Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Lin Chen unscrewed a bottle of prepared mineral water, carefully rinsed away the bloodstains and tissue fluid on the surface of the crystal, and then unhesitatingly threw it into the Primordial Creation Pearl in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Consciousness then sank into that mysterious space—

As soon as the crystal core entered, it automatically floated towards the Creation Tree shrouded in purple mist at the center of the space.

As soon as it approached the tree trunk, the crystal silently melted away, transforming into an extremely pure milky-white energy stream, which was quickly and quietly absorbed by the gnarled roots of the Creation Tree, as if it had never existed.

"It really works." A hint of understanding and joy flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. "The unknown energy contained in the zombie crystal core is the 'high-energy substance' needed by the Creation Bead, or rather, the Creation Tree."

He speculated in his mind, "Then, the crystal cores that may be produced inside the mutated beasts are most likely to be equally effective."

Immediately afterwards, he began his second experiment: with a thought, he directly put a relatively intact zombie corpse into the Creation Pearl space.

A strange sight occurred: beneath the still-standing Tree of Creation, several fine, almost imperceptible pale purple roots quietly emerged, like living serpents, precisely burrowing into the corpse's slightly open nostrils.

About ten seconds later, the roots quietly retracted, as if they had never been extended at all.

Lin Chen took the corpse out of his spatial storage and skillfully used a dagger to pry open the skull for examination—sure enough, the brain cavity was empty, and the crystal core that should have been there had vanished without a trace.

"Interesting." Lin Chen muttered to himself, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. "The Creation Tree's goal is very clear: it only absorbs the core energy from the crystal core and has no interest in the corpse itself."

This saves trouble; in the future, when collecting energy, even the step of "opening the brain to extract the nucleus" can be omitted.

Immediately, he began the third experiment, which was also crucial to him: he wanted to know if, having already fused with the Creation Bead, he could still forcibly enhance his personal strength by directly consuming zombie crystal cores, and even surpass the level currently limited by the Creation Bead.

With this question in mind, he continued his work, dissecting the heads of more than a dozen zombies, taking out the crystal cores, washing them clean one by one, and then swallowing them without hesitation, like eating candy.

After swallowing fifteen crystal cores, he focused his mind and carefully sensed every change within his body.

However, his physical strength did not increase, and the supernatural power in his mind remained completely still, without even the slightest warmth or strange sensation.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself: "Humans really are creatures that won't turn back until they hit a brick wall. They clearly have a treasure like the Creation Pearl, yet they still think about taking a 'shortcut'."

This result, while unexpected, is also quite reasonable upon reflection. The level of the Creation Pearl clearly limits the "ceiling" of his personal growth.

Left with no other choice, he had to abandon the idea and put all the remaining zombie corpses into the Creation Pearl space, as a "supplement" for the Creation Tree.

After sensing that the Creation Tree had absorbed all the energy from the crystal cores, he threw these worthless empty corpses out of the space and piled them up in front of the villa.

Li Ya stood in the shadows inside the villa, witnessing Lin Chen's series of actions, which were calm to the point of being cruel. From the precise headshot to the expressionless dissection and core extraction, to the seemingly magical manipulation of the corpse... all of this completely shattered the cognitive system she had built up over the past twenty-two years.

It wasn't until Lin Chen calmly called her name that she was jolted awake from her shock. A violent churning of her stomach followed, and a strong feeling of nausea shot through her throat. She covered her mouth, turned, and rushed into the nearest bathroom, violently retching into the toilet, almost vomiting bile.

Lin Chen didn't say much or urge them. He understood this reaction. After all, facing such a bloody and inhumane scene for the first time would cause any mentally sound person to feel instinctive resistance and physical discomfort.

It takes time.

Just then, the outdoor speaker continued to play the deafeningly loud "Little Apple" tirelessly.

The rousing music, like a lighthouse in the night, once again attracted wandering figures from all over the neighborhood.

A dozen or so zombies emerged one after another from different corners, staggering and gathering towards the source of the sound.

Some were still wearing the dark blue uniforms of security guards, with their name tags still on their chests; others were only wearing wrinkled pajamas and slippers, clearly having fled their homes in a panic or having mutated.

There were also several cleaning ladies in orange uniforms, and a few food delivery riders carrying insulated boxes with their helmets askew... Their eyes were vacant, their movements were stiff, and their skin bore more or less dark red bloodstains.

What's even more chilling is that many of these "people" have fresh, torn-off scratches and bite marks on their bodies—ironclad evidence that they had just been transformed after being attacked by other zombies.

Lin Chen stood once more before the reinforced gate of the villa, Barrett rifle at the ready. His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, his breathing steady, and the rhythm with which he pulled the trigger was chillingly consistent.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Each bullet pierced precisely between the eyebrows of a zombie, sending up plumes of dark red blood mist. The movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, the gaze as calm as if clearing away a pile of obstacles.

Li Ya's face was as pale as paper. She splashed cold water on her face several times, forced herself to calm down, and returned to the doorway.

Lin Chen didn't turn around, but simply gestured towards the corpse, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "Go, dig out the crystal core."

The apocalypse has arrived, and the cruel laws of survival have begun to operate.

Everyone, regardless of their previous identity, must adapt to this new world as quickly as possible—those who cannot adapt to bloodshed, killing, or facing death are destined to be eliminated immediately.

Li Ya gritted her teeth, suppressing the nausea rising in her throat again, gripped the other dagger Lin Chen had handed her, and walked to a relatively "intact" zombie not far behind him.

With trembling hands, she mimicked Lin Chen's movements, pressing the tip of the dagger against the zombie's temple, but hesitated to stab it in forcefully.

"Think about what we ate yesterday, think about the future." Lin Chen's cold voice came from ahead, offering no comfort, only a statement.

These words struck like a heavy blow.

Li Ya closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, a ruthless glint appeared in her eyes. She then plunged the dagger into her mouth!

However, when the blade cuts through the skull and the fingers touch the warm, sticky, and strangely smelly brain tissue, a strong physiological reaction strikes again.

She dropped the dagger and rushed to the bathroom once again.

This was repeated three times.

When she returned for the fourth time, her face was covered in an indistinguishable mixture of sweat, tears, and splattered blood, but her movements finally stopped trembling.

She gritted her teeth and almost brutally ripped open the head of a zombie, her fingers groping in the nauseating slime until finally, her fingertips touched a hard, warm, foreign object.

She pried it out with force—a crystal core, stained with blood but emitting a soft white light, lay quietly in her filthy palm.

During this process, Lin Chen dragged the corpses of the dozen or so newly killed zombies to her feet one by one, as if assigning her a series of cruel lessons that had to be completed.

With each attempt, the fear on Li Ya's face was gradually replaced by a numb resolve. Facing the rotting corpses and stinking brains, her hands no longer trembled, and the angle of her cuts became increasingly precise and stable.