Even the towering mutated zombie was instantly felled by three streaks of azure light, its movements ceasing.
Li Qiang knew that ceasing to move meant the zombie had been dealt with.
This left him utterly incredulous!
Why!
Why was this happening?
Without firearms, how was it possible… Wait, could it be an evolved human?
An evolved human.
Someone not seen in their base, but speculated to exist in other bases.
Their base was merely a camp for a few hundred survivors, lacking any great scientific minds and unable to research zombies.
Although some had found crystals in the zombies' brains.
Yet, limited by the absence of professional researchers, they couldn't conduct studies to analyze their properties.
As for those who dared to consume the crystals, hoping to gain power, they had all turned into zombies and were subsequently shot down by arriving humans.
Relying on the crystals in zombie brains for successful evolution was akin to wishful thinking.
Scientific methods were necessary for analysis…
However, a survivor base accommodating hundreds of people lacked such research conditions. m..oΓg
Thus, the so-called evolved humans were merely a legend.
A legend that after the apocalypse, in large bases housing tens of thousands, biological research labs established by human elites might have developed gene serums, enabling human evolution.
The existence of gene serums was a legend of unknown truth.
Li Qiang himself had fantasized and pondered whether gene serums and evolved humans were real.
But now, he felt this fantasy must be true.
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain how a boy who looked no older than eight could emit azure light and pierce through mutated and ordinary zombies alike.
This must be a power derived from gene serums.
Li Qiang thought to himself.
This young boy must hail from those large bases composed of human elites, likely holding a high position to obtain gene serums.
…
As it turned out, towering zombies and second-level zombies were not significantly stronger than ordinary zombies.
What could be resolved with one weed-clearing spell now merely required three.
Fang Ming displayed his strength, resolving these people's troubles, yet they did not fear him excessively or feel tense.
This was largely due to Fang Ming's childlike appearance.
His adorable exterior greatly reduced the tension and unease in their hearts. If someone else with Fang Ming's strength appeared with a towering physique, their feelings would be entirely different.
After receiving their thanks.
Fang Ming calmly inquired about the location of their survivor base and whether they had any supplies.
They responded to all his questions.
Fang Ming thus learned the whereabouts of the survivor base and its supplies.
"Evolved humans?"
"Do such beings exist in this world?"
During their casual conversation, Fang Ming learned that these people mistook him for an evolved human who had consumed gene serums.
This world had never known cultivation; only zombies had appeared three years ago with the apocalypse.
Reaching this conclusion was not surprising.
After all, from the perspective of the people in this world, it was plausible that renowned experts, professors, and scientists from large bases before the apocalypse, by studying the crystals in zombie brains, had created gene serums that enhanced physical fitness and even granted special abilities—this possibility existed and fit the narrative.
If Fang Ming claimed to be from a world of cultivation, it would deviate from the established narrative and not fit the context.
The people of this world would clearly not casually consider such a possibility unless Fang Ming himself introduced cultivation techniques like the "One Qi Art."
Faced with cultivation techniques, they might then grasp the truth—though even that was uncertain.
Perhaps they might believe that cultivation had always existed, merely obscured by history.
Fang Ming needed water and food.
A man named Li Qiang among the four offered Fang Ming a piece of dried meat.
Fang Ming glanced at him slightly, using the spiritual energy within his body to detect the dried meat.
Non-toxic.
This was the result of the detection.
Fang Ming ate it with peace of mind.
For now, detecting toxicity with spiritual energy was sufficient.
The "One Qi Art" recorded such methods.
Fang Ming did not believe that earthly poisons could escape detection by a cultivator's spiritual energy.
The taste of the food entered Fang Ming's stomach.
While filling his belly, he also sensed a trace of turbid energy.
For cultivators, consuming ordinary mortal food, not spiritual herbs or grains, carried this turbid energy.
Turbid energy was not conducive to cultivation.
It hindered the cultivation process.
However, this world clearly lacked spiritual grains, so Fang Ming could only eat this mortal food directly.
—Not just here, but even in the cultivation world, spiritual grains were not something Fang Ming could afford.
Spiritual farmers cultivated spiritual plants and harvested spiritual grains to supply the inner and core disciples of sects for their cultivation, at most allowing outer disciples to afford them, but certainly not the spiritual farmers themselves.
Servant disciples, while planting spiritual grains, ate mortal food.
Regarding the hindrance to cultivation—if eating mortal food reduced cultivation speed by sixty percent, leaving forty percent efficiency, the higher-ups of the White Cloud Sect felt this was sufficient for servant disciples' cultivation aptitude.
Therefore, Fang Ming did not have high expectations for food at the moment—after all, it was the same in the cultivation world as in this world.
"Does this world truly have evolved humans?"
Fang Ming pondered this question as he followed the group back to the survivor camp.
Although the apocalypse had brought about the appearance of zombies, it was precisely the emergence of zombies that led to the creation of new materials.
Even though it was the apocalypse and many scientific researchers had perished, such talented individuals must surely exist in certain large survivor bases with military backing.
It was not impossible for them to research gene serums through scientific means.
It was just that the small survivor base behind Li Qiang and the others lacked the conditions for such research, and there were no evolved humans.
If those large bases possessed suitable gene serums with one hundred percent safety, capable of enhancing physical fitness,
Then Fang Ming might be able to use these gene serums to overtake others.
After all, his aptitude for the immortal path, though present, was indeed not very good.