Wasteland: My items are infinitely upgraded.

Chapter 130: Third-order Essence, Killing Second-order Aberration

After Lin Feng's reminder, Zheng Yanying came back to her senses and looked at Shen Yue and Chen Shanshan. She immediately realized that the holy water on the two of them was much less than that on the others.

As the two who discovered the third-level traces, they were exposed to a large amount of radiation pollution in a short period of time. If Lin Feng hadn't discovered it in time, once the holy water shield failed...

What awaits the two of them will be spiritual torture and pollution from hell and the abyss.

In mild cases, the spirit is severely damaged and the person becomes listless. In severe cases, the brain nerves are affected and distorted to the point of losing self-awareness, becoming a confused idiot or a person who is initially corrupted and held hostage by the source of pollution.

In short, the consequences are unimaginable!

Zheng Yanying swung his warhammer and re-installed the holy spring water shield for the two of them. At the same time, he informed the others present how dangerous their actions had just been.

"Luckily, Lin Feng reacted in time, otherwise they might both have died here. That thing is the real source of pollution. Even a second-level evolver can only barely resist it."

After listening to Zheng Yanying's words, everyone was already sweating profusely. Chen Shanshan and Shen Yue, the two people involved, were even more frightened.

"The blood of the third level is the blood left behind by a third level king back then?"

Seeing that the two women were not seriously injured, Lin Feng asked.

Zheng Yanying nodded and put away the war hammer:
"That's right. Because third-level blood contains a large number of third-level cells, the genetic information carried by the life essence will become the most concentrated source of pollution. Depending on the amount of content, it can form a life-forbidden zone in a certain area."

"Luckily, that pool of blood probably contained less than a few dozen milliliters. Otherwise, with the two of them standing so close, their brains would have been contaminated and bewildered by the mental mumbling, and they would have walked towards the bloodstain as if they were parasitic."

Hearing Zheng Yanying's strange words, coupled with the bizarre and strange scene they had just witnessed, the women present shrank their heads and shuddered.

But Lin Feng's thinking process is different...

He was thinking about something else:

"If that pool of third-level blood contains rich third-level life essence, if it is collected, can it help late-second-level evolvers to advance to third-level kings?"

Zheng Yanying looked up at Lin Feng, and the eyes of the others also turned to him.

Lin Feng waved his hand:
"It should be logically correct, right? Otherwise, why would so many mutant steppe wolves gather at the Tarzan Refuge, forming the current Fallen Wolf Valley?"

"If they can evolve with the genetic radiation emitted by the Wolf King's corpse, then by simply devouring the Wolf King's third-order body, absorbing the third-order essence within, and then assimilating the third-order cells, wouldn't they be able to become the new Wolf King?"

Zheng Yanying did not refute, but nodded in agreement:

"That's fine. Judging from our previous evolutionary thinking, this approach can indeed achieve a third-order evolution..."

"But you forgot two things."

Zheng Yanying placed the hammer on the ground, supported the handle, and raised two fingers:
"First, these third-level traces, including the third-level blood we just encountered, should in some sense be more appropriately called third-level foul blood."

"From a probability perspective, that pool of blood should have been left by a human third-level expert during the battle that year. But why can't we use it to evolve ourselves like we can absorb the power of the Holy Spring?"

"The reason is simple: it has been contaminated!"

"After losing the control and nourishment of the main body, the third-level cells inside can only continuously absorb the blood and flesh of other life forms in order to survive..."

"This contains both the human evolutionaries who died here and the steppe wolves that invaded the refuge. Their mixed genes merged together, turning the originally pure third-level blood into third-level contaminated blood, thus creating this forbidden zone for life."

"The whispers and intense mental pollution we perceive in our brains are the result of these dead lives being absorbed by the third-level cells and reborn through a form of resurrection, and their influence persists to this day..."

Zheng Yanying sighed and continued:
“It’s not like there haven’t been similar experiments before.”

"Some late-stage second-stage evolvers, having reached their own evolutionary limit, risk fusing a second life essence and absorbing the cells of other third-stage kings..."

