Having just broken through to level two, he already controlled another level two corpse.
Although he could only control one, it was still quite surprising, at least indicating that his ability to control a horde of corpses was absolutely remarkable.
It even seemed to be stronger than the Land Corpse.
He remembered that when the Land Corpse broke through to level three, it could barely control the corpses.
"Not bad, not bad. It seems that the intervention of powerful genes can indeed improve the quality of offspring!" Lu Shen also smiled. The existence of the Corpse Mother could provide him with a continuous source of combat power.
More importantly, the Corpse Mother could absorb different genes from different corpses when it combined with them, giving birth to different types of corpses. This function was also very important!
This meant that if he wanted to have more corpses with leadership abilities, he only needed to have the Land Corpse combine with it and leave offspring.
If he needed more corpses that could release toxins, he only needed to have Lu Yi combine with it!
The same principle applied to others. If they inherited Lu Er's genes, their offspring would inevitably have stronger defenses; if they inherited Lu San's genes, their offspring would have greater individual strength and might even undergo a certain degree of bestiality.
The addition of these special genes effectively enhanced the individual strength of the corpses in "Yiling City".
Lu Shen, without much thought, realized that perhaps fundamentally, the corpses of "Yiling City" weren't inherently weaker, but rather their long-term internal reproduction lacked strong genetic intervention, leading to increasingly weaker offspring.
After all, in "Yiling City," most corpses only combined in two ways!
One was to find a stronger, more talented corpse among their own offspring and combine with it.
The continuous fusion of identical genes naturally weakened their strength, and could even lead to malignant mutations.
The other method was relatively better: plundering a stronger corpse from other corpse mother groups to combine with.
This was very effective in the short term, but the long-term problems would only worsen.
Because there were only a few types of genes in "Yiling City," after generations of combination and reproduction, they had long since become mixed together, almost identical.
This resulted in the average strength of the corpses in "Yiling City" constantly declining.
Now, with the addition of new genes, the newly born zombie infants are significantly stronger, at least comparable to ordinary zombies.
He checked the condition of the level three peak zombie mother again, which had given birth to 15 zombie infants, a slightly large number, but their strength and appearance were not much different.
Using the same method to help them improve their strength, this time, there were two zombie infants that reached level two.
These "elite zombies" have higher potential and are definitely more worth cultivating.
"It seems that we need to speed up breeding. Different types of zombies forming an army, cooperating with each other, will definitely have very high combat power!" Lu Shen had secretly made up his mind that he must make Lu Shi and Lu Yi work hard.
Lu Shi could not leave for the time being, so he directly called Lu Er.
After Lu Er's mutation, his ability was also very special, possessing extremely strong defensive capabilities, like a tortoise shell.
A large zombie army must have a sufficiently tough front line to withstand the enemy's offensive, and Lu Er's genes just happen to be able to complete this task.
He threw it directly into the corpse nest, regardless of Lu Er's wishes, and immediately began the breeding operation.
Although the mother corpse reproduces corpses very quickly, it must be done gradually, with a daily output of only 10-20 corpses. To truly form a horde of corpses, it would take at least a month or two.
In order to maximize his strength, Lu Shen focused his attention on the existing corpses.
He had no shortage of radiation energy and enough radiation cores to push each corpse to its limit.
He arrived at the black pool, where a large number of radiation cores were absorbing the radiation energy from the pool and converting it into purer radiation.
He extracted almost all of the level two and level three radiation cores.
Then, next to the black pool, he used ice bricks to build a house, about ten square meters in size, which was also completely enclosed.
In this ice house, he completely drew out the radiation energy and diffused it into the air, creating an environment with extremely high radiation concentration.
Then, he arranged for the corpses that needed to improve their strength to enter it, and Lu Shen would help them improve their strength.
Most corpses, limited by their innate abilities, would be stuck at the peak of level two.
Breaking through to level two isn't difficult; almost anyone can achieve it unless their quality is extremely poor.
However, breaking through to level three is dozens of times more difficult, requiring sufficient talent and a long period of accumulation and nurturing.
He spent almost the entire night raising all the potentially upgradable corpses to their limits.
Lu Shi had a total of 372 corpses under his command, of which 21 were too weak to even break through to level two and were directly killed and eliminated.
Currently, there are 351 corpses with level four strength, two level three corpses, and the remaining 348 are all level two, with a large portion already at the peak of level two.
This is currently his largest force, accumulated over several months, and now it's just a matter of further improvement.
