According to Ian Song's calculations, Lillian Liu would need another five hours to complete her mutation and evolution.
So, he took Jewel out of the room, then drew some clean water and a towel from his Storage Ring to wash her dirty little face.
The bald man Ian Song killed earlier was named Kyle Lee. Before the apocalypse, he was a small-time gang leader, and these two were his lackeys.
Before long, a delicate, adorable face—like a porcelain doll—appeared before Ian Song's eyes.
He handed Jewel some food and water, then beckoned to Ergou and Sanwa, who were standing in the corner.
The two nervously shuffled over, looking extremely obedient.
"Are you the original residents of this building?" Ian Song asked the pair.
"No."
"We're from Haigang Survivor Base. Three days ago, we came out with Brother Jie to look for food."
The two took turns explaining, quickly making their background perfectly clear.
This made Ian Song a bit excited, because these two came from a survivor base with over ten thousand people.
This survivor base has a total of five leaders.
The First Leader is Zeke Guan, a retired soldier. After the apocalypse broke out, he organized a group of survivors and later found an armory. Thanks to the weapons in that armory, he was able to build such a large survivor base.
The Second Leader is Boris Hu, also a retired soldier and a comrade of Zeke Guan.
Ian Song sat on the living room sofa, his gaze drifting occasionally toward the bedroom where Lillian Liu was resting.
Finally, at four hours and fifty minutes into Lillian Liu's sleep, she slowly woke up.
The Fourth Leader is Charles Wang. Before the apocalypse, he was a government official. Skilled in management, he currently oversees the base's finances and food supplies.
The Fifth Leader is a woman named Hailey Zhou. Though she's female, her combat ability is the highest in the whole survivor base. She's a martial artist, and while these two couldn't say exactly how strong she is, she's definitely tough— even if a dozen zombies attack her at once, they can't do a thing to her.
At the same time, Ian Song also learned from these two that life in Haigang Survivor Base isn't easy. At first, Zeke Guan didn't strictly control the food, opting for a 'big-pot rice' system, so the more than 400,000 jin of grain they hauled from a nearby granary was nearly eaten up.
So, on Jason Gao's suggestion, they scrapped the big-pot rice model and decided that food must be prioritized for the base's combat personnel.
As for ordinary people, their daily ration is only two taels of grain.
Even so, the base's food supply is already running short, so the leaders all encourage people to go out and search for food.
The bald man Ian Song killed earlier was named Li Jie. Before the apocalypse, he was a small-time gang leader, and these two were his lackeys.
Because the base only gives out two taels of grain per day, he had no choice but to take the two out to search for food.
A ten-thousand-person base really tempted Ian Song.
If he could bring this ten-thousand-person base under his control, he'd instantly complete one percent of his mission.
Ian Song's mind stirred, and he kept questioning the two: "Besides Haigang Survivor Base, do you know of any other survivor bases?"
"No."
Both shook their heads blankly.
Suddenly, Ian Song noticed the two staring hungrily at Jewel, who was munching bread and sausage nearby, so he tossed them two steamed buns.
Jewel's mom was startled by the fireball that shot from her palm. She looked at her hand, then at the hole in the wall, and instinctively asked Ian Song, "W-what's happening to me?"
The two expressed their thanks, then immediately grabbed the buns and wolfed them down. It had already been three days since they left the base, but they hadn't found much food. It wasn't that the city's food was all gone—it's just that wherever there's food, there are lots of zombies.
With just three of them, none dared to risk searching those places for food.
In the blink of an eye, more than four hours passed. Jewel, full and content, had already fallen asleep in Ian Song's arms.
Ian Song sat on the living room sofa, his gaze drifting occasionally toward the bedroom where Jewel's mother was resting.
"I'm going to lure a group of zombies over. You aim for their heads and fire your fireballs!" Ian Song turned to Lillian Liu and said.
Lillian Liu was Jewel's mother—a beautiful young woman. No wonder Jewel inherited her looks and turned out so adorable and charming.
Ian Song entered, holding Jewel, and asked her.
Facing these monstrous zombies, Lillian Liu was a bit nervous. She raised her hand and fired a fireball at one zombie's head.
"Do you feel anything unusual?" Ian Song asked again.
Hearing that, the woman hesitated and said, "It feels like there's a warm, sunny mass near my heart."
Whether it's a mutant animal or a Mutant Human, after mutating, a mutation core forms near the heart—it's the source of their power.
With Ian Song's encouragement, Lillian Liu gradually calmed down.
"Let me give it a try!"
The woman nodded, closed her eyes to concentrate, then suddenly snapped them open—a flash of fiery red light flickered by.
"Hah!"
With a shout, she instinctively raised her right hand.
In no time, Lillian Liu had wiped out all five zombies Ian Song brought over, and her face showed a hint of excitement.
However, more zombies began to gather nearby. At Ian Song's signal, Lillian Liu kept fighting.
Ian Song's eyes lit up—this mutant fireball was seriously powerful, at least as strong as a full-force blow from a postnatal great perfection expert. What's more, its power was highly focused. A postnatal great perfection could also punch through a wall, but couldn't do it as cleanly as Jewel's mom—her fireball pierced the wall with minimal collateral damage.
Jewel's mom was startled by the fireball that shot from her palm. She looked at her hand, then at the hole in the wall, and instinctively asked Ian Song, "W-what's happening to me?"
"Congratulations, you've become a Mutant Human!" Ian Song said with a smile.
Even so, Ian Song was quite satisfied. He believed that with some training, Lillian Liu's combat ability would be no weaker than a top expert like Helen Guo.
Twenty minutes later.
Ian Song brought Jewel, her mother, and the two thugs downstairs.
"I'm going to lure a group of zombies over. You aim for their heads and fire your fireballs!" Ian Song turned to Yingying Liu and said.
Yingying Liu was Jewel's mother—a beautiful young woman. No wonder Jewel inherited her looks and turned out so adorable and charming.
Soon, Ian Song had lured five zombies over.
Facing these monstrous zombies, Yingying Liu was a bit nervous. She raised her hand and fired a fireball at one zombie's head.
Unfortunately, because she was nervous, she missed.
"Don't rush, take it slow!"
As he spoke, Ian Song kicked out twice, sending two roaring zombies flying.
With Ian Song's encouragement, Yingying Liu gradually calmed down.
"Pfft!"
A fireball struck a zombie's head five meters away, and its skull exploded instantly.
"Pfft!"
Another fireball hit a zombie three meters away, blasting its body into two pieces.
In no time, Yingying Liu had wiped out all five zombies Ian Song brought over, and her face showed a hint of excitement.
However, more zombies began to gather nearby. At Ian Song's signal, Yingying Liu kept fighting.
In the end, after firing fifty fireballs, she was exhausted—her energy was completely spent. Still, her record was impressive: she killed forty-three zombies.
Meanwhile, during the fight, Ian Song also gauged the range of her fireball attack.
The maximum range is ten meters. Beyond that, the fireball's power and speed drop sharply, making it impossible to kill zombies in one hit.
Even so, Ian Song was quite satisfied. He believed that with some training, Yingying Liu's combat ability would be no weaker than a top expert like Zihan Guo.