"Eventually, a severe rejection reaction occurred, causing ulcers all over the body and death from the body collapse."

As she spoke, Zheng Yanying glanced at Lin Feng, who had asked the question, and then continued:
"Another possibility is absorbing contaminated third-order essence. The result will be the same as what we are experiencing now in the restricted area."

"There will be unresolved mental pollution, constant mumbling in the head, frequent nightmares even when sleeping, and in more serious cases, various hallucinations."

"Even if he were to ascend to the third rank, his lucid time would be much shorter than his delirious state, making him a pathetic and terrifying mad king."

"This is why the flesh and blood tissues within the ruins containing third-order essence cannot be used. Most of them have been contaminated and have become the source of pollution within the ruins."

Zheng Yanying retracted a finger and continued:
"As for the second point, third-level essence is not something that can be absorbed casually. Think about the first time we absorbed life essence and achieved leapfrog evolution..."

"With the help of thousands of years of technology, the danger has been reduced to its current level, but there is still a certain chance of failure in absorption and evolution, and the result of failure is death."

"Because of the scarcity of samples for the third stage of evolution, there is no set of effective rules yet. We have to rely entirely on self-exploration."

"Absorbing third-order essence requires not only a strong foundation to withstand the immense burden of life transformation, but also an extremely strong will."

"Even within the church, it's rare to find a 29th-level high priest who can withstand the Lord's test and be promoted to a formal third-level bishop in hundreds of years."

"The Oasis Bishop is only the Acting Bishop in name only. His actual level of evolution is only that of a High Priest."

"So, over the years, even if a third-level wolf king perished beneath the Taishan ruins with a complete third-level body and no other contamination, it would be difficult for a late-stage second-level wasteland wolf to inherit the will of its ancestors..."

"We can only rely on its blessings to maintain the continuation of our race."

After spending two or three minutes explaining, Zheng Yanying didn't care whether everyone understood or not, and said directly:

"We have three minutes left. Everyone, please continue searching. Remember to be careful of the source of contamination caused by the third-level traces."

"Like the strange scene in the warehouse just now, with so many dried-up corpses gathered together, kneeling in one direction, it's likely the source of the pollution absorbing the life essence."

"The first moment you meet someone, you must stay away from them!"

"Our goal is to find the wolf carcass and return directly the same way we came after searching."

"Remember, don't be curious! Don't overthink it!"

After the explanation, everyone continued searching.

Lin Feng was searching and thinking at the same time.

I always feel like something is missing. If the pollution source can drain and take the lives of the deformed creatures, then why haven't the number of deformed creatures in the ruins decreased over the years, but instead increased?

The number of expeditions that dare to enter the ruins of the Sanctuary is very small, and even fewer have become corrupted.

Relying solely on outsiders to supplement the supply is definitely not enough.

Not to mention an expedition team like Lin Feng and his team, they would kill even more mutants.

Therefore, in order to maintain the number of aberrants, the restricted area may have evolved an independent ecological cycle, but it has not been discovered yet.

Perhaps the truth lies at the bottom.

If Ding Yi were here, she would be able to give the most reasonable analysis and inference, but unfortunately she is not here.

Lin Feng planned to ask her to help analyze the situation in the restricted area when he returned this time.

This way you will be more confident next time you enter.

After more than two minutes, everyone emerged from the dormant warehouse area, finally finding another first-level steppe wolf. Although they still had half the area to check, due to time constraints and the state of the group, they had no choice but to retreat.

After leaving the dormant area where the pollution source was located and returning to the entrance of the fourth floor, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Sometimes I would rather face the deformed form in the darkness and be prepared for it than endure the constant torture brought by the unknown fear.

Especially this kind of danger is invisible and intangible, it seems illusory, but it is an omnipresent threat.

It's really not as good as a deformed one that can be destroyed with one shot.

After retreating to the entrance of the negative fourth floor stairs, the group recovered after a short rest.