Lu Yi's horde has 36 corpses, all with very uniform strength, all at the peak of level two.
Lu Er just broke through to level three and is currently still struggling at the corpse mother, not yet in control of the horde.
Lu San does not yet have the ability to control the horde.
At the mid-stage level three corpse mother, there are a total of 121 corpses, most of whom are at least level two in strength.
However, apart from the newly conceived batch of corpses, the rest were all brought from "Yiling City," resulting in low quality, weak strength, and insufficient potential.
Lu Shen already has a plan in mind: he will gradually eliminate all the corpses from "Yiling City."
The corpse hordes controlled by the corpse mother will be allowed to reproduce on their own, combining with the genes of other powerful corpses to improve their quality.
As for the corpse hordes currently under his control, Lu Shen has simply thrown them to the front lines to participate in the upcoming battles; it doesn't matter if they are all consumed.
The level three peak corpse mother's subordinates are relatively cleaner in structure, consisting entirely of newly conceived corpse infants, which can be developed from scratch.
This is all the corpse combat power Lu Shen currently possesses!
The Lu Corpses constitute the vast majority, undoubtedly the strongest combat force, shouldering all defensive and combat duties.
Having confirmed that his current combat strength had reached its peak and there was no room for further improvement, Lu Shen stopped pushing himself and returned to the Giant Tree Shelter.
His original plan was to stay there for a few days before returning to District Six.
However, now, simultaneously besieged by three level-four zombies, although the situation hadn't fully erupted, it was extremely tense, forcing him to stay longer.
Important matters in District Six, such as distributing potions and cooperating with the official settlement, had to be delegated to others.
Reaching the third floor and entering Chen Yenian's laboratory, the bright lights immediately brought a sense of stepping back into modern society.
Chen Yenian, Bai Hua, and three other researchers, all dressed in white coats, were busy at their workbenches.
The laboratory environment was a world apart from the low-rated post-apocalyptic environment, filled with numerous sophisticated experimental tools.
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Network, which is super smooth and hassle-free.]
There were even semi-transparent glass bottles, measuring cups, petri dishes, tweezers, and conical flasks specially made by Lu Shen, all manufactured to Chen Yenian's specifications, 1:1 scale.
Furthermore, there were high-quality experimental tools such as optical microscopes, creating a modern atmosphere.
Lu Shen asked, "Professor Chen, what research are you currently conducting, and what new results have you achieved?"
Noticing Lu Shen's arrival, Chen Yenian remained unhurried, completing his experiment before removing his gloves and turning around.
"Currently, we are conducting multiple experimental studies simultaneously, including 'the imitation ratio of Spirit-Gathering Potions,' 'controllable mutation of corpses,' 'the possibility and compatibility of multiple mutations in corpses,' and 'research on the awakening of human survivor talents,' etc."
Lu Shen nodded upon hearing this; these were all very important and practical research topics.
There are currently five researchers, which is relatively sufficient, so conducting research on multiple aspects simultaneously is not a problem at all.
"So far, have any research results been successful?"
Chen Yenian asked after a moment of silence, then hesitated slightly before replying, "There are some results, but as for whether they are truly successful, I'm not entirely sure." "
Oh? What do you mean?"
Chen Yenian took out a bottle of potion and handed it to Lu Shen, saying, "I tried to analyze the 'Spirit Condensation Potion' and extract its main components for a simulation comparison, but the results weren't very good." "
The 'Spirit Condensation Potion' contains at least 200 different substances, and at least 30 different items have been added, a large portion of which I've never seen before. Analyzing them all is practically impossible." "
Even the specific ingredients are still beyond my complete understanding, let alone imitation. Completely reproducing this potion is virtually impossible."
Lu Shen frowned. "Then this potion..."
Chen Yenian smiled and said, "Based on my existing experimental results, I've formulated a similar potion using a white liquid as the main component, combined with other herbs, red flesh, and other ingredients." "
Originally, this potion wasn't successful; it wasn't mature enough in all aspects. However, the evolution potion you brought back this time gave us a lot of inspiration. We made some adjustments to the proportions, and finally, we have results!"
"Oh? Inspiration from the evolution potion?" Lu Shen was somewhat surprised. The main component of the evolution potion should be a potion made by purifying the corpse polyps from the corpse mother.
Logically, it should be quite different from the white liquid, yet they were actually related.
