Soon, Tang Houde brought Xu Ruina to the biological sample storage room.
Xu Linna's body was stored in a hibernation pod.
In reality, doing so was entirely unnecessary.
Any creature whose consciousness had been absorbed by the Hades Mushroom would never decay, as their bodies contained a large number of Hades Mushroom spores. All bacteria and viruses on their bodies would be forcibly put into a dormant state.
Therefore, this body was fundamentally incapable of corruption.
"It's in here..."
Seeing Xu Linna's appearance now, Tang Houde still felt a bit apprehensive.
After all, this woman was capable of fighting Zhang Chen for many rounds.
Furthermore, she had, on her own, forced the survivors within the high walls to hide everywhere.
"Mhm, you go ahead. Leave this to me!"
Xu Ruina nodded and said.
"Understood, Researcher Xu!"
Tang Houde nodded, turned, and left.
"Transfer my consciousness and energy into this body!"
Xu Ruina said to the Hades Mushroom on her person.
To prevent everyone's energy from leaking out when they crossed over to the peaceful world, Zhang Chen had distributed a small piece of Hades Mushroom to each person and requested that these Hades Mushroom clones obey the commands of their new masters.
"Understood, Researcher Xu!"
"However, I may need to consume a portion of your energy for the consciousness transfer."
"After all the transfer is complete, only about 80% of the energy in your current body is likely to be transferred."
"Are you sure you still want to proceed?"
The Hades Mushroom clone reminded her considerately.
"Confirmed!"
Xu Ruina replied without hesitation.
"Very well!"
Suddenly, a powerful suction force emanated from Xu Ruina's arm, and then, the energy within her body, like a dam breaking, poured out madly.
As her energy gradually depleted, Xu Ruina's consciousness began to blur...
In a daze, she seemed to see an ugly woman wearing black-rimmed glasses smiling at her.
In an instant, Xu Ruina jolted awake, gasping for breath.
At this moment, she had already appeared inside the hibernation pod, with her original body lying on the ground, seemingly asleep.
"Has the transfer been successful?!"
Xu Ruina slowly walked out of the hibernation pod.
Suddenly, a vast repository of knowledge, including energy construction formulas, psionic structures, bio-human DNA combinations, and methods for fusing temporal meteorites, appeared out of thin air in her memory.
Moreover, she could now feel a significant increase in her own strength.
Xu Ruina's original strength was already formidable, and combined with the enhanced physical strength of Xu Linna's modified body, her power had ascended to a new level.
She changed into her original clothes, put on her high heels, and slowly returned to the upper laboratory.
When the staff saw Xu Linna appear, they were so startled that they scattered, and some of the fainter-hearted ones' legs gave way, causing them to collapse onto the ground.
"Don't be afraid. I am Xu Ruina, I've merely switched bodies. Take good care of my original body."
"If Zhang Chen prefers that body, I will switch back!"
Xu Ruina said to Tang Houde, her voice in this new body exceptionally alluring and captivating.
"Yes, yes, Researcher... Xu..."
Tang Houde hurried away towards the biological sample storage room.
"Also... if you're done with this lizardman's corpse, I still have a use for it."
Xu Ruina said to Mo Pai.
"Of course. It has already been studied, and it holds no further value for us."
"According to intelligence, many other humanoid species have appeared in this apocalypse, including cat-eared people, ox-eared people, horse-people, and so on. It's practically a convention of genetic mutants!"
Mo Pai said excitedly.
It was evident that he was far more interested in these non-human beings than in humans.
"Mhm, then collect more specimens. But the premise is, they must be our enemies."
"If they are friends, do not arbitrarily research their bodies, understand?"
"We are all just lab rats in this apocalyptic proving ground. It's best if we can unite..."
Xu Ruina instructed.
"Understood. After all, I don't go to the battlefield. These corpses and live specimens are all sent from the front lines. If they were allies, there wouldn't be prisoners in the first place!"
Mo Pai replied sheepishly, his inner thoughts exposed by Xu Ruina.
He indeed had no concept of allies or enemies; as long as they were non-human, he was eager to dissect them.
"Then... I'll take this corpse with me!"
Xu Ruina said, then walked directly towards the main entrance.
"Huh? Didn't you say you were taking this corpse with you?"
Mo Pai blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, the corpse on the platform stirred, its body twitching erratically, its arms flailing about, emitting crackling sounds.
After a moment, the corpse slowly sat up, its internal organs spilling onto the ground with a sloshing sound.
Yet, it steadfastly continued to walk towards the main entrance.
As it walked, the organs within its body began to regenerate rapidly, and the split skin started to heal quickly...
"This... this is... zombification? And it has regenerative abilities?!"
"Lizardmen can also be infected?!"
Mo Pai's jaw dropped in astonishment as he watched the departing zombie lizardman.
After leaving the laboratory, Xu Ruina looked at the zombie lizardman following her and suddenly formed a bold hypothesis.
Lizardmen would not have evolved inexplicably. There must be a reason.
Perhaps it was the first mutated lizardman matriarch, or they had accidentally acquired some form of energy.
By finding this root cause, she would be one step closer to uncovering the true master behind this world.
Before Zhang Chen returned from the parallel world, she wanted to do as much as she could.
From being a Crier, to regaining consciousness, to recovering her physical body... Zhang Chen had always been the one taking care of her.
Now... it was time for her to shield Zhang Chen.
Even if she encountered those powerful beings and suffered a crushing defeat, she could preemptively gauge their strength for Zhang Chen, preventing him from facing them in haste without understanding their capabilities.
This... perhaps this was her purpose for existing now!
Xu Ruina leaped gracefully onto the branches of the giant tree and sped towards the lizardman capital...
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen entered the teleportation gate in the center of the mysterious island once more.
And the world here made Zhang Chen decide to settle down and be a student... because in this world, there seemed to be true "gods"...