The girl's mouth opened almost into an O-shape, looking adorable and amusing. Zi Jingqi, standing beside her, was similarly amused. She had never imagined that the master she had only met once could possess such terrifying power. It was infinitely more powerful than the power she had seen Su Qingge unleash before.
Even though Zi Jingqi had little affection for Su Ming, she couldn't help but admire and fear this incredible strength after witnessing this astonishing scene.
"Alright, don't just stand there. Kill the zombies! Don't let the Master down..." Mu Ling said to the long-silent female warriors...
Smacking his lips, Su Ming opened his system panel. It was now quiet, with nearly a hundred thousand points hanging on it. It looked like he could buy a new power. While it was still a far cry from those advanced space-time powers, the five elements power for a hundred thousand seemed within reach.
"But this power seems pretty good..." Browsing the system store, Su Ming's eyes suddenly lit up. He saw a power called Magnetic Field Control, which could control magnetism at the molecular level. Isn't this Magneto's power?
"Two hundred thousand points, just a little short, but it should be there soon..." Su Ming wasn't in a hurry. With over 190,000 points now, killing one more wave of smaller zombies should be enough.
With a wave of his hand, the thunderclouds atop the Zhonghai Building dissipated. Su Ming turned and left. Simultaneously, the terrifying dark clouds enveloping the area began to slowly dissipate, seemingly returning to their original state. Only the charred earth still bore traces of the previous wave of divine might...
Su Ming's move wiped out nearly a hundred thousand zombies in the city center, instantly upgrading his own abilities. While shocking the women in the base, it also caused a massive uproar.
The terrifying phenomenon that enveloped a ten-kilometer radius was truly terrifying. Even smaller cities would likely be affected by this magnitude. Such a massive thunderstorm was witnessed by countless people in Jiangcheng, deeply shocking countless survivors.
Although the distance was quite far, many survivors with professional cameras managed to capture the scene. Many also captured clear images of the figure atop the building, controlling the lightning pool, though their faces were unclear.
Unfortunately, doomsday communications had been largely cut off, so even if these survivors were excited enough to upload their photos online, they couldn't.
In the Jiangcheng suburbs, within the Jiangcheng Military District...
"Report..."
"Come in..."
A soldier entered a tent and reported the situation to several stern-looking officers. "We've just detected a large-scale weather phenomenon over Jiangcheng. We suspect it may be human-caused."
"Weather phenomenon, man-made?" Inside the military district conference room, many senior officials frowned. A lieutenant stepped forward, took the information from the soldier, and handed it to Liu Yuanbing, the commander-in-chief of the Jiangcheng Military District, who was leading the charge.
Although the Jiangcheng Military District is a subdistrict under the jurisdiction of the Magic City Military District, it is also quite large, with a permanent garrison of over 100,000 soldiers, armored vehicles, anti-aircraft missiles, helicopters, and the ability to launch some small missiles. Its troops are well-equipped and well-trained.
After the apocalypse, although there were a series of minor disturbances, Liu Yuanbing acted decisively and quickly ordered the elimination of all mutated soldiers within the military district, thus preventing the entire military district from collapsing due to the zombie virus.
After securing control of the entire Jiangcheng Military District, Liu Yuanbing quickly dispatched troops to the capital and the upper Demon City Military District. They were ultimately ordered to advance to clear the zombies, rescue survivors, and contact the Jiangcheng government.
Liu Yuanbing also ordered his soldiers to drive armored vehicles from their suburban bases toward the city center. However, as soon as the military's troops reached the city's edge, they were attacked by a massive zombie swarm. The constant stream of zombies expended their vast supplies of weapons and ammunition, resulting in significant casualties, forcing them to withdraw.
If it had been just ordinary zombies, it would have been fine. With the army's relentless barrage of heavy firepower, no ordinary carbon-based creature could withstand the barrage of machine guns and rockets. However, after a certain number of zombies had been destroyed, three extremely terrifying zombies emerged from the horde. They were five meters tall, enormous, and possessed a grotesque and repulsive appearance, like mutant zombies.
The army's rockets, machine guns, and even aerial cannons barely penetrated the defenses of these three mutated zombies, inflicting little effective damage. Consequently, they lost a significant number of soldiers and weapons.
Forced to do so, several high-ranking officials within the military district consulted and requested permission to launch missiles. Ultimately, two high-yield missiles were used to kill one of the mutated zombies. The other two fled after destroying numerous weapons positions and injuring several soldiers.
From then on, Liu Yuanbing never again dared to dispatch a large force to attack the zombies within Jiangcheng. On the contrary, after suffering so many casualties, he seemed to have lost interest in rescuing survivors.
"Come and take a look..." Liu Yuanbing passed the information around him. "It's incredible! Is this a power humans can possess?"
"Controlling lightning, with such a range and power, is practically comparable to a small nuclear bomb..." someone exclaimed in amazement.
"Ahem, everyone, please share your opinions. What do you think of that human who can control lightning..."
The discussion in the conference room quieted down for a moment. Liu Yu, Liu Yuanbing's eldest son and Lieutenant Colonel, who sat to the left, said, "Commander, I think this apocalypse might be an evolutionary process, and zombies are the product of a failed evolution. This person who controls lightning is a successful evolutionary process."
"He might have some special abilities, or perhaps some extraordinary encounter, so... It was triggered during the evolution process. As for the others, it might have evolved implicitly, subtly, so it wasn't so obvious. Have you noticed recently that the survivors' physical fitness is gradually improving?
Liu Yu's words made sense. This wasn't just an isolated case. Anyone who didn't become a zombie at the beginning of the apocalypse would find that their physical fitness gradually improved over time, but the process was extremely slow and not as obvious as the evolution of zombies.
"Take those three zombies we encountered last time, for example. They probably evolved from ordinary zombies. If zombies can evolve, why can't humans?" Liu Yu began to exaggerate. "So, we must find a way to control this individual and learn the secret of his evolution. That way, we can open the door to human evolution."
Hearing this, the eyes of many military leaders lit up. They had witnessed the horror of those three mutated zombies last time, and even their machine guns had difficulty penetrating their defenses, demonstrating just how terrifying they were. If they could obtain lightning abilities as terrifying as those shown in the video, they would definitely be able to avenge their previous humiliation.
At that moment, not only the others, but even Liu Yuanbing's eyes flickered with a glint of ambition. With such powerful control over lightning in his hands, why would he need to obey orders from higher-ups to rescue any survivors? It was simply a joke.
Just as everyone in the conference room began to ambitiously dream of finding a way to unlock the door to human evolution, Liu Yuanbing's second daughter, Liu Wanting, stood up. "No, we can't do that."
"Not to mention what that person's abilities are, even if we storm into Jiangcheng now, who knows what powerful zombies we might attract. It would be absolutely dangerous." Liu Wanting began to grow anxious. Attacking without fully understanding the enemy's situation was simply playing with the lives of the soldiers.
Before Liu Yuanbing could say anything, Liu Yu and several veterans interrupted her. "Don't worry so much. You're just being too cautious, and that's not a good thing."
"That's right. No matter how strong he is, he can withstand bullets and artillery, but his ability to control lightning might just be a fluke. Besides, this is for the advancement of all humanity. How can he refuse?"