Chen Yenian nodded: "The specific production process is rather complex, but in terms of effect, it's still quite inferior to the pure 'Spirit Condensation Potion'." "
Approximately how effective will it be?"
"Around 60%, but the actual effect might be worse, and the process will be quite painful," Chen Yenian honestly replied.
Lu Shen couldn't help but feel a little disappointed upon hearing this; the effect was indeed somewhat unsatisfactory.
However, Professor Chen's next sentence still filled him with joy.
"However, even if the effect is far inferior to the 'Spirit Condensation Potion,' it can still amplify the effect of the white liquid by about 80%, greatly increasing its utilization rate." "
More importantly, as long as there is a corresponding level of white liquid, different quality potions can be created, which can have a considerable effect on level two, three, and even level four talent awakeners."
Lu Shen's eyes lit up instantly; this was simply a huge surprise. The original major drawbacks could now be completely ignored.
Just the fact that the effect of the white liquid was amplified by 80% made all the effort he had put in these past few days completely worthwhile!
It was equivalent to amplifying the effect of the white liquid by almost double; the benefits that could bring were far beyond imagination.
"Not bad, these experimental results are quite good. How long will it take to manufacture a batch of the potion?"
"If you need it, Chief, we can make a batch tonight."
Lu Shen thought for a moment, then took out a batch of white liquid and handed it to Professor Chen: "Okay, make a batch first, I might need it."
Professor Chen nodded in agreement and continued: "In addition, there have been some results in the research on the controllable mutation of the corpses."
"Oh? Can the corpses be controlled to mutate in a fixed direction?"
"It cannot be completely controlled, but it can be roughly guided to mutate in a certain direction."
Professor Chen stroked his chin and said carefully: "However, the mutation of the corpses is somewhat similar to the awakening of human talents. It does not depend entirely on the external environment, but is also influenced to a certain extent by their own talents and genes."
"Their physical genes are naturally extremely sensitive to mutations in a certain aspect, making them more susceptible to the influence of such mutation factors. This is actually equivalent to the talent of the corpses."
"I see." Lu Shen nodded and arranged: "You are allowed to conduct physical experiments on the research on the mutation of corpses. I will arrange a few corpses for you to conduct experiments directly. It would be best if you could give me an experimental report in a short time."
"Okay, if we can conduct direct physical experiments, it should be easier to get results," Professor Chen nodded in agreement.
Leaving the lab, Lu Shen was quite impressed. Having a capable research team was indeed extremely important.
These cutting-edge research projects were almost impossible to complete with ordinary survivors alone, and it would be absolutely impossible to create these potions.
It has to be said that, in any era, those who rely on their intellect still hold an absolute advantage!
For the next week, Lu Shen remained at the Giant Tree Shelter.
On one hand, he continued to improve the strength of the rotting corpses.
On the other hand, he also monitored the three level-four rotting corpses on the perimeter to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring.
Overall, nothing unexpected happened; everything proceeded smoothly without any major battles.
Most of the time, the level four corpses balanced each other, while the level three corpses, leading their level two hordes, probed and fought amongst themselves, resulting in casualties on both sides.
Initially, Lu Shen's horde was clearly at a disadvantage due to the combined attacks of the three groups.
However, the situation gradually stabilized.
Lu Shen's methods were ultimately beyond the reach of the corpses.
For example, when injured, the corpses could directly utilize dense radiation energy to heal, at a speed dozens of times faster than ordinary corpses.
Therefore, they could completely exchange injuries for injuries, without worrying about any losses, displaying immense power.
Even so, Lu Shen dared not push the three groups too far, trying not to provoke them and maintaining a relatively stable situation.
Because he had another trump card, constantly being developed!
Seven days, seemingly short, allowed the fighting force under the two corpse mothers to rapidly expand to over 100.
The original 100-plus corpses under the command of the mid-stage level three corpse mother had all been sent to the battlefield and gloriously sacrificed.
Now, she has 86 newly conceived corpses under her command, all of whom, thanks to Lu Shen's powerful enhancement methods, are at least at the peak of level one.
Currently, apart from the first batch of corpse infants belonging to Lu Shen and possessing leadership abilities, the remaining corpse infants were born from the union of Lu Shen and Lu Er.
Lu Er's genes have been well inherited and passed down.
This batch of corpses are all quite large, at least over 1.8 meters tall, with bulky bodies, very thick chests and backs, and extremely hard, dark gray keratinous layers!