Zheng Yanying spoke slowly:
"We've found three so far, a harvest far exceeding our expectations. Are you still in shape to continue exploring?"

Except for Shen Yue, the other three members of the team looked at Lin Feng.

As the captain of the team, his opinion can influence whether everyone stays or leaves.

Seeing Chen Shanshan, Alian, and A Ming through the glass mask, their faces were exhausted. After hesitating for a moment, Lin Feng replied:
"Just ten minutes near the pollution source was more tiring than an hour outside. Let's not go to the uninhabited area on the left. It would be better to explore near the main road..."

"The main thing is to learn about the aberrations and familiarize yourself with their attack patterns. We'll be back after walking three or four kilometers."

Lin Feng's compromise was quickly approved by Zheng Yanying and the team members.

Everyone packed up and then walked on the main road on the negative fourth floor, leading to the deepest negative fifth floor.

This road has been explored and verified many times by past explorers, and there are no pollution sources left by the third-level king along the way.

The absence of pollution sources means that deformed objects may appear on both sides of the road at any time.

And the density is much greater than the upper three layers.

Lin Feng's purpose was naturally to let everyone experience what it was like to be attacked by a mutant, so as to accumulate experience for the next in-depth exploration.

As the six members of the team advanced along the main road in a three-by-three formation, countless white bones appeared on both sides, including human skulls and the rotten remains of steppe wolves.

Unfortunately, the essence in these wolf corpses had long been collected and plundered by former explorers or mutants. Now only the dry bones piled up on the main road remained, silently telling the cruelty of the war that year.

But soon, the sound of bones breaking nearby indicated that danger was approaching.

Following the direction of the sound, we saw a fork in the road not far from the team. In an area shrouded in black fog, a group of slowly moving figures suddenly appeared.

Everyone became nervous in an instant.

Hold the weapon tightly in your hand.

Lin Feng also saw a reminder from the corner of his eyes:
"A mild pollution source has been detected nearby!"

As the group of figures with moving heads slowly approached.

Under the illumination of three searchlights, the three people in the front row gradually saw the unknown creatures that were attacking.

They were a group of monsters covered in mucus. Although they had a roughly human shape, they had long since become unrecognizable. The facial features on their heads covered in mucus were extremely distorted.

Some had mouths on top of their heads, their teeth squeezed to their Adam's apples. Some had eyeballs fused to their limbs, their pupils visible in various locations, sliding left and right. This was a group of low-level aberrations, their collective aura mingling with first-order evolutionary cells, yet they moved like slow-moving zombies.

The overall level of enhancement is only level nine.

Although there is no danger to the expedition team composed of evolvers, if they are not dealt with, they will continue to follow them like a tail.

Unless you move away from a certain distance and escape the perception range of this group of aggregate monsters.

Zheng Yanying waved her hand to stop A Lian and A Ming behind her from shooting.

Holy Water Hollow Point Bullets are long-range, powerful weapons. It would be a huge waste to use them on these deformed mountains of flesh.

When the distorted aggregate approached, Zheng Yanying seized the opportunity, swung the warhammer in his hand, and hit the shaking deformed human head hard.

The holy water released by the hammer head sprayed and dripped onto the body of the deformed monster that had lost the protection of mucus. Like sulfuric acid, it instantly corroded small holes in the deformed flesh and blood.

Then, like boiling hot oil, there was a slight crackling sound, and wisps of light white smoke floated out from the wound where the holy spring had invaded.

With one swing, seven or eight heads rolled down.

More than a dozen aggregated deformities stuck together fell to the ground as the war hammer purified them.

This strange and exciting scene made A-Lian and A-Ming's pupils tremble and they perked up.

Zheng Yanying swung the war hammer in his hand and killed his way out. It took less than a minute to successfully deal with this group of deformed monsters with twenty or thirty corpses fused together.

The trunks and limbs scattered on the ground and piled together, covered with layers of mucus, were still wriggling and struggling.

After knocking down this group of low-level deformed creatures, Zheng Yanying slowly spoke in a low voice:

"They are not dead yet, they have just temporarily lost their ability to move. Once they digest and eliminate the power of the Holy Spring in their bodies, they will merge again and become new monsters."

