Doomsday Reboot: My Superpowers Absorb Everything

The smell of rust mixed with gunpowder filled his nostrils. When Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a pile of discarded sacks. The afterglow of the setting sun slanted in through the broken glass windows of the chemical plant, casting long patches of light on the ground. The black bracelet on his wrist was still flashing, but the red light had become weak, like a light bulb with a faulty connection.

"Safe zone..." He propped himself up, the wound on his back throbbing painfully. Zhao Gang's panic when he hurriedly left was genuine; the attack by the level seven mutant was no accident. Mutants of that level were capable of flattening half the safe zone, unless... someone was guiding them from behind.

The thought had barely crossed Lin Ye's mind when his heart skipped a beat—could it be his father? Given Lin Jianjun's personality, he would never sit idly by and watch him be taken away. Perhaps he had joined forces with the survivors in the library and created chaos while the main force of the Special Affairs Bureau was away.

He struggled to his feet, the military dagger heavy in his palm. Although the energy within his body was not yet fully stable after absorbing the level-five giant python's crystal core, the "Devouring" seal was operating more smoothly, and he could even vaguely sense the energy structure inside the bracelet—a simple detonation device based on electromagnetic pulses, which could be temporarily disabled by interfering with its internal circuitry.

"Let's give it a try." Lin Ye concentrated and channeled a wisp of pure energy into the bracelet. The dark red energy seeped into the bracelet's slits along his fingertip, coiling around the internal circuitry like a tiny snake. Suddenly, the bracelet emitted a piercing crackling sound, and the red light completely extinguished, turning into a deathly black.

Become!

A look of joy flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. With a forceful snap, the bracelet broke off. The moment he was freed from its restraints, he felt his blood flow more freely. His senses expanded once again, allowing him to clearly "see" the zombies wandering outside the chemical plant. He could even distinguish which were ordinary zombies and which were about to mutate into Level 2 beings.

He didn't leave immediately, but turned and headed towards the workshop. Li Wei was still lying unconscious in the corner, and next to the body of the speed-type ability user who had been strangled by the giant python, a standard-issue pistol lay on the ground. Lin Ye picked up the gun, checked the magazine, and found there were seven bullets left.

"Keeping it might come in handy." He tucked the pistol into his waistband, then walked over to Li Wei and checked his breathing. He was still breathing, but his face was pale, clearly suffering from serious internal injuries. Lin Ye hesitated for a moment, then took out the last half-bottle of water from his backpack, pried open Li Wei's mouth, and poured it down his throat.

He hated what the Special Affairs Bureau had done, but Li Wei was just a pawn following orders, and his crime did not warrant death.

Having done all this, Lin Ye determined his direction and quickly moved towards the library. The setting sun cast a long shadow of him, and the wind howled through the ruins, as if telling a tragic tale of the apocalypse.

As Lin Ye passed by the pedestrian street, he noticed that there were far fewer zombies than before. Scattered on the ground were many corpses in black uniforms, most of which had been pierced by sharp objects or smashed by blunt objects, clearly indicating that they had been cleaned by humans. He squatted down to examine a corpse and found obvious ligature marks on the victim's neck. The method was clean and efficient, unlike what an ordinary survivor could do.

"It's them." Lin Ye gripped the dagger tightly and quickened his pace. His father had served in the military and had learned combat and wilderness survival; this clean killing method was very likely his doing.

Half a kilometer from the library, Lin Ye finally spotted familiar figures—Lin Jianjun was carrying an injured man on his back, with Wang Hui following beside him, holding a sharpened steel bar and cautiously observing their surroundings. Lin Xi and Su Ya were supporting Chen Xue; the three girls looked exhausted, but their eyes were resolute.

"Dad! Mom!" Lin Ye shouted and rushed over.

"Xiao Ye!" Wang Hui saw him and tears welled up instantly. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Lin Jianjun stopped and turned around. Lin Ye then noticed that his arm was wrapped in bandages and bleeding, but his eyes remained calm: "It's good that you're back."

"Brother!" Lin Xi threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. "We thought we'd never see you again!"

Lin Ye hugged his younger sister tightly, feeling her warm body against his chest, a huge weight finally lifted from his heart. He patted Lin Xi's back and looked at his father: "Over at the safe zone..."