Furthermore, these keratinous layers are constantly mutating, their hardness continuously increasing, almost approaching ossification. Their
massive size and solid defense make them like giant meat shields, capable of withstanding most corpse attacks.
To distinguish them from ordinary corpses, Lu Shen named this special defensive type of corpse "Tortoise Shell Corpse."
Meanwhile, among these 74 Tortoise-Shell Corpses, three possess exceptionally high talent, reaching Level Two immediately upon birth, making them elite among the Tortoise-Shell Corpses.
These three Tortoise-Shell Corpses are over two meters tall, with highly developed muscles and high, bulging backs like hard stones, though their movement speed is extremely slow, likely due to their heavy size.
However, in direct combat with the Corpse Legion, they hold the front lines, able to withstand many powerful attacks.
After all, some Corpses in the horde are not physically strong and require special protection, such as the Corpse Mother!
Lu Shi and Lu Yi are similar cases, leaning towards leadership, thus their physical strength is naturally weaker.
The emergence of these Tortoise-Shell Corpses perfectly compensates for this deficiency.
On the other hand, the Level Three Peak Corpse Mother also spawned 98 Corpses within a week.
To increase the diversity of the Corpse Legion's structure, she was not allowed to mate with Lu Er, but instead bred with Lu San.
Lu San's characteristics are very distinct: extremely strong individual combat power and terrifying physical attributes, but its intelligence is somewhat low.
Lu Shen hopes to use its genes to completely improve the problem of the weak individual strength of the "Yiling City" corpses, and cultivate a batch of corpses that have also become beast-like and possess strong individual strength.
Judging from the results, it seems to have succeeded.
These corpses have completely lost their human form, covered with hard scales, and are dark green in color. They also have a lizard-like tail, and their eyes are vertical pupils, as cold as snakes.
Their claws are extremely sharp, their teeth are sharp, and they have tiny fleshy wings growing on their backs. They are inherently cold and cruel, and do not communicate with other corpses, only having a pure desire to fight.
As expected, their strength is greater than that of ordinary corpses, and they have the upper hand in battle, only their intelligence is slightly lower.
Lu Shen calls them "beast-like corpses".
These corpses also differ from ordinary corpses in one aspect: their talent!
Their talent has a higher lower limit and a lower upper limit!
It sounds very strange, and Lu Shen initially found it very strange as well.
Among the beast-like corpses, almost none were weak; most reached level two, possessing considerable combat power and a very high minimum strength!
However, among the entire 83 beast-like corpses, not a single elite—that is, one that reached level two immediately upon birth—appeared!
Their talents and qualities were all very stable, stuck around the late level two, showing no signs of breaking through to a higher level.
This might be a major flaw of the beast-like corpses, but it was still within acceptable limits.
Overall, the beast-like corpses were still very powerful, but they hadn't been officially tested on the battlefield yet, remaining hidden as accumulated combat strength.
The next task was to continuously expand both legions, one offensive and one defensive. Once their numbers reached several hundred, it would be enough to deal with the hordes of corpses outside.
Perhaps, it could further enhance his status in the forest and allow him to continue expanding his territory.
With these two corpse mothers, Lu Shen's confidence greatly increased. He believed that even in this forest, he could occupy a place, perhaps even becoming its king.
After all, he now possesses the advantages of both the forest corpse and the "Yiling City" corpse simultaneously. Coupled with the rapid power boost from his "Condensation" talent, the forest corpse is simply no match for him! All
he needs now is time!
In addition, Professor Chen's research has yielded new results: controllable mutation of corpses!
Experimental results show that it is indeed possible to artificially guide the mutation of corpses, and the success rate is very high if the method is correct.
It mainly involves two processes: first, probing the genes to determine the suitable mutation direction;
second, guiding it to live around the black pool of water for a long time, absorbing the mutation factors within, and then providing corresponding abilities based on its suitable mutation direction.
For example, if its genes show it is more suited to fire-attribute mutation, then it should be exposed to flames while absorbing mutation factors, or forcibly burned.
There is a certain probability that it will be burned to death. But there is also a certain probability that it will successfully undergo fire-attribute mutation.
Although there are experimental results, it has not yet been formally attempted, and the process of truly achieving controllable mutation is still quite difficult.
Even just probing their genes was extremely difficult, so Lu Shen had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea.
In any case, the possibility of natural mutation among the corpses was still relatively high.
Among Lu Shen's horde of corpses, mutations frequently occurred, and the probability wasn't low.
