Doomsday Reboot: My Superpowers Absorb Everything

The dew of early morning dampened their trouser legs, carrying the unique chill of the mountains. Lin Ye and his group finally arrived at the foot of the mountains on the outskirts of the city. Looking up, they could vaguely see an abandoned barbed wire fence winding along the ridge in the gray morning mist—that was the outer defense line of the missile base.

"We'll be there once we get over this ridge." Lin Jianjun pointed to the steep slope covered in vines ahead. The wound on his arm had been treated and the blood had congealed, but every step he took still strained his muscles, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Lin Ye carried his youngest child, Maodou, on his back, let Shitou hold his younger sister Yaya's hand, and walked at the front, clearing the way with a military dagger in hand. The thorn bushes on the hillside were unusually dense, and occasionally they could see mutated lizards gnawing on carrion, which he pinned precisely to the rocks with his dagger—after absorbing the level six crocodile crystal core, his strength and speed had increased to another level, and the "Devouring" mark could even predict the movements of these low-level mutants half a second in advance.

"Brother, look there!" Lin Xi suddenly pointed to the cliff face to the left, where a dark cave entrance was vaguely visible through the morning mist. "It looks like there's smoke!"

Lin Ye stopped and focused his senses. There was indeed a faint energy reaction at the cave entrance, more than one, and it was the aura of humans. He signaled for everyone to take cover, then crawled alone to the edge of the cliff, parted the vines, and looked down—a simple wooden shed stood in front of the cave entrance, with several strings of dried meat hanging out to dry. Two men carrying hunting rifles were sitting on a rock smoking, their military water bottles gleaming coldly in the morning light.

"They're survivors. Judging by their equipment, they've lived in the mountains for a long time," Lin Ye said, stepping back. "We need to be careful; we don't know if they're friend or foe."

"Should we take a detour?" Wang Hui looked at the three children with concern. Shi Tou was protecting Mao Dou behind him, his little face full of vigilance.

"Taking the detour will add three hours to our journey, and there are signs of mutated wolf packs on the other side of the mountain." Lin Ye shook his head. "I'll go negotiate. You guys wait here. If there's any movement, retreat into the dense forest."

He took the pistol from his waist and handed it to his father: "Take this, just in case."

Lin Jianjun took the gun and checked the safety: "Be careful."

Lin Ye straightened his clothes, trying to appear non-threatening, and slowly walked towards the cave entrance. The two men quickly spotted him and immediately raised their hunting rifles: "Stop! What are you doing?"

"We are survivors who escaped from the city and are looking for a place to stay." Lin Ye raised his hands, his voice steady. "We heard there's an abandoned base here, and we wanted to see if we could stay temporarily."

The bearded man on the left sized him up, his gaze lingering for a moment on the military dagger at his waist: "The base has been occupied long ago. You can leave now."

"Who took it?" Lin Ye pressed. "We just want to find a safe place that won't bother you."

"Enough with the nonsense!" The tall, thin man on the right impatiently pulled back the bolt. "Take another step forward, and don't blame us for being impolite!"

Just then, an old voice came from inside the cave: "Let him in."

The two men exchanged a glance, reluctantly lowered their hunting rifles, and stepped aside to make way for each other. Lin Ye nodded, subtly memorizing their positions and weapon types, and then walked into the cave entrance.

The cave was more spacious than expected, with torches stuck in the rock walls illuminating the open space. A dozen or so survivors sat around the campfire, mostly strong men, while a few women were gathering herbs. They all cast wary glances at Lin Ye as he entered.

An elderly man with white hair sat in the main seat, wearing a faded military uniform and leaning on an iron cane. His eyes were cloudy but held a sharpness born of years of battle: "What's your name? Are you from the city?"

"Lin Ye." He didn't hide anything. "The Special Affairs Bureau was arresting people in the city, and we had no choice but to escape."

"Special Affairs Bureau..." The old man frowned. "Zhao Gang and his gang?"

"You know him?" Lin Ye asked, somewhat surprised.

"Hmph, more than just acquaintances." The old man sneered. "Back when I was in the army, he was just a greenhorn who dared to embezzle military funds. I personally sent him to a military court. I never expected that when the end of the world came, this kid would take advantage of the chaos to raise a group and start his own 'land grabbing' scheme."

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat: "You are...?"

"A retired veteran, surnamed Zhang." The old man tapped his cane. "This base was first occupied by my men. We originally wanted to leave a way out for the refugees, but Zhao Gang had his eye on this place for a long time and sent three groups of people to test it out. We drove them all back."

"Mr. Zhang, are you saying Zhao Gang will come to seize the base?"