"We did it." Lin Jianjun gave a bitter smile. "After you were arrested, we met several superhumans who were being persecuted by the Special Affairs Bureau at the library. They said that there were many people like you being held in the safe zone, so we got together..."

It turned out that after Lin Ye was captured, Chen Xue remembered that the old archives in the library recorded an underground passage leading to the logistics warehouse of the safe zone. They joined forces with several survivors hiding in the library—one of whom was a superhuman who could manipulate electricity, and another was a superhuman with immense strength. Taking advantage of Zhao Gang's absence with the main force, they infiltrated the safe zone through the underground passage, sabotaged the power supply system, and released the imprisoned superhumans.

"What's this about a Level 7 mutant?" Lin Ye asked.

"It was that giant bear," Lin Jianjun said. "When we released it, it was almost tortured to death. We never expected that after absorbing so many crystal cores, it would suddenly evolve into a level seven bear, biting anyone it saw. We couldn't control it." He sighed. "In the end, it was that electric ability user who risked his life to lure it outside the safe zone, but he himself..."

Lin Ye fell silent. He could imagine the chaos and devastation of that time, and the immense price those oppressed superhumans paid for their freedom.

"Where are we going now?" Su Ya asked softly. Her arm was cut, and blood was still seeping through the simple bandage.

"Leave the city," Lin Ye said. "The Special Affairs Bureau won't let this go easily. It's not safe here anymore. I know a place, in the mountains on the outskirts of the city, there's an abandoned missile base. It's a strategic location, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In my previous life, many people built shelters there."

"Missile base?" Lin Jianjun's eyes lit up. "I know that place. I've been there before during military exercises. It's really well-hidden."

"Let's hurry up," Wang Hui urged. "It'll be more dangerous after dark."

Lin Ye carried Chen Xue on his back—she had been grazed in the leg by a stray bullet while infiltrating the safe zone. Lin Jianjun supported the injured man, and the group headed towards the outskirts of the city.

Night fell quickly, the moonlight obscured by thick clouds, plunging the ruins into darkness. Lin Ye walked at the front, using his "Devouring" ability to sense the movements around him, his military dagger gleaming coldly in the darkness.

As they passed an abandoned gas station, Lin Ye suddenly stopped: "Something's up."

He sensed more than a dozen energy reactions, one of which was extremely strong, even surpassing the previous level five giant python, and it was inside the convenience store at the gas station!

"What's wrong?" Lin Jianjun gripped the steel bar tightly.

"There's something big inside," Lin Ye said in a low voice. "The energy reaction is very strong, at least level six."

"Let's go around it," Wang Hui said. "Don't cause trouble."

Lin Ye shook his head: "No, it's blocking our way, and... I sense there are still living people inside."

In my perception, next to that powerful energy reaction, there were several faint signs of life moving rapidly, as if they were trying to avoid something.

"I'll go check," Lin Ye said to his family. "You all wait here and don't make a sound."

He crouched low and approached the convenience store silently. The glass door was shattered, and the inside was a mess; shelves were overturned, and canned goods and snacks were scattered on the floor. Lin Ye held his breath, slowly moved to the doorway, and peered inside.

In a corner of the convenience store, a massive mutated crocodile lay sprawled on the floor, its body covered in hard scales, a bloody carcass dangling from its mouth, clearly having just finished eating. Behind the shelf opposite the crocodile, three children, the oldest appearing to be no more than ten years old and the youngest only five or six, trembled in fear, too afraid to utter a sound.

"They are the children of the survivors." Lin Ye's heart tightened. This level six mutated crocodile had extremely strong defense, and ordinary attacks could not hurt it at all. Moreover, its speed was extremely fast over short distances. Once it launched an attack, the three children would not have time to react.

He must distract it.

Lin Ye picked up a can from the ground and threw it forcefully toward the back door of the convenience store.

"Clang!"

The sound of the can hitting the ground startled the mutated crocodile. It raised its head, its murky eyes looking towards the back door, and the corpse in its mouth fell to the ground.

It's now!

Lin Ye suddenly rushed into the convenience store, his military dagger, imbued with dark green toxic energy, fiercely stabbing at the mutated crocodile's tail!

