There was a total of 63 Zergs. Wang Zheng could sense accurately that two of them had a higher rank. Given her situation, it might had been very difficult for Zhang Runan to deal with them alone.
Zhang Runan looked at Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng was barbecuing his badger as if there was not a single thing to worry about in the world. Zhang Runan picked up the fruits and ate them in silence.
“What a clever lad. He knows to curry favour.” Raston giggled.
“More than 60 Zergs. Zhang Runan may not be able to cope.”
“Men like that should have been castrated long ago,” Lie Xin said coolly. Women from Mars detested men who relied on them. They were opportunists who lived off women, an absolute disgrace to other men. On Mars, women did not need men to be loyal, but they had to behave while being masculine.
Achilles smiled and refrained from commenting, and Lear had finally recalled what the problem was.
He kept feeling as if something was amiss, and that was Wang Zheng – some guy without the X Factor, yet gave him a ominous feeling all the time. It may have been because of Meng Tian, it may have been because of some other reasons.
After finishing two fruits, Zhang Runan got up. “Now you can’t leave even if you want to. If you trust me, turn around and shut your eyes. Don’t do a thing. Just ignore everything that happens.”
Wang Zheng flipped the badger. “No problem. Hurry up. The meat won’t taste as great if it gets burnt,” Wang Zheng said while turning over and closing his eyes.
“Why aren’t you asking?”
“Is there a need to? We’re teammates.”
“A professional gigolo, eh?” Raston chuckled.
“I do want to see how Zhang Runan is going to deal with this,” Taros said with incredulity.
The ground began shaking violently. The first batch of 20 Sickle Zergs was dashing towards them.
Zhang Runan turned around to find that Wang Zheng had not moved. He did not even turn to look. Seeing that that was the case, Zhang Runan’s vigor changed completely. It was clear to her that she would not be able to cope with that many zergs in her current state. Moreover, she had someone else to protect.
She stepped out abruptly. Boom!
Her body began giving out cracking sounds that indicated a change in bone structure…
Raston covered his eyes. “Is this where the dinosaur turns into Godzilla?”
Achilles smiled. Like Dong Xiaosa, an increase in physical strength meant an increase in physical size. Otherwise, the body would not be able to withstand the pressure. But Dong Xiaosa often refused to employ this power, especially when there were girls around, as it would ruin his glamorous image.
It was natural for mankind to be vain, let alone girls.
Taros looked away too. Watching a scene like that would give him nightmares.
Eh?
Lear let out an odd gasp. Zhang Runan’s body did not grow bigger, but… it shrank!
Even though her bones had undergone some change, Zhang Runan remained big and tall. But the person standing there right that moment had absolutely nothing to do with the word “ugly”.
Zhang Runan wielded a spear in her hand. If she was a monster before, she was now a goddess of war!
Kill!
The alloy spear struck out at lightning speed.
Meng Ao and co looked sheepishly at one another. An inverse Ability X! Ordinary strength-type individuals would grow larger, but there was an even more powerful and extremely rare type – one that caused one’s body to shrink.
More accurately, this was Zhang Runan’s actual form, but because her Ability X was underdeveloped and uncontrollable, she naturally expanded into that bloated form.
Now standing in front of everybody was a valiant woman warrior, elegant with the air of grandeur.
The control room Lear and his companions were in went absolutely silent. The five of them were all elites and understood perfectly well what this situation meant. Even among those who had an Ability X, this was one in ten thousand. It was completely out of the norm.
If the increase in arm strength alone was considered a low-level Ability X, Zhang Runan was now imbued with the highest level of power of strength. Her Ability X could be accessed and used by every single part of her body. Other than physical strength, her speed and all other areas would improve drastically.
KILL!
Coupled with her painting-like mastery of the spear, what everybody saw was a future goddess of war.
Meng Ao could not stop smiling. This was simply a gift sent from the heavens. They were lucky that it had landed right upon them. It was no wonder she was so calm. There was indeed no need for her to run away.
The number of Zergs was very high. As she had to protect Wang Zheng, Zhang Runan had to restrict the movements of the Zergs in all directions, but she was slowly being forced to retreat.
“That gigolo is in luck, eh? But if he doesn’t flee now, things will become really messy,” Raston said, with a unique glow in his eyes. He was rather talented, but inexperienced.
“Not necessarily.” Achilles burst out laughing.
“You guys said self-made geniuses don’t exist,” Lear added.
Zhang Runan suddenly stopped in her tracks. A ray of light seemed to burst through and the alloy spear was violently pulled back. Her eyes emitted a silver glow that pierced through the darkness and the spear in her hand lit up the night sky.
Kill~~~~~
Ability X – Pear Blossom Storm.
The last 30 Zergs were killed in an instant.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of falling Zergs still booming, Zhang Runan had already put her spear away. Her face was flushed. This attack had taken up much of her energy. Based on her current state, an abrupt outburst of energy like that could only be used once a day.
Although Ability X was based off one’s mental strength, its execution still depended on physical movement and energy.
Both control rooms were quiet. This was definitely on par or even better than the level of main fighters.
An underdeveloped, balanced strength-type. Full of strength, speed, and outbursts of energy.