"It's only a matter of time." Old Zhang pointed to the map on the cave wall. "This place is strategically important, with underground oil depots and armories. It's a good location for a protracted war. If Zhao Gang wants to control the entire suburbs, he must take this place." He looked at Lin Ye. "Since you managed to escape from Zhao Gang, you must have some skills. Do you know how to use a gun?"

"I know a little."

"Then stay." Old Zhang stood up. "More people means more strength. But let me make this clear: once you're in here, you have to abide by the rules—food is distributed according to work, everyone has a responsibility in the fight, and no special treatment is allowed."

Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Mr. Zhang. I still have family and several children outside..."

"Call them all in," Old Zhang waved his hand. "Have your wife get them some food; there's plenty of wild boar meat from the mountains."

As Lin Ye led his family and three children into the cave, Old Zhang's gaze lingered on Lin Jianjun for a moment: "You are... Lin Jianjun?"

Lin Jianjun was taken aback: "You know me?"

"I would recognize you even if you were ashes." Old Zhang smiled. "Ten years ago, during the flood relief efforts, you held your child in the floodwaters for three hours. When you were finally rescued by helicopter, you were still holding onto the child tightly. It was all reported on the news at the time."

Lin Jianjun scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "That's what I should do."

"Well done." Old Zhang patted him on the shoulder. "With a man like you around, this base is already halfway secure."

The atmosphere in the cave immediately eased. The women brought hot meat soup to the children, while the men gathered around to inquire about the situation in the city. Lin Ye recounted the atrocities committed by the Special Affairs Bureau and Zhao Gang's power in detail, filling everyone with righteous indignation.

"That son of a bitch Zhao Gang, he actually uses living people for experiments!" The bearded man slammed his fist on a rock. "Next time he comes, I'll break his legs!"

"Don't be impulsive, Li Hu," Old Zhang said in a deep voice. "Zhao Gang's ability is enhancement-type, and it's said to have reached level six. He also has an ability user under him who can control flames. We won't come out on top in a direct confrontation." He looked at Lin Ye, "You said your ability is 'Devour'? It can directly absorb crystal cores?"

Lin Ye nodded, and a dark red vortex mark appeared in his palm.

Old Zhang's eyes lit up: "Impressive! This is a lifesaver. We just happened to kill a level seven mutated black bear while clearing the ravine yesterday, and no one has been able to absorb its crystal core yet. Do you want to give it a try?"

Level 7 crystal core!

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat. His current "Devouring" ability had just finished absorbing a level six crocodile crystal core and was at a bottleneck. A level seven crystal core might allow him to break through to a new level.

"Where?"

Elder Zhang had someone bring over a sealed metal box. When it was opened, a fist-sized, dark golden crystal core lay inside, radiating a powerful energy fluctuation that was several times stronger than the previous crocodile crystal core.

"Be careful, the energy in this crystal core is too violent. A person with earth-type abilities tried to absorb it before and almost got burst," Elder Zhang warned.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and placed his palm on the crystal core. The "Devouring" seal instantly spun at high speed. Dark golden energy surged into his body like a flood bursting its banks, causing his meridians to feel as if they had been branded with a red-hot iron. The intense pain made his vision go black.

"Hold on! Guide the energy to your dantian!" Old Zhang's voice was like a thunderclap, awakening his consciousness.

Lin Ye gritted his teeth and mobilized all his mental energy to control the flow of energy. Under the transformation of the "Devouring" seal, the violent energy gradually became docile, like a gentle stream nourishing his energy core. His perception range expanded at an astonishing speed, from a hundred meters to a kilometer, and he could even "see" the minerals buried in the mountain and the direction of the underground river.

After an unknown amount of time, the dark golden crystal core was completely absorbed as energy. Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes, and the vortex mark on his palm became even deeper, with a faint golden light swirling around its edges.

"You've broken through?" Old Zhang asked eagerly.

Lin Ye clenched his fist, and a surge of immense power coursed through his body. He walked to the cave wall and threw a punch—without using any energy, pure physical strength left a clear fist imprint on the rock!

"Level seven... no, almost level eight." Lin Ye felt the surging energy within his body. "Moreover, the 'Devouring' ability has evolved, and now it can absorb the special abilities of mutants."

With a thought, his arm was instantly covered with a layer of dark golden scales, which was the defensive ability of that level seven black bear.

"Good lad!" Li Hu's eyes widened. "Now we have a trump card to deal with Zhao Gang!"

Just then, the guard at the cave entrance suddenly rushed in, his face deathly pale: "Old Zhang, something terrible has happened! Zhao Gang is here! He's brought a lot of people, and... and an eighth-level mutated giant wolf!"

Everyone's expression changed drastically. Old Zhang suddenly stood up, slamming his iron cane on the ground: "Everyone on guard! Lin Ye, come with me, let's see what tricks this old bastard is up to this time!"