However, even when ordinary corpses mutate, the changes are mostly physical, such as more developed muscles, bone blades growing on their hands, or venomous claws.
These mutations aren't particularly powerful enough to warrant gene harvesting and army building.
Therefore, while Lu Shen has been researching mutations, he's not actually very concerned about this research.
Inferior mutations are irrelevant; superior mutations are rare and hard to come by.
However, just a few days ago, another event attracted most of Lu Shen's attention.
Normally, Xue Ya would venture deep into the forest to search for various plant resources, including herbs, cultivable plants, and other special plants. Thanks to her unique plant affinity, she brought back many valuable plants.
But recently, due to the siege of level-four corpses to the south, the situation was extremely tense and unsuitable for daily activities, so Xue Ya chose to head to the mountains.
This was her first time exploring the mountains!
Xue Ya was also hoping to discover several unknown but valuable crops.
However, the situation was different from what she expected.
Not long after entering, Xue Ya sent back a message. She had discovered a potentially valuable resource, but due to her own insufficient strength, she couldn't clear the surrounding fireflies, so she asked Lu Shen to come and check it out.
Lu Shen initially didn't care much and headed directly to the mountains without much thought.
There were still many powerful fireflies in the mountains, but by now, everyone was quite familiar with these creatures and had many ways to deal with them.
Moreover, with Lu Shen's level four strength, almost no fireflies could harm him, so he quickly ventured deep into the mountains and found Xue Ya.
She hadn't come alone, but with three members of the slave group. Although they weren't very strong, she possessed a special herb that emitted a strange smell that the fireflies hated, so they wouldn't attack them.
When they arrived, the four were gathered at the bottom of a ravine, not far from a dark cave inhabited by many fireflies.
They weren't attacked because of the special herb, but entering the cave was difficult.
Lu Shen was also puzzled; he didn't seem to see any important resources here.
However, after listening to Xue Ya's explanation, he noticed a type of ore on the ground!
The ground surrounding the cave was entirely bare rock, which at first glance appeared no different from ordinary stones.
However, upon closer inspection, a distinct difference became apparent!
The stones here were covered in a layer of bronze patina, giving them an overall bluish-green hue. This wasn't rust, but rather the natural appearance of the stone itself.
Lu Shen tapped on them, and they produced a clear, ringing sound, revealing an extremely high hardness.
When he used his Solidification talent to probe the interior of the stone, he discovered a peculiar phenomenon: he couldn't detect anything!
His Solidification talent, also a mental talent, possessed some sensory abilities and could even be used in conjunction with Chen Yenian for simple scientific research.
However, this stone seemed inherently resistant to mental probes, making it exceptionally unique.
He then conducted further examination and discovered several more characteristics of this stone.
First, its extreme hardness!
Even with his strength as a level four awakened talent, he struggled to crush it. Even with the Solidification talent, it remained difficult to break easily.
This indicated that the stone's hardness was dozens of times greater than ordinary rock.
Second, its wear resistance!
Examining the surrounding stones, he found that their wear was extremely low; even after years of exposure to wind and sun, they remained remarkably intact.
Finally, their stability was exceptional!
He tried burning them or compressing them with air, but neither could alter their shape.
Using his "Condensation" talent to compress them, he found them incredibly difficult to compress, with little change in size.
This indicated that their original structure was extremely stable, reaching a very high level.
Lu Shen was astonished; he hadn't expected to find such a unique mineral in a completely natural environment.
High hardness, wear resistance, and strong stability—these three qualities combined instantly made him realize the mineral's potential!
Construction!
This was simply an excellent building material!
A material even more suitable for building city walls than ice bricks—a natural concrete material with a calm, understated color and subtle patterns, requiring no further embellishment.
The only problem now was the quantity of this stone!
If the quantity was sufficient, it would be an extremely valuable, top-tier resource!
Without hesitation, he immediately cleared away all the fireflies in the surrounding area and entered the cave to investigate.
Judging from the surrounding signs, this bronze-like ore extended deep into the cave, indicating that the entire vein was located within the cave.
Xue Ya and the others followed behind. The cave wasn't narrow, about two meters wide, and felt completely dry, with very fresh air.
Illuminated by candlelight, it exuded an ancient atmosphere, with some dark green plants growing inside, making the overall environment quite pleasant.
If an ordinary survivor discovered this place, it could likely be used as a shelter, offering a high level of safety. At
the entrance, the bronze stones could be used to block the fireflies, preventing them from entering.
