Following Claire's inquiries, Alex naturally introduced Daniel to Claire and the others.
Upon learning that Daniel was also from the Hero City base, everyone immediately felt a sense of familiarity.
The Thunder Flame Mercenary Group seemed fairly well-known within Hero City, as Claire and the others all recognized it after Daniel mentioned it.
Of course, Claire and the others also asked about Hero City itself.
Through the conversation between Claire and Daniel, Alex gained a general understanding of the Hero City base.
Unlike Greenridge Base, built on a hilltop in the suburbs, Hero City — true to its name — was a small pre-apocalyptic county town, cleared of zombies by the survivors to establish the base.
Hero City claimed a population of roughly 100,000 survivors, including a vast number of Awakened.
While each Level 3 Awakened at Greenridge Base is considered a leader, Hero City alone had hundreds of them.
The Awakened there possessed a wide variety of abilities, and naturally, Hero City was bustling with activity. Besides combat-focused Awakened, many were dedicated to everyday life.
For instance, the dimensional bag in Claire's hand had been crafted by an Awakened with a tool-related ability in Hero City.
It was impressive. Even from their brief conversation, Alex could sense the scale and sophistication of Hero City — just the tip of the iceberg.
However, now wasn't the time to dwell on this. Alex quickly turned the conversation toward searching for the hidden zombies.
"My awakened ability is connected to the land. Within a 300-meter radius, I can detect everything on and even beneath the ground. If any zombies are hiding underground, I can sense them as long as they're within that range," Daniel explained.
"You can sense everything within 300 meters? That's an incredible ability…" Alex's eyes lit up at Daniel's explanation.
While a 300-meter radius wasn't large compared to the entire Greenridge Base, if Daniel were to patrol the whole area, his abilities would be far more effective than those of hundreds of others.
"Is Alex home?"
Just as Alex and the others were discussing how to have Daniel quickly search Greenridge Base for any traces of the hidden zombies, a familiar male voice rang from outside.
"Ethan?" Alex and the others exchanged surprised glances.
They hadn't expected Ethan to arrive so quickly; he had come shortly after Alex's return.
However, by now Alex was confident in his own abilities. Despite the initial surprise, he remained calm.
Claire, standing nearby, walked over and opened the door.
As the base leader, Ethan wasn't alone; he was accompanied by two high-ranking members of the security team.
Entering Alex's room, Ethan's gaze naturally fell on the Black Cloud Leopard lying nearby.
"Is that really a Black Cloud Leopard?!" Ethan murmured, secretly astonished, as he looked at the calf-like black leopard crouched beside Alex. He immediately produced his crystal meter.
A faint ray of light illuminated the Black Cloud Leopard. The numbers flickered a few times before freezing on a value that shocked Ethan:
720!
"It really is a Black Cloud Leopard? How on earth did he manage to subdue a late-stage third-level Black Cloud Leopard?!" Ethan was incredulous as he stared at the reading.
With a slight twist of his wrist, he shifted the measurement to Alex.
"Hiss! Nearly 400 Crystal Points? Impossible!"
Ethan's face darkened in disbelief at Alex's Crystal Points. It was incredible.
Two months ago, when Alex became a base councilor, his Crystal Points had been measured at just a little over 100.
Yet now, in only two months, his Crystal Points were nearly catching up to Ethan's own.
What had Alex experienced over these past days? How could his strength have increased so rapidly?
"What do you mean, Chief? You're measuring our Crystal Points immediately after meeting?" Alex frowned, a look of displeasure crossing his face.
"I can't believe it! In just two months, you're almost at 400 Crystal Points. At this rate, won't you reach Level 4 Awakener in about half a year?" Ethan said seriously, staring at Alex.
"400 Crystal Points? He's actually reached that level?" Even Claire and Max, standing nearby, looked at Alex in astonishment.
They were equally amazed by Alex's rapid growth. When they had first met a few months ago, he had been only a Level 1 Awakener, with just 5 Crystal Points — jokingly called a "weakling."
And now, in only a few months, he had reached this point?
"Chief's Crystal Points have reached 400. Congratulations…" Since Ethan had taken the initiative, Alex didn't hesitate. He also used the Crystal Meter to measure his points, eyes narrowing slightly.
Judging from the readings, the two were nearly on par.
"Sure enough, close to 400! Unbelievable…" Meanwhile, Claire, standing nearby, took out her crystal measuring device and checked Alex's Crystal Points, a look of horror crossing her face.
What is a genius? Such growth in only six months was unheard of.
"Claire's Crystal Points are 142 — a significant increase. Huh? This new guy has 200? Who is he? And this little girl… she actually has 110?"
Ethan, feeling it was no longer necessary to be polite, measured the Crystal Points of Alex and the others with his device, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Claire had 142 points. After practicing the Sunflower Manual, her growth had been rapid, but still within expected bounds.
Daniel, a new face, had 200 points, which surprised Ethan even more.
Adding Lily into the mix, her Crystal Points had unexpectedly reached 110.
Glancing around the room, Max and Evan were close to Level 3 Awakeners. The others, including Alex, were all Level 3 Awakeners, plus the late-stage Level 3 Black Cloud Leopard…
Although they were few in number, their combined strength was enough to shock Ethan.
Originally, Ethan had been wary when Alex and Claire had reached the third level of awakening, but due to the zombie horde crisis, he had decided to suppress his thoughts of challenging them until the threat was resolved.
Now, seeing Alex's lineup, Ethan realized the situation was far beyond his control.