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Chapter 81 - 79:1 Am the Ability User_2

Wei Zhen Guo had smoked half of his fourth cigarette when he lay down on the hospital bed and fell asleep.

The soldier beside him considerately extinguished Zhen Guo’s cigarette and placed it back into the pack.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Doctor Chen turned to the soldier and said,

“He’s stable for now. Squad Leader Wei isn’t in any life-threatening danger, but he will need to recuperate for a while and can’t go out anymore.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Chen.”

The soldier saluted.

“Hey, it’s just what I’m supposed to do!”

After washing his hands briefly, the doctor approached Wang Tao and extended his hand.

“Hello, my name is Chen Zhuang. Chen as in the ear of grain, and Zhuang as in strong.”

Wang Tao hesitated for a moment at the slender figure before him before shaking hands with him.

“Nice to meet you, Doctor Chen.”

“Wang Tao, I’ve never seen a living Ability User before! Are you sure you won’t consider letting me observe you for a while? After all, Ability is a novel phenomenon. There are many things that you might not know yourself, but if we observe and discuss together, we might just figure it out!”

Chen Zhuang still seemed somewhat reluctant to give up.

“No, thanks.”

Wang Tao quickly shook his head, thinking if you were a beautiful woman, maybe it’d be different. But a big guy wanting to observe him all day… what for?

“By the way, you mentioned you’ve never seen an Ability User before? Then who was the Ability User that Squad Leader Wei met?”

Wang Tao asked curiously.

“Indeed, I haven’t met one. It was Squad Leader Wei who encountered them outside. He said he saw a very powerful individual wielding a steel rod, powerful enough to deal with many zombies all by himself…”

“I see… Didn’t you invite him to the base?”

Wang Tao asked again.

“Squad Leader Wei said he invited him, but Ability Users can roam freely in the post-apocalyptic world. Naturally, they wouldn’t want to come here and be restricted…”

Chen Zhuang’s tone was somewhat sour.

II II

Not wanting to be constrained might be true. After all, suddenly gaining superpowers, who wouldn’t get a bit inflated? If Wang Tao hadn’t encountered many special zombies and that terrifying monster with ten thousand HP, he might have gotten a bit full of himself too.

But the idea of roaming freely in the apocalypse was just Chen Zhuang’s fancy, especially with the recent emergence of the “Mad Demon” zombies. Even Wang Tao wouldn’t dare say he could handle them confidently.

“Ah, right, could you tell me how you obtained your Ability? Was it from eating a Zombie Core?”

Chen Zhuang didn’t dwell on the others, quickly asking the question that concerned him the most.

The soldiers standing near the bed perked up their ears.

Wang Tao did not answer directly but instead looked puzzled as he asked,

“Didn’t Squad Leader Wei just say that humans become Ability Users by eating Zombie Cores? How come you…”

“Ahem, well, that conclusion is just our guess. We’ve conducted some experiments, but… none of them have been successful…”

Chen Zhuang looked embarrassed.

II II

So, Squad Leader Wei’s assertive talk just now was just bluffing, huh?

However, Wang Tao also picked up on an important piece of information from Chen Zhuang’s statement.

“You’ve conducted some experiments? Does that mean you have many Zombie Cores?”

Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang.

“Not many, but our base has some firepower and personnel, and we’ve managed to kill a few special zombies… Why? Are you interested in Zombie Cores?”

Chen Zhuang was perceptive and noticed that Wang Tao was particularly interested in these Crystal Cores.

“Of course,” Wang Tao admitted openly and then added, “My Ability came from eating these Zombie Cores. Ability Users who continue to consume Cores of the same type will grow even stronger…”

“So it is the Crystal Cores! And they actually make you stronger!”

A look of longing appeared on Chen Zhuang’s and the soldiers’ faces.

“But there are side effects,”

Wang Tao suddenly added.

“Ah? Side effects? What kind of side effects?”

Chen Zhuang seemed confused, clearly unaware of this issue.

“I’m not exactly sure, but you can think of it like this: Eating Zombie Cores indeed grants Abilities, and the more you eat, the stronger your Ability becomes. However, at the same time, impurities accumulate in your body. Too many of these impurities can harm your body and even turn you into a zombie!”

Eating Zombie Cores to gain Abilities was not something Wang Tao needed to hide. Once Zombie Cores appeared, people would be compelled to eat them, making them hard to conceal.

However, while Wang Tao mentioned the benefits, he also shared the drawbacks of Zombie Cores. Whether to eat them or not was up to others; he had no right to intervene. At most, he could only remind them to be cautious during the fusion process.

“That serious, huh…”

Chen Zhuang was taken aback.

“That’s the price of becoming stronger,”

Wang Tao said, looking out the window with a somewhat world-weary tone.

Though he didn’t have to pay that price, it didn’t stop him from putting on an act.

The soldiers nearby suddenly felt a sense of respect.

“So, whether or not to seek power through an Ability should really be given some thought,”

Chen Zhuang muttered.

“It’s not necessarily so. If there’s a chance, becoming an Ability User is generally good. What I want to say is, you should always be aware that strength comes at a cost. Also, Abilities aren’t something you can have just because you want them. Haven’t you tried experimenting and all failed?”

“Uh, you have a point…”

“Oh right, I forgot to say. Even if you fail to integrate with a Zombie Core, impurities will still accumulate in your body..”