As they went deeper, the passage narrowed, but the previously rocky ground began to reveal more and more bronze-colored stones.
In the candlelight, these stones appeared a faint green.
"This quantity... is quite a lot!" Lu Shen couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes widening in amazement.
Although his mental power couldn't perceive it, he could tell simply by looking that the quantity of this ore was enormous.
Reaching the deepest point, about two kilometers in, they saw almost no ordinary rocks, only single, solid slabs of blue-green stone.
Lu Shen acted decisively, confirming the cave's location. Upon returning to the Giantwood Refuge, he immediately dispatched men to garrison it and establish a temporary base, attempting to begin mining.
However, with the Giantwood Refuge currently having a small population, large-scale mining of this ore would be extremely difficult.
After some consideration, he contacted Qin Hong of the Sixth District, asking her to select 30 members from the early slave groups to return to the Giantwood Refuge.
Currently, the various departments of the Sixth District were functioning smoothly even without slave group members in charge, so he could mobilize them freely.
Once they arrived, he immediately sent people to establish a base, naming it the "Bronze Stone Vein," and began mining.
To ensure smooth mining operations, Lu Shen specially crafted the finest tools: utilizing his "Condensation" talent, he compressed the steel from the train carriage shelter to its limit, enabling him to mine it, albeit at a relatively slow pace.
Currently, several dozen kilograms of bronze stone have been transported back, and preliminary research has begun.
Professor Chen's suggestion aligns with Lu Shen's own ideas—to use this ore to build city walls!
However, Professor Chen's approach is based on rigorous measurements and experiments, providing actual data. According to his report, large city walls built using this bronze stone have approximately 23.52 times the defensive capability of ice brick walls.
Expanding the walls, increasing their height and thickness, would further enhance their defensive capabilities.
Lu Shen plans to first construct a small wall around the Giant Tree Shelter to test the effects of the bronze stone.
If subsequent production is high, the ice brick walls of District Six can be converted into bronze walls, significantly boosting their defensive strength.
...
Giant Tree Shelter.
Third-floor laboratory.
"Chief, this kind of ferocious worm-like bio-armor should be a special existence somewhere between ore and living organisms. It possesses some biological characteristics, but it's different from real living organisms..."
Bai Hua said, holding the experimental report in his hand, explaining in detail.
Lu Shen's gaze remained unchanged as he asked, "I don't care about its life form; I just want to know its function."
"According to Professor Chen's research, the ferocious worm-like bio-armor can fuse with the human body to form a unique enhancement system! Moreover, the quality, abilities, functions, and characteristics of each ferocious worm-like bio-armor are significantly different, and not everyone can fuse with it!"
Bai Hua said, while suggesting, "Chief, judging from the research results, the ferocious worm-like bio-armor does not harm the human body; on the contrary, it has considerable benefits. We can try fusing it with the human body!"
Lu Shen nodded slightly, looking at the ferocious worm-like bio-armor in his hand, lost in thought.
He had personally witnessed the immense value of this resource obtained from the Tyrant, and it had to be utilized.
He currently had a total of 46 of them.
Some were collected from the Tyrant's residence and had not yet been fused with human survivors; they were considered brand-new level one ferocious worm-like bio-armor.
The remaining portion mainly consisted of the worm-like bio-armor dropped by members of the Tyrant's forces, which Lu Shen collected.
Therefore, the levels of these worm-like bio-armor varied greatly.
Those that hadn't been fused were almost entirely at level one, offering no improvement.
However, the worm-like bio-armor dropped from survivors was roughly equivalent to the survivors' strength in life. This
was because after fusion with humans, the worm-like bio-armor and the awakened talent's improvement rate were the same, resulting in comparable levels.
Therefore, the two highest-quality worm-like bio-armor he currently possessed were at level three, one fire-attribute and the other tiger-attribute.
Compared to the other worm-like bio-armor, these two seemed to possess a life of their own, exuding a unique aura.
The fire-attribute worm-like bio-armor itself emitted heat, appearing a faint red, but this intense heat was mixed with a hint of venom, making it extremely unsettling to behold.
The other tiger-attribute worm-like bio-armor had a more normal aura, occasionally emitting faint tiger roars.
Lu Shen tried several times and found that the characteristics of the two ferocious worm implants were incompatible with his abilities, making fusion impossible.
This was understandable, given the vast difference in their attributes.
He then took out the remaining 40-odd ferocious worm implants and tried to match them one by one.