Lin Ye followed Elder Zhang to the cave entrance. At the foot of the mountain, there was a dark mass of people, at least a hundred. Zhao Gang stood at the front, with a giant wolf, as big as an elephant, lying beside him. Its fur was silver-white and its eyes were blood red. It was emitting a low growl at the cave entrance.

"Old Zhang, long time no see!" Zhao Gang's voice came through the loudspeaker, laced with nauseating smugness. "If you know what's good for you, hand over the base, and I might make you an advisor. Otherwise... how about letting my 'Snow Wolf' play with you?"

The level eight mutated giant wolf suddenly stood up, howled to the sky, and the sound waves caused rocks to fall from the mountain.

Old Zhang's face was grave: "This beast was raised by Zhao Gang on live people, and he has already killed over a hundred survivors."

Lin Ye gripped his military dagger tightly, the "Devouring" mark on his palm beginning to heat up. He could sense that the giant wolf's energy core was extremely powerful, even stronger than Zhao Gang himself, but it also had obvious weaknesses—its energy circulation was disordered, clearly forced to mature prematurely, and lacked staying power.

"Old Zhang, let me handle it." Lin Ye stepped forward, his eyes cold.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Old Zhang asked with some concern.

"Don't worry." A cold smile curved Lin Ye's lips. "It's a good opportunity to test my newly evolved ability."

He leaped off the cliff and landed steadily on the hillside, facing Zhao Gang and the level eight giant wolf.

"Lin Ye? You're not dead?" Zhao Gang was somewhat surprised, then sneered, "Looks like Old Zhang took you in. What? Want to die for him?"

Lin Ye didn't speak, but instead channeled his energy into the military dagger. Dark golden scales covered his entire body, and the defense of a level seven black bear and the toxic energy of a level six crocodile were activated simultaneously.

"You're courting death!" Zhao Gang ordered the giant wolf, "Snow Wolf, tear him apart!"

The level eight giant wolf howled and pounced, its blood-red maw whistling a foul wind as it lunged at Lin Ye's head. Lin Ye neither dodged nor evaded, charging head-on towards the wolf, his military dagger glowing with dark golden energy, aiming straight for its eye!

"Awooo—!"

The giant wolf winced in pain, its massive body abruptly halting. Lin Ye seized the opportunity to leap onto its back, pressing his left hand against its head, the "Devouring" seal spinning wildly, greedily absorbing the energy within its body!

"How is this possible?!" Zhao Gang's expression changed drastically. He had never seen anyone so calm in front of an eighth-level mutant, and even able to absorb its energy!

Lin Ye ignored him, focusing entirely on absorbing the energy. Although the giant wolf's energy was violent, it was constantly tempering his energy core under the transformation of the "Devouring" seal. He could feel that his superpower was breaking through to a higher level, and a new ability was even beginning to emerge within his body—energy mimicry, which could transform the absorbed energy into various forms for attack.

The giant wolf let out a desperate howl, frantically thrashing its body in an attempt to throw Lin Ye off. But Lin Ye's body was as if welded to its back, the dark golden scales gripping its fur tightly, and the military dagger repeatedly stabbed at its weak points.

The survivors at the cave entrance stared in disbelief. Old Zhang gripped his iron cane tightly and whispered, "This kid... he's really defying the heavens."

Lin Xi gripped Su Ya's hand tightly, her face beaming with pride: "My brother is the best!"

Half an hour later, the struggle of the level eight giant wolf gradually ceased, and its massive body crashed to the ground. Lin Ye leaped off its back, the "Devouring" seal on his palm flashing with dazzling golden light. The energy within his body had broken through to level eight, and his energy mimicry ability had been fully awakened.

He looked at Zhao Gang, his eyes as cold as knives: "Now, it's your turn."

Zhao Gang looked at the fallen giant wolf, then at Lin Ye, who exuded a powerful aura, and fear appeared on his face for the first time. He knew he had bitten off more than he could chew this time.

"Retreat!" Zhao Gang turned and ran without hesitation, and his men followed suit in a panicked escape.

Lin Ye didn't give chase. He knew Zhao Gang wouldn't let it go, but for now, the missile base was safe.

He turned and walked towards the cave entrance, where he was greeted by the survivors' enthusiastic cheers. Old Zhang stepped forward and patted him hard on the shoulder: "Good lad, from today onwards, you're the second-in-command of this base!"

Lin Ye smiled and looked at his family and companions. Sunlight pierced through the morning mist, casting a warm golden glow on the rock walls of the missile base.

This isn't the end, but at least they have a place they can call "home." And he will continue to hone his skills here, protecting this hard-won peace, awaiting the final battle with Zhao Gang.

The flames of doomsday have only just begun to burn.