The floor of Lin Qi's apartment building had three units. Each unit had three apartments, and the units were not interconnected.
Lin Qi was on the 22nd floor, in unit 3.
Through his Spiritual Vision, he observed that there were no other survivors in the unit, but there were six Zombies.
It didn't take long for Lin Qi to clear out the six Zombies.
Every single Zombie had a Crimson Crystal Stone in its head. The drop rate was one hundred percent.
'This is a little terrifying. By my current estimates, the zombification rate is about ninety percent. If this parallel world's population is seven billion, that means over six billion Extraordinary Items. And that's just counting the human Zombies.'
'With such an influx of Extraordinary Items, this world is bound to give rise to Extraordinary Professions, as well as even High Tier Extraordinary Items.'
'In the Cyber World, the Wizard Profession hits its limit at Tier Two or Tier Three. But in this world, it might not be impossible to become a Tier Nine Wizard.'
In the Cyber World, Extraordinary Professions generally maxed out at Tier Five or Tier Six. Anything above Tier Six existed only in legends and fantasies.
From Lin Qi's understanding, the things that limited the Level of an Extraordinary Professional were actually Spiritual Particles and Extraordinary Items.
The Cyber World lacked the foundation to support High Level Extraordinary Professionals.
For Extraordinary Professionals, this Doomsday World was practically fertile ground.
After obtaining the six Crimson Crystal Stones, Lin Qi didn't rush to continue clearing out Zombies. Instead, he temporarily returned to his apartment.
A Wizard's ability to analyze Extraordinary Items and acquire Abilities was an innate skill, but analysis didn't mean fully grasping the item's inherent effects.
Conducting experiments was a fundamental skill for a Wizard, and even more so for an L-level Researcher like Lin Qi.
Microscopic imagers, energy monitors, spectrometers...
Lin Qi had none of them!
The Exoskeleton wasn't a bag of holding. Lin Qi's modifications to the Exoskeleton had always prioritized combat effectiveness.
Especially in the greater context of the Witch Hunt, the survival environment for Wizards was grim, so Lin Qi had always focused on building up his defensive and offensive capabilities.
Fortunately, Lin Qi had his Spiritual Vision and could get a preliminary understanding of the Extraordinary Items' properties through cruder experiments.
Xia Chu sat on the edge of the bed, watching Lin Qi, who was seated at the desk with a serious expression.
Having been in a relationship for four years, Xia Chu had absolute trust in Lin Qi.
Besides, the way he looked when he was focused was no different from usual.
The Exoskeleton, the Short-Handled Tang Blade, the Crimson Crystal Stones—Xia Chu chose to set aside her questions about these things.
Lin Qi gripped the handle of his Tang Blade and instructed the Intelligent Brain to set a fixed force output for the Exoskeleton's arm, preparing to attempt a physical impact test.
Before Lin Qi could even begin the first step of his experiment, an untimely interruption occurred.
ZZZT...
The sound was coming from a cell phone that had been set to radio mode and fitted with an antenna.
The broadcast signal had been partially restored.
"This is the Dragon Country capital, broadcasting to all survivors nationwide. To all survivors, the Dragon Country government is still operational."
"Rescue operations are underway. The first batch of rescue zones are: Jing, Modu, Wu, Qing..."
"Survivors in the aforementioned areas should remain at home and await rescue."
"Due to incomplete local organizational structures, rescue operations cannot be initiated in remote areas at this time. We ask that remaining organizations and cadres in these regions take independent action immediately and use the following frequency to maintain contact with the capital."
"Next, we will broadcast a survivor's guide."
"First, this crisis is not infectious. Please fight the Zombies bravely."
"Second, clear out Zombies in your vicinity as soon as possible, including but not limited to those converted from humans. Try to obtain the Crimson Crystal Stones from their heads."
"Third, the Crimson Crystal Stone can be dissolved under the tongue. It can enhance physical constitution and promote the healing of external wounds."
"Fourth..."
Before the fourth point could be broadcast, the signal was once again hit with severe interference.
But based on the limited information available, it was clear that the Dragon Country government was formidable. Just over a day after the apocalypse began, they had already consolidated their remaining forces and even researched some of the effects of the Crimson Crystal Stone.
'Dissolved under the tongue?'
Lin Qi looked at the Crimson Crystal Stone, refusing to rashly follow the advice.
The crude experiment would continue as planned.
CLINK! A crisp sound rang out.
The Crystal Stone's structural integrity was clearly inferior to A-Class Materials; it shattered into fragments from the impact.
As it shattered, Lin Qi maintained his Spiritual Vision.
He saw a massive amount of Spiritual Particles scatter as it broke apart.
These Spiritual Particles were slightly different from the ones permeating the air and could not be absorbed by a Wizard through Meditation.
Instead, they penetrated the metal Exoskeleton Armor and fused with the arm inside.
A Wizard's instinctual obsession with bodily purity fought to reject the Spiritual Particles.
But a Tier One Wizard Professional could hardly use their Spiritual Power to directly control the flow of Spiritual Particles.
The Spiritual Particles converted from the Crimson Crystal Stone were still unstoppably absorbed by his body.
Following the flow of his blood and his accelerating heartbeat, they gradually spread throughout his entire body.
"Classmate Xiaoai, report my physical status."
'My experiment was a bit reckless,' Lin Qi thought.
'Given my usual cautious nature, I wouldn't normally have started the experiment so rashly.'
'I should have waited until my next trip, or even the one after that, to bring more experimental equipment to the Doomsday World before officially beginning.'
'As for bringing the Crimson Crystal Stone back to the Cyber World?'
'That's impossible.'
'The level of surveillance in Red Fruit City is beyond imagination. There's no way I would risk bringing any Extraordinary Items from the Doomsday World back to the Cyber World.'
Body data was transmitted through the electrodes behind his ear and projected directly onto his retina.
Lin Qi could clearly see the changes in his physical data.
The activity of various cells had slightly increased, muscle fiber strength had slightly improved, and his internal hormone levels had changed slightly.
Overall, the changes weren't significant, and what little had changed was positive.
The psychological purism from his Wizard instincts had slightly eased.
The effect was similar to the Potions produced by the Red Fruit Weapon Research Institute.
It provided a certain stimulus to the human body; the effects should be quite good for Extraordinary Professions like Martial Artists and Knights.
'The Exotic Spiritual Particles from the Crimson Crystal Stone can strengthen the physical body and have no adverse reactions with the Wizard Profession.'
'As for side effects, I haven't detected any for now. Besides, if there were negative effects on my body, my Wizard instinct—that inexplicable mental purism—would have had a strong reaction.'
'Perhaps I can use the Crimson Crystal Stone to strengthen myself and then fake a new Extraordinary Profession?'
'Prosthetic Body modifications are clearly more compatible with Martial Artists and Knights.'
Lin Qi instinctively had the idea of creating another alias for himself.
The Wizard Profession was too dangerous. There were always people who wanted to tie Wizards to a stake and burn them alive.
Just as Lin Qi was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a soft touch from behind.
Because there was no danger, the Intelligent Brain didn't issue a warning.
"Lin Qi, Modu is in the first batch of rescue locations. We just need to wait at home for rescue."
"We haven't... in seven days... Why don't we..."
The sunlight flickered outside the window, yet it felt somewhat cold and gloomy.
Lin Qi's heart rate shot up to 160. He wasn't sure if it was from the stimulus of the Crimson Crystal Stone's Spiritual Particles or from Xia Chu's.
'This is not good...'
Lin Qi took a deep breath and firmly shook his head, refusing.
The scorched black marks were still on the floor. He couldn't bring himself to do something like that.