Initially, his expression was relatively normal, but as the number of failures increased, he began to falter.
When he finally put down the last ferocious worm implant, Lu Shen's face darkened completely—not a single one matched!
"Are the requirements for fusing ferocious worm implants that high? Not a single one is suitable!"
Lu Shen sighed helplessly, somewhat disappointed. If he could successfully fuse one, his strength would increase by at least 50%.
But faced with this result, he felt somewhat resigned.
After a moment's thought, he summoned all the members currently at the Giant Tree Shelter.
This included the 11 members of the slave group, Jiang Yueying, Qiu Suying, Xue Ya, and others, plus the researchers.
He took out all 40-odd ferocious worm implants and had them try to match them.
He vaguely remembered that one of the ferocious worm-like implants possessed a strong aura of lightning, making it highly likely to match Yang Hao.
Without hesitation, everyone began trying, but the success rate was equally low.
Qiu Suying and the other initial members were the first to try; they all had relatively common physical attributes, but ultimately failed to find a match.
Xue Ya's talent was more unique—plant affinity—a special and high-quality talent with very distinct characteristics, which should theoretically make it easier to find a suitable ferocious worm implant.
Unfortunately, among these 40-plus implants, there seemed to be no wood attribute, preventing her from finding a match either.
Next were the slave group members. Unsurprisingly, Yang Hao successfully fused with a lightning-attribute ferocious worm implant. It was
of first-level quality, and no one else had likely fused with it before.
It had a faint bluish-purple hue, was only the size of a fingernail, and had a slightly tingling sensation when touched.
After fusion, the lightning-infused ferocious worm adhered to the back of Yang Hao's hand, completely integrated, like a small lightning mark.
Throughout the fusion process, Yang Hao didn't show much abnormality. He only vaguely felt that some of the lightning energy in his body was being drawn away and injected into the Fiendish Creature Armor.
As his energy was absorbed, his compatibility with the Fiendish Creature Armor also improved considerably, and they officially became one.
Lu Shen was also very curious and asked, "How does it feel? Has your strength improved?"
Hearing this, Yang Hao carefully sensed it for a while and then shook his head: "There is indeed a slight improvement, but... I need to familiarize myself with it. Its energy is too weak right now, and its improvement to me is very limited. Moreover, I don't know exactly how to use it."
With Lu Shen's permission, Yang Hao quickly returned to his room and began to familiarize himself with the Fiendish Creature Armor.
Next, unexpectedly, one of the remaining ten slaves successfully matched!
It was a short young man named Zhao Jun, who also had the most common physical talent.
However, his physical enhancement was biased towards his right hand!
His right hand was extremely thick!
It wasn't just that his muscles were extremely strong, but the skin, bones, and meridians of his right hand were all enhanced, resulting in a comprehensive improvement in the strength and speed of his right hand.
Within the slave community, he was affectionately known as the Golden Right Hand.
And the ferocious worm-like armor he fused with also seems to be related to "hands"!
The worm-like bio-armor attached itself to his right wrist. After a successful fit, its appearance began to slowly spread, like a layer of biological scales, gradually enveloping his entire right arm.
Starting from the wrist, it spread upwards to the elbow and downwards to the fingers, forming a dark gray protective layer.
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As excitement appeared in Lu Shen's eyes, he said, "Let's try it and see what happens!"
Zhao Jun was also full of excitement, and quickly got up and threw a punch at the ground.
"Boom!"
A violent sound instantly echoed in the surrounding mountains and forests.
A large crater was smashed into the ground, but the arm covered by the worm-like bio-armor was completely unharmed.
Lu Shen couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Being able to smash a large crater in the ground was nothing special; even other talent awakeners could do it to some extent.
The key point is that the moment he swung his hands, one could clearly feel an external force propelling them forward, unleashing even more terrifying power in a short time.
Zhao Jun stared at his hands in disbelief and couldn't help but exclaim, "Leader, I feel... like my right hand has a motor!"
Lu Shen nodded, "Isn't it somewhat similar to an exoskeleton? Defense, attack, and speed should all be greatly enhanced!"
"Indeed, the Ferocious Worm Armor adjusts my power generation, allowing my muscles and blood vessels to work together, and supplies me with even greater strength, increasing the strength of my right hand several times over!
" "You kid, you're really lucky!" Lu Shen smiled and asked, "Have you sensed how to improve your strength?"