After hearing Zheng Yanying's words, everyone looked at the slimy, bloody pieces of flesh wriggling on the ground, and their stomachs churned.

As the team walked around the edge and stepped over the pile of meat on the ground, Lin Feng turned his head to take a look at the distorted and fused monster that looked like the one in the movie The Thing, and frowned slightly.

Just a few hundred milliliters of holy water was not enough to kill such a large deformed monster.

The only way to completely eradicate them is to sprinkle tons of holy spring water all over the ruins of the shelter, or burn them to ashes.

The holy water and demon-repelling weapons in the team's hands could at best severely injure these deformed forms, causing them to temporarily lose their ability to move and no longer pose a threat.

Shen Yue, who was standing by, saw the fusion monsters on the ground and was immediately horrified. She felt an indescribable discomfort, especially since they had obvious human characteristics.

Seeing such a gloomy and strange thing was like a stone blocking my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Chen Shanshan also secretly glanced at them once or twice and found that these fusion monsters were somewhat similar to the deformed and evolved monsters she saw in the refugee court when she was riding in the pilgrimage caravan.

But with the slime all over the ground and the dark and humid environment, it looks even more hideous and weird.

However, although Chen Shanshan felt her scalp tingling, after Zheng Yanying's sweep, her fear of these deformities was no longer deepened by the unknown as before.

On the contrary, after seeing their real existence, I thought I could give it a try and knock them down with one shot.

In fact, this is also one of the reasons why Lin Feng asked everyone to continue moving forward despite their fatigue.

Help the rest of the team to dispel the mystique and realize that the so-called deformed creatures are not invincible weird things. With the help of the holy spring water, they can be easily defeated.

As everyone continued to explore, they came to the depths of the ruins three kilometers away from the entrance.

The team members saw that the living area on the fourth floor not only had a large gymnasium, but also two large shopping malls, as well as canteens and stores nearby.

As Zheng Yanying had introduced before, the three large shelters near Mount Tai were like a small underground kingdom.

It can accommodate tens of millions of people living in it.

Lin Feng couldn't help but imagine that if it weren't for that war, if the Taishan Shelter had been closed and people had always lived in safety underground, perhaps even the curse of the Fiery Sun Forbidden Zone would not have been able to harm the survivors in the shelter at all.

As long as the door is sealed forever and is not exposed to sunlight from the outside, the curse will not affect you.

A large shelter like this, with abundant living areas and a fully functioning life support system within the base, could be able to operate independently underground for hundreds or even thousands of years.

If order is maintained well and a little more frugal is practiced, it may be possible to maintain stability for thousands of years.

However, the harsh surface environment back then was several times more severe than it is now. Even the grass roots were eaten up, and the only way to survive was to kill each other.

This means that any refuge where the news leaks out will become a big piece of fat meat in the eyes of the wasteland forces.

Not to mention the Steppe Wolf Clan, even other human forces wandering in the wasteland would covet it.

Find a way to break open the door and break in.

After that great war, there is nothing here but broken buildings, rotten bones, and hordes of deformed creatures, and there is no longer the hustle and bustle of the past.

We can only get a glimpse of the prosperity of the past from those buildings that have not been weathered and collapsed.

While Lin Feng was feeling emotional, a crisp clicking sound came from a house not far away.

It's the breaking of glass!

Something is moving!

Everyone who heard the sound became alert again.

Hold the weapon tightly, aim it at the area you are responsible for, and make sure no monsters attack from other directions.

The most nervous person was Shen Yue, who was at the left rear of the team. The voice came from her.

She is the only member of the team who has no offensive means and combat experience. She can only passively take the beating and serve as a meat shield for the three people in the back row.

Fortunately, as the team continued to move forward, the area she was originally monitoring became a common defense area for her and Lin Feng.

