The laboratory doors slid open. Inside, Ren's cousin, Bai Xiaofei, and Xiaowei were curled up together catching up on a show, a bowl of high-end fruit sitting on the table between them.
It seemed their life in the apocalypse was quite comfortable.
Ren walked over to Xiaofei and handed him a finished serum. "Follow me outside and inject this. I guarantee it'll let you walk through H City like you own the place."
"Inject it? You're not putting some weird chemical in me, are you? Ren! I'm your brother! You can't use me as a lab rat!" Xiaofei went into full drama mode, acting as if Ren were about to commit a crime against humanity.
"Act normal! Your girlfriend is right here!" Ren's face darkened. Xiaofei was incredibly reliable when things got serious, but most of the time, the guy was a complete clown.
Ren forcibly dragged Xiaofei outside. As they stepped out, Ren casually blew apart a few approaching Corpse Brothers, leaving Xiaofei staring in slack-jawed silence.
"Wait... what? Holy crap! Ren! Since when were you this overpowered?!" Xiaofei stammered. He thought they were all ordinary civilians, yet his cousin had been a secret powerhouse this whole time?
"Inject the serum, and you'll be able to do this easily too."
Hearing Ren's words, Xiaofei's cowardly expression vanished instantly. His hand stopped shaking as he gripped the serum.
"You know, I've always been willing to sacrifice myself for science!"
Ren rolled his eyes and led them further away, stopping only when they reached a wide plaza far from the lab.
"Inject it here. Even if the reaction is huge, it won't affect the laboratory."
Xiaofei nodded and, without further hesitation, plunged the needle into his arm!
Boom!
The moment the serum hit his veins, it felt as if something inside Xiaofei had detonated. A thunderous roar filled his ears, making his head spin.
Simultaneously, wisps of crimson killing intent began to radiate from his body. His naturally black hair and eyes bled into a deep, vibrant red in an instant.
Rumble!!
As the serum was absorbed, the killing intent solidified, physically tearing into the surrounding pavement.
A spectral figure clad in ancient armor manifested behind Xiaofei, gazing coldly at the world. A few seconds later, the figure merged completely into his body. At that moment, Xiaofei's aura reached its zenith; nearby Corpse Brothers scattered in terror, not daring to approach the plaza.
Watching from a distance, Ren laughed. "See? I told you Xiaofei was a walking cheat code. He's on a different level than us."
Beside him, Xiaowei and Mu Tiancai nodded in silent agreement. Looking at the terrifying, blood-red aura surrounding Xiaofei, who could believe this kid was a goofball just minutes ago?
A few minutes later, the awakening concluded. Feeling the surging power within him, Xiaofei looked at the ground, gave a slight hop, and launched himself ten meters into the air!
"Holy crap! What's happening?!"
"Yep, still a goofball," Ren noted, stroking his chin. Judging by the aura just now, Xiaofei's strength likely far exceeded his own. It was a bit demoralizing.
But thinking about his upcoming experiments, Ren felt the future was bright. He immediately signaled Mu Tiancai to head back to the lab for the final phase of the God Gene.
In the air, Xiaofei adjusted his descent and landed smoothly next to Xiaowei. Seeing Ren and Mu Tiancai leaving, he shouted, "Hey! Ren! Don't just leave us here!"
"You're strong enough to own H City now. Find a chance to get out of here—stop freeloading at my place!"
"Wait! Your sister-in-law doesn't have a serum yet!" Xiaofei put on a pathetic face. "Come on, good brother, give her one too. What if she gets infected?"
Ren paused, realizing he had indeed overlooked Xiaowei's God Gene in the excitement. He smacked his forehead with a laugh. "My bad! I was so annoyed watching you get stronger that I forgot! Hahaha! Fine, let's go back. We'll get Xiaowei injected right away."
Ren returned to the lab and brought out a standard God Gene for Xiaofei to administer.
The version for Xiaowei was a standard variant designed to awaken a superpower while granting immunity to the virus. Consequently, her awakening was far quieter than Xiaofei's.
Seconds later, it was a success. Her ability was quite interesting: a healing-type power similar to the Mystical Palm Technique from the Naruto world. As long as she had the stamina, she could treat injuries.
"Alright, now you've got a DPS and a Healer. Go out and explore, stop wasting my time!"
Ren and Mu Tiancai retreated back into the lab. The main reason he wanted them to leave wasn't just Xiaofei's strength—it was because Xiaofei's presence might attract the Corpse King. Ren was nowhere near strong enough to face the King head-on yet.
Xiaofei scratched his head, looking at the extra serum in his hand and then at the lab doors. "Don't worry! I'll make sure this gets to the authorities!"
With that, Xiaofei and Xiaowei grabbed some supplies and departed.
Inside the lab, Mu Tiancai watched the two leave on the monitors. "Ren, we can begin."
"Good. If our God Gene can devour the Killing Factor in Xiaofei's bloodline, it proves my theory is correct. In the future, we'll be able to devour the blood or energy of others to obtain their talents. We'll keep growing until we stand at the apex of the universe!" Ren's eyes flashed with a manic, ambitious light.
Ren's goal was to evolve the God Gene into an infinitely devouring factor, similar to the Gourmet Cells from Toriko. As long as their hunger was satisfied, they would never stop growing.
While this world didn't run on "appetite," the scope of Zombie Brother was vast. Beyond Earth, the universe held countless powerful races. If he could assimilate those genes, he couldn't even imagine how strong he would become.
"Once we've devoured the top-tier genes in the universe and purified the God Gene... that is when our work will truly be complete!"
Beside him, Mu Tiancai threw some cold water on the hype. "Alright bro, let's just see if it can actually eat Xiaofei's Killing Factor first... honestly, seeing him just now, I'm worried our Corpse-based gene might get its butt kicked by his bloodline."
"You'll realize soon enough how much you're underestimating our work!" Ren laughed, setting the equipment to begin the assimilation process.
The two scientists threw themselves back into a state of high-intensity focus.
Meanwhile, outside the villa.
"Fei, what do we do now? Do we leave H City directly?"
"Leaving is the goal, but first, we need to find the military and hand over the serum Ren and the others made," Xiaofei said. Then, he paused. "By the way, Xiaowei... did you get bigger?"
The serious Xiaofei vanished, replaced by a lecherous smirk as he pointedly bounced the girl on his back.
"You brat!"
Xiaowei's face turned red, but they were a long-term couple, so she wasn't overly shy. After a moment of exasperation, she noted seriously, "Actually, I do feel like my clothes are getting tight. It's a bit hard to breathe. I think I went up at least two sizes."