This is actually a very important point. Having the Ferocious Worm Armor means they have more options and can take a different path!
He can still use R-type potions and Spirit Condensation potions, but he can also improve with the help of the Ferocious Worm Armor.
"Chief Lu, I have a vague sense that I belong to the physical talent awakener category, and this ferocious worm implant also belongs to the physical type. Regular exercise and the use of high-quality biological flesh can enhance my strength!" Zhao Jun answered honestly.
"Not bad!" Lu Shen nodded in satisfaction, secretly thinking: Finally, another anomaly has emerged, capable of becoming elite combat power, adding another capable subordinate.
However, judging from the current situation, the quality of the "Gauntlet Ferocious Worm" that Zhao Jun fused with is most likely inferior to Yang Hao's "Lightning Ferocious Worm."
The Tyrant's experimental report stated that the higher the quality of the ferocious worm implant, the more difficult it is to control, and the more diverse its functions.
Some more ordinary ferocious worm implants are easier to control, but their combat power is also weaker, and their usage is simpler.
Now it is clear that Yang Hao cannot fully control the "Lightning Ferocious Worm" at all, and needs to gradually understand it before he can slowly master it.
On the contrary, Zhao Jun, who is weaker, can use it immediately after successful integration.
Regardless, successfully matching the worm-like implant was a good thing.
Finally, all five members of the research team came forward to try.
Three of them, being professors and teachers, failed to match.
Bai Hua and another younger graduate student, surprisingly, both succeeded.
A small, round worm-like implant was attached to the back of Bai Hua's head, almost completely covered by his hair, making it impossible to discern its purpose.
Lu Shen roughly guessed that it was a kind of worm-like implant, close to a mental construct, but only understood its specific function after Bai Hua explained it himself.
It seemed… a bit like a USB drive!
According to Bai Hua himself, after matching this worm-like implant, his thoughts became much more organized, and his previously chaotic memories seemed to have been reorganized.
If the mind were a library, then previously this library was cluttered with numerous books, some useful thoughts, some useless.
However, this ferocious worm-like implant acted like a librarian, organizing all his thoughts and placing these "books" on the shelf.
Moreover, when he needed certain thoughts or memories, the implant would assist him in finding them.
This extremely special implant allowed him to play a more important role in his subsequent research, greatly enhancing his data organization and recording.
Simultaneously, through continuous thinking and memorization, he could also improve his and the implant's strength to some extent.
However, the most important way to improve was undoubtedly by consuming the red flesh and blood of the Firefly Locust, as it contained abundant spiritual energy that could directly enhance one's spirit, which was especially important for researchers.
After everyone had tried, Lu Shen was very satisfied; three people had successfully matched with the implant, indicating a very high success rate.
He arranged for them to return to their residences, familiarize themselves with their implants, and cooperate with Professor Chen in some research, and then Lu Shen didn't interfere further.
Life at the Giant Tree Shelter was quite leisurely. Although the situation seemed precarious, with the three Level 4 Corpses besieging them, everything was actually quite peaceful.
Lu Shen hadn't actually seen these three Level 4 Corpses yet; they seemed to have settled down in the area, becoming the lords of this region.
Aside from occasionally sending out hordes of corpses to provoke him, nothing else happened.
Lu Shen was naturally happy with this situation. If these three Level 4 Corpses continued to stall for time, he could quickly crush them with his extremely rapid development.
Then… a massive army of thousands of Corpses would come crashing down on them, completely overwhelming them!
Lying on the balcony of the fifth floor of the Giant Tree Shelter, Lu Shen felt the light filtering in from outside, with the lazy snow cat lying beside him.
This snow cat had previously lived in the train carriage shelter, and Qiu Suying and the others had brought it along.
Since he and Qiu Suying slept on the fifth floor, it had also made its home there.
Since arriving here, the snow cat has thrived, frequently venturing into the mountains to hunt small prey.
Lu Shen has shown great tolerance and care for this initial companion, occasionally feeding it a couple of pieces of rose-red flesh to help improve its intelligence.
Moreover, the snow cat already possesses considerable strength, belonging to the upper-middle tier of predators. With increased intelligence, it can perform even more tasks.
For example… developing animal husbandry!
Currently, animal husbandry mainly focuses on dead-leaf birds and mutated wild boars.
Both have significant disadvantages. While dead-leaf birds are numerous and relatively easy to raise, each bird yields very little meat; thousands or even tens of thousands are only equivalent to one adult wild boar.