[Ancient Dian Kingdom Jade Seal]
[Quality: A]
[Trait 1: Greatly slows the increase of Profound Virus infection level, while also increasing Profound Virus activity.]
[Trait 2: Effects are enhanced while infected by the Profound Virus. Upon complete infection, you will receive a BOSS Template.]
[Note: Due to a shift in Celestial Fate, the quality has dropped to A-rank.]
"Well, well, well... so you were the one behind all this." Qi Suian looked at the small, exquisite Ancient Dian Kingdom Jade Seal in his hand and finally understood the full picture.
He hadn't become a Zombie Dominator after turning into a zombie just because he was a Transmigrator and the protagonist. It was because the Dian Kingdom's Jade Seal was related to Celestial Fate: Profound. That was what had created the Zombie Dominator.
"So the reason I could hold out for seven days, yet was so weak I could barely walk, was also because of you."
Qi Suian immediately stored it inside his Tai Sui Divine Armor, wearing it close to his body.
With Trait 1, the progression of Qi Suian's infection would be much slower. As for the other effects, he didn't need to worry about them for now; their impact would likely be felt in the future.
However, for Qi Suian, surviving the present was all that mattered. The future could wait. Without a present, how could there be a future?
"So the Profound Virus is connected to the Watchman Morning Company," Qi Suian muttered. "Are they trying to cosplay as the Umbrella Corporation or something..."
The Watchman Morning Company was a multinational pharmaceutical corporation where Qi Suian had worked. It was a high-tech company involved in medicine, pharmaceuticals, national defense, military applications, and more.
Once you were hired, the salary and benefits were arguably the best in the industry.
But Qi Suian's major actually had very little to do with the Watchman Morning Company. His university major was the history of the Ancient Dian Kingdom.
The Ancient Dian Kingdom was a small kingdom from a thousand years ago that almost no one knew about, making this major an extremely obscure field of study.
The entire major... no, before the zombie apocalypse broke out, the only people researching the Ancient Dian Kingdom were Qi Suian and his professor.
So Qi Suian was accepted directly into the doctoral program with ease. There was simply no one else.
However, before Qi Suian could even graduate, his professor died suddenly from an illness. It was a good thing he died early; now he was just a pile of ashes. Otherwise, he would have had to turn into a zombie in the end, and what a hassle that would have been.
After that, an HR representative from the Watchman Morning Company came to his door to invite him to join. They explained that his professor had actually been working for them part-time before his death but hadn't disclosed it due to a non-disclosure agreement.
With the leading authority on the history of the Ancient Dian Kingdom dead, his student, Qi Suian, was automatically promoted to the new leading authority.
As for playing hard to get? He couldn't afford to. Given the offer they made, the old Qi Suian simply couldn't have refused. That was an annual salary of a million, not to mention all the other benefits.
If he had actually rejected the Watchman Morning Company's olive branch, with a major so obscure it now seemed downright sinister, he probably would have had a hard time making even 2,800 a month.
The importance the Watchman Morning Company placed on him, combined with the effects of the Ancient Dian Kingdom Jade Seal, all pointed to one thing: this small kingdom from a thousand years ago had a very deep connection to the Profound Virus.
So, it made perfect sense that his major had gone from merely obscure to downright sinister.
Immediately, Qi Suian got up and entered all the research materials he and his professor had ever excavated from their archaeological work into his AI Brain.
'So if I want to find an antidote for the virus, the Watchman Morning Company might have it.'
'But... is it worth it to get rid of the Profound Virus?'
Qi Suian fell silent.
First of all, he had become an irregular in the doomsday game. This meant that as long as he didn't die, his entire future would be spent in the apocalypse.
The doomsday game wasn't limited to his Zombie Doomsday World. Later on, it would send other survivors to different Doomsday Worlds to continue their struggle. Qi Suian knew all of this from the regressor's memories.
This meant his X-rank talent, Celestial Fate: Profound, and his SSS-rank talent, Death Recast, were crucial to him. However, both talents were inextricably linked to the Profound Virus. If he were to purge the Profound Virus from his body, even if the talents didn't disappear completely, their effects would become pathetically weak.
'I can use Death Recast to lower my infection level and prevent myself from becoming a full-blown zombie.'
'So the best solution is to make the Profound Virus inside my body work for me.'
Qi Suian's line of thought was simple: survive.
So, when the Profound Virus was no longer an immediate threat to his life, his thoughts turned to exploiting it.
His gaze then fell upon his own F-rank talent, which had a negligible presence: Virus Resistance: Profound.
'If the SSS-rank talent Devouring Evolution really did mutate from my F-rank talent Virus Resistance: Profound after I zombified, does that mean this talent still has room to grow?'
The possibility of talent evolution had already been demonstrated by the regressor's X-rank talent, Hyper-Dimensional Evolution. Even though that person relied on a specific talent to do it, Qi Suian felt it was worth a try.
For example, why was he able to resist the Profound Virus?
'During the seven days I was being infected by the Profound Virus, I had the help of the Ancient Dian Kingdom Jade Seal's effect. My body produced some kind of antibody, and after I fully turned into a zombie, this antibody combined with Celestial Fate: Profound and the radiation from the Ancient Dian Kingdom Jