Chapter Seventy-Nine: A Call from the Ruins

In the midst of ruins, Gu Sha sat cross-legged in the corner of a house that had collapsed more than halfway, surrounded by several massive slabs of concrete arranged to form a makeshift shelter.

At this moment, his entire body shimmered with a radiant glow. His veins burned red, his blood surged with the roar of thunder, and within his genetic lock, divine brilliance was unleashed. The inscription upon the first gene lock emanated a luminous sheen, nourishing his flesh.

Runes poured forth from that inscription, merging into his blood and flesh, transforming into divine radiance that, like an eternal furnace, endlessly drew source energy from the world around him.

Suddenly,

Gu Sha opened his eyes.

A streak of golden light flickered in his pupils.

“War King!”

A hint of joy flashed across his face as he instinctively clenched his fists.

He had finally reached this realm!

In his previous life, he had pursued it for twenty years, never even touching the threshold.

In this life, it had taken less than three months to become what he had gazed up at for twenty years.

Though whether those twenty years in his former life were truly real remained uncertain, it mattered little now.

Gu Sha could not wait to experience the power of the War King.

He raised his fist and struck out.

Immediately, power surged from the inscription on his gene lock, erupting from his body.

In that instant, Gu Sha gained a profound insight: he could now connect with the momentum and flowing source energy between heaven and earth.

With a thunderous boom, the energy within him gathered the world’s source energy, forming an invisible force that shattered a massive concrete slab weighing several tons just a few meters away.

The tremendous noise startled the zombies and zombie beasts outside.

A horde of them surged toward Gu Sha, howling and snarling.

Gu Sha lightly stamped his foot. Unlike before, the ground did not crack open beneath him; instead, energy rushed along the surface and appeared more than ten meters away, smashing through a crowd of zombies and beasts.

This was the transformation of the king-level. The power of the inscription nourished his flesh. Beyond the immense increase in combat strength, his control over force had also evolved—he could manipulate it freely, attack at range and over broad areas, and no longer suffered the embarrassment of shattering his shoes with a stomp; the power could now bypass the soles entirely.

Moreover, the most obvious change—

As a War King, he could now achieve short bouts of flight.

At once, Gu Sha summoned the inscription’s power. Invisible currents formed beneath his feet, much like the energy jets of a launcher.

He lifted off, rising more than ten meters, and landed steadily atop the crumbling ruins.

However, this flight consumed a tremendous amount of energy. Even that brief lift felt more exhausting than slaying a hundred zombie beasts.

Yet the novelty of it made Gu Sha unconcerned about fatigue. He tried again and again, until he attracted the attention of a flock of flying zombie beasts. After a fierce battle, he finally retreated and slipped into a ruined building.

This one was tilted, its structure unstable. Gu Sha sat on a balcony high above; all other parts had collapsed, leaving only this platform barely intact.

He set down his backpack and rummaged through it for some time before retrieving a bit of food.

It couldn’t be helped—the bag was packed with all sorts of things: aside from mutant bones, there were some corpse cores, a phone, cigarettes, a lighter, toothpaste, toothbrush, and other daily necessities.

Nearly every day, Gu Sha complained about not knowing when the authorities would develop the “Sumeru Bag.” If they did, he wouldn’t have to carry so many bulky packs when traveling.

The Sumeru Bag was a spatial device developed by the authorities using spatial abilities in later generations. Among civilians, it was called the “space bag,” and it became extremely popular, allowing one to store countless items in a single small pouch.

But it was expensive.

Gu Sha only learned of its existence in the third year after the apocalypse, upon arriving at the C City Bastion. Ten years later, he finally gritted his teeth and bought one. He hadn’t studied it deeply, so he didn’t know when the authorities had first developed it.

While eating, Gu Sha took out his phone and turned on the radio.

Looking at the phone, he complained again. The authorities’ solar-powered phones seemed to have been developed half a year after the apocalypse began. In fact, solar phones existed before, but were not widespread. When the apocalypse’s environment stabilized and the bastions established communication channels, solar phones became common.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have one.

His phone needed charging, and there was no power source in the bastion now. To keep it charged, Gu Sha had gone to great lengths to find power banks.

He turned on the radio. Today, the broadcast didn’t emit the usual lengthy “buzzing” sound.

“Today, we teach the eighth section of the first edition of the Qi Drawing Method…”

“Attention, citizens: according to the latest official research report, the energy from corpse cores can not only unlock gene locks, but also has broad applications, replacing many energy sources…”

“According to the official announcement from the Mountain City Bastion, the Extraordinary Association has produced its third fifth-tier extraordinary warrior…”

“Good news, good news! Survivors, please note: the authorities will begin a new round of supply air drops at noon tomorrow. Please wait patiently for official rescue…”

“…”

The signal today was excellent.

Previously, only one or two radio stations could be heard clearly each day; today, nearly all broadcasts were crystal clear.

Over the past month, Gu Sha listened to the radio every day.

Just as he remembered, in early July, the Longzhou authorities, after consulting many experts and the “Yellow Emperor’s Internal Canon,” successfully developed humanity’s first Qi Drawing Method and released it globally.

At that moment, humanity entered a new era—a time when everyone cultivated, and studies on corpse cores and mutant bones finally broke through. Mankind began to master source energy.

In this month, with relentless official promotion across continents, many powerful individuals were born. There were already several sixth-tier extraordinary warriors. As for seventh-tier, whether they existed or simply hadn’t been announced, Gu Sha hadn’t heard any news in the broadcasts.

Moonlight gradually spilled across the world.

Gu Sha leaned against the wall, gazing at the ruins before him. In the silence of night, the atmosphere brimmed with apocalyptic despair. The pale moonlight felt cold and bleak.

“Bzz, bzz, bzz.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

He quickly looked down—it was an incoming call, but from an unfamiliar number.

Gu Sha found it odd. He tapped to answer, but said nothing.

“Ah!”

A sharp scream erupted from the other end, followed by a woman’s excited shout: “Mr. Gu, is that you? Mr. Gu, are you answering the phone? I am your dedicated operator, Nie Qingqing!”

(End of this chapter)