"Awooo—!"

The mutated crocodile, in pain, let out a deafening roar, its massive body suddenly turning around and opening its blood-red maw to bite at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye was prepared. He rolled away to dodge the attack and simultaneously channeled his energy into the ground. The absorbed plant energy took effect again, and countless vines suddenly sprouted from under the convenience store floor, wrapping around the mutated crocodile's limbs!

"Run! Run through the back door!" Lin Ye shouted to the back of the shelves.

The three children were stunned for a moment, then, after realizing what had happened, they helped each other and stumbled out the back door.

The mutated crocodile roared and suddenly exerted its strength, breaking the vines and sweeping its huge tail across. Lin Ye hurriedly used his energy shield to block it, but he was still knocked back and crashed into the shelf, a sharp pain shooting through his ribs.

"The energy of the level 5 crystal core... is not enough." Lin Ye panted heavily. The energy intensity of this mutated crocodile far exceeded that of the giant python, and the absorption speed of the "Devouring" seal could not keep up with its recovery speed.

Looking at the mutated crocodile's mouth full of fangs, he suddenly had an idea.

Lin Ye turned and ran deeper into the convenience store, deliberately leading the mutated crocodile into a narrow aisle. The shelves there were arranged closely together, which would just restrict the mutated crocodile's movement.

The mutated crocodile caught up as expected, its massive body stuck in the passageway, unable to move.

"Now!"

Lin Ye suddenly turned around and poured all the energy in his body—including the venomous energy from the giant python and the plant-based energy he had just absorbed—into the military dagger! The dagger was instantly enveloped in dark green and light green energy, emitting a soft buzzing sound.

With all his might, he stabbed the dagger into the mutated crocodile's open mouth, piercing through its lower jaw and reaching its skull!

"Awooo—!"

The mutated crocodile let out a desperate roar, its massive body struggling violently, causing shelves to collapse. Lin Ye gripped the dagger tightly, the "Devouring" seal on his palm spinning wildly, greedily absorbing the energy of the level six crystal core.

It was an energy more violent and heavier than that of a giant python, carrying the chilling properties of water and the ferocity of a crocodile, impacting Lin Ye's meridians as if they were about to explode. But he gritted his teeth, letting this energy wash over his energy core, his perception range expanding rapidly, and he could even "see" the trajectory of the energy flowing within his body.

After an unknown amount of time, the mutated crocodile's struggles gradually ceased, and its massive body went limp. Lin Ye drew his dagger; most of the crystal core's energy had been absorbed, and what remained was enough for his "Devouring" ability to evolve once more.

He staggered out of the convenience store and saw his family surrounding the three children, with Wang Hui bandaging their wounds.

"Brother! Are you alright?" Lin Xi ran over and saw that he was covered in blood and grime, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

"It's alright." Lin Ye smiled and ruffled her hair. "We have three more companions now."

The three children looked at him timidly, and the eldest boy suddenly bowed to him: "Thank you for saving us, brother. My name is Shitou, and they are my younger brother and sister."

"Come with us," Lin Ye said. "It's too dangerous for you to be out there alone."

Shi Tou nodded vigorously, took his younger siblings' hands, and followed closely behind Lin Ye.

As the night deepened, the group traversed the ruins, moonlight occasionally filtering through gaps in the clouds to illuminate their path. Lin Ye led the way, the "Devouring" mark on his palm emitting a faint red glow as he sensed everything around him.

He knew this was only temporary calm. The Special Affairs Bureau's pursuers would arrive sooner or later, the threat of the Level 7 mutants was not eliminated, and unknown dangers awaited them further away.

But he was no longer afraid.

Surrounded by family, companions, and the power to protect them, the "Devouring" mark on their palms not only devours crystal cores but also unites hearts. On this ruin, as long as they remain together, they can ignite a wildfire and find their own way to survive.

Lin Ye looked up towards the outskirts of the city, where the mountains loomed in the night, like sleeping giants. The missile base lay deep within those mountains, awaiting their arrival and a new challenge.

He gripped his military dagger tightly, his steps firm, and walked towards the dawn. The road to the apocalypse was still long, but as long as there was hope, one day, they would be able to rebuild their homes from the ruins.