The rapid-fire cannon in Lin Feng's hand has been transformed into a ninth-level fine AK, which can fire the thirty rounds of empowered Holy Spring hollow-point bullets in the magazine. The power of the bullets is enough to severely damage the first-level early and middle-stage deformers.

At the same time, a reminder appeared out of the corner of his eye that there were alien creatures approaching nearby.

"A moderate pollution source has been detected approaching!"

It’s actually moderate!
Previously, when encountering low-level distortion aggregates, the system's reminder was mild, but in the negative third layer, when encountering flexible distortion bodies, the warning was low contamination.

Therefore, it can be determined that among the mobile pollution sources, the mild ones are enhanced pollution sources below the first level, and the low ones are aberrations of the first level evolution...

The moderate pollution source in front of us naturally points to the second-order evolved aberration!

At this moment, even Lin Feng, who had been strolling leisurely, became nervous after being reminded by the system.

In order not to affect his judgment and be able to react in time, Lin Feng simply held his breath and did not make any noise.

Zheng Yanying, who had noticed this at the same time, stopped in time and cooperated with the three people behind him to prepare for defense.

The four women who were sandwiched in the middle gradually smelled an unusual scent, then stopped and formed a circle, staring at the direction they were responsible for.

Six searchlights illuminate a space of fifty meters in radius. This distance seems very long, but for a second-order evolved mutant, the attack process takes less than half a second.

Even a late-stage first-order evolver can burst out at a speed of nearly 100 meters per second. Even if the physical attributes of a second-order deformer are far lower than those of a second-order evolver, it can still reach at least 100 meters per second.

In other words, members of the team like A Lian and A Ming, who only have the strength of the early first stage evolution, may not even be able to see the attack process of the second stage mutant.

Among the six-member team present, only the experienced Zheng Yanying and Lin Feng, who has the strength of the late first stage, can deal with the second-stage deformer alone.

As time passed, the mutant hiding in the dark could not hold back the desire and urgency of the polluted cells in its body and took the lead in attacking its prey.

Suddenly, a black shadow jumped out from the second-floor window of a building.
With lightning speed, he pounced towards the four women in the middle of the team.

Although the second-level mutants have low intelligence, they can distinguish the strength of their prey and attack weaker prey, which naturally makes it easier for them to succeed.

But Lin Feng was paying attention to its every move. The moment it jumped out, it was locked by the fine AK in his hand.

A series of six or seven bullets were fired directly!

Ping! Ping! Ping!
The silencer at the muzzle of the gun made a crisp sound. Although it was still very loud, it was reduced by more than 95% compared to the vibration that resounded throughout the ruins.

At most, it can spread to within a hundred meters.

After being shot, the hollow-point bullet filled with holy spring water exploded directly on the surface of the monster's body, and the fragments stained with holy water swirled inside its body like flowers scattered by fairies.

Directly cause more than 100 points of double damage!
The corrosive cleansing power from the Holy Spring caused the attacking monster to feel severe pain, and it immediately fell to the ground, struggling in agony.

He kept scratching the wound, digging the sharp claws into the flesh, trying to pull out the shrapnel.

This gray-haired second-level deformed creature was being torn apart alive by the power of the Holy Spring, in excruciating pain, with large swathes of gray-white flesh torn off.

Before everyone could react, Zheng Yanying took a step forward!

He raised the war hammer in his hand and hit the monster that was struggling and running away on the ground with a hard blow!
The hammer head hit the monster's back spine, shattering its spine and squeezing its internal organs out of its body.

With the spraying of the holy spring water, this second-level mutant with the genes of the wasteland wolf gradually died.

Only his limbs were still twitching instinctively.

Seeing that the monster was successfully killed with the cooperation of Lin Feng and Zheng Yanying, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But before they could recover...

The entire ground on the fourth floor below my feet suddenly began to tremble slightly!
Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang coming from the entrance to the negative fifth floor at the end of the main road in the distance!

Instantly stimulate and awaken all the hidden and dormant deformers nearby!
A mutant riot crisis is about to come!
Zheng Yanying's expression changed drastically, and she quickly shouted:

"run!"

(End of this chapter)