your suggestions.”

Qin Hao was a little surprised.

But suddenly, an idea struck him. He said, “What if I put you in charge of the capital base?”

Ling Bo’s brow furrowed instantly.

Seeing Ling Bo’s reluctance, Qin Hao continued, “You can establish a Hero Council, let trusted people manage the base, appoint them as base leaders, and the Hero Council will be above the base leader.”

“I said I won’t object to any of your suggestions,” Ling Bo replied.

Qin Hao didn’t really understand Ling Bo’s thinking—perhaps geniuses truly were different.

Even though Qin Hao had unlocked his cognitive gene lock, his focus was on combat—he was a genius at mastering and using elements. But when it came to knowledge and logic, Ling Bo still surpassed him.

Fortunately, Qin Hao knew Ling Bo kept his word. So he didn’t hesitate.

“You must have calculated that after the ‘Survival 2’ mission, the alien invasion will send new hunting creatures. One species might destroy the whole world. The system store sells the relevant antidote. I’ll leave you a hundred bottles. You need to develop a virus counteragent from them—preferably one that can be dispersed through the air to eliminate the virus.”

“We don’t have much time. Every day, people may die.”

Qin Hao took out a hundred vials.

These weren’t purchased now, but acquired during the beta version of the Hero System at a tenth of the price.

[Antidote]: Can resist the voodoo toxins of the Ancient Demon Civilization.

“Alright!” Ling Bo agreed again.

Qin Hao thought for a moment, then looked at Tan Xiaowei.

“One last thing—protect her!”

“Her?” Ling Bo looked at Tan Xiaowei in surprise, his brow slightly furrowed.

Tan Xiaowei was just an ordinary girl—somewhat willful, but able to read the situation. Her parents divorced, she lacked affection, and she had feelings for him, making her easy to handle.

Her talent was decent—she could stimulate plant growth, perhaps a good logistics worker in the future, able to produce vegetables and fruit.

Could such a person matter to all humanity?

Ling Bo was puzzled for a moment but didn’t object to Qin Hao.

“Alright!”

Qin Hao finally felt reassured.

“I need to return to Magic City. I trust you to guard this place.”

Qin Hao needed time to grow into a god, and that time depended on how long humanity could hold out.

Before reversing time, humanity held on for twenty years.

Now, the alien invasion struck like a sudden storm, drastically shortening humanity’s breathing space.

Qin Hao didn’t know if he could become a god in the few years left.

So, people like Zihui and Ling Bo, the seeds of humanity he nurtured, he would support.

Besides those two, he’d keep an eye on any hero who greatly influenced humanity.

But among the first batch of heroes, few survived, and even fewer became saviors.

The era of the hero’s rise would be the third opening of the Hero System.

Almost as if anticipating Qin Hao’s thoughts, the system’s voice sounded:

[Beep! Mission predictor activated. Main storyline detected, estimated to occur in three hours.]

[Hero System Update]

Human hero Qin Hao, through your tireless efforts, you have gained the support of the Cosmic Peace Alliance, granting humanity the ability to survive independently. The Peace Alliance will invest 100,000 Hero Systems to help you better resist the invading civilization.