Zhang Runan’s bones cracked, then her body began expanding uncontrollably and she returned to her original, bloated look.
“It’s over,” Zhang Runan said.
Wang Zheng turned around. He looked at the ground full of Zergs and gave her a thumbs up.
“With you around, it seems like there’s no need to worry about safety. Hah. Here, the meat is cooked. Eat it while it’s still hot.”
Zhang Runan let out a smile. “Thank you.”
She did not stand on courtesy. She was famished. Starving. Using her Ability X was much too draining.
Wang Zheng ate with so much excitement that he kept biting his tongue. He might as well have eaten his own tongue. This thing was simply delicious. What Demon Island? It was more like Paradise Island!
“Seems like our young friends here are having a good time.”
“All things exist in relativity. Places that seem like hell to some people may appear to be heaven to others.”
“This Zhang Runan is very interesting. There is a lot of potential to be uncovered.”
But Meng Ao paid all his attention to Wang Zheng. Given Wang Zheng’s capabilities, he definitely had nothing to be afraid of.
It was delicious indeed. Zhang Runan was also just a girl, and she had high expectations when it came to food.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to let you see, it’s just.. when I use my powers, there’s some personal privacy to look after,” Zhang Runan explained.
Wang Zheng smiled. “No worries. Brother Nan is mighty! Oh…”
Student Wang had accidentally let his tongue slip. Obviously, powers like that could cause Zhang Runan’s physical appearance to alter even more, perhaps even turn into a monster. An image of a gorilla flashed through Wang Zheng’s mind. It was indeed rather frightening.
Zhang Runan laughed. “I know what you call me behind my back. Doesn’t matter, I’m used to it.”
The two of them chatted as they ate. Zhang Runan had never felt so happy. She didn’t care if others called her hideous. What she couldn’t take lying down was pity and distrust. How could a face represent one’s abilities and character?
“What the f*ck, this lad is dog sh*t lucky.” Taros couldn’t help but curse.
“Don’t say that. One would not be trusted if he didn’t trust others,” Achilles remarked, giving a rather high value in his assessment.
“No matter what you say, men who cower behind women are good-for-nothings!” Lie Xin was still upset, but she had developed a keen interest in Zhang Runan. It was simply the right match, especially her battle state. They all matched Lie Xin’s criteria perfectly.
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her, Lie Xin.” Raston chuckled. It was rumored that Lie Xin fancied women and not men.
“If you’re courting death, just say the word and I’ll send you on your way.” Lie Xin glared at Raston.
Raston shrugged, unbothered by it.
Lear, on the other hand, said nothing. He stared squarely at Wang Zheng on the screens. Wang Zheng was absolutely capable of messing things up, and now, with Zhang Runan, it was even better. He had achieved his motive, but he could not allow these people to be allies, especially not allies based on trust!
One floor above, the three generals were overjoyed.
“This Wang Zheng’s decent too. He knows how to trust others. He is definitely leader material.”
“Knowing, using, and trusting others requires foresight. He has outstanding capabilities and great foresight. Seems like we have no choice but to value him. This kid is always surprising us.”
“We may have underestimated him,” Meng Ao said suddenly, pointing to the screens. It cut to a scene and zoomed in. Underneath the flames, something else shimmered and flashed. It was the reflection from an alloy knife.
Amongst the Zergs lying on the ground, an alloy knife was stuck in the chest of one developed Zerg. Wang Zheng had his back facing the battle, and even these onlookers did not notice when he had struck.
It seemed like Zhang Runan’s attacks still had their flaws.
The three men looked at each other, but this time no one said a word of compliment. What went on in their minds, only they knew.
There was a particular type of person they had to poach into their own teams.
Elsewhere, the students encountered different levels of attacks. The Moon’s Eight Stars were the most perfect. They had gotten rid of the Zergs easily; it was hardly even a warm up for them.
Mars’ killing, however, was a little vicious. From adapting in the beginning, then to attacking, now they were searching for the Queen Zergs’ nests.
After another round of elimination, those who remained were evidently much more capable.
That wretched fatso Luo Fei… did not take part in any battle or fight. He had gotten better and better at hiding, and the Zergs could not do anything about it.
Meng Tian and Zhang Shan had also just taken down a round of attacks. Zhang Shan’s close combat complemented Meng Tian’s archery, so the Zergs had no chance.
The two of them ate some wild fruits but were still famished. They struggled to barely survive.
“When dawn breaks, we will expand our search area as much as we can and find Wang Zheng and Runan.”
“Sure. There are a lot more Zergs than there were last night. I wonder what’s in store for us in the next few days. It’s thrilling.” Zhang Shan chuckled.
“There should be more, or maybe something else. Once we reunite, we should think of ways to get to the Queen Zerg.”
Meng Tian was not here to entertain others. Since the goal was to destroy a Queen Zerg, there had to be a way to do it.
Maybe someone had already begun doing so.
In fact, that was precisely the case. The Eight Stars claimed that it was easy, but they obviously didn’t want to sit through the whole selection. At the very least, they stood a chance to fight for a place. The problem lied with finding the Queen Zerg.
Even though there were plenty of Zergs shielding their queen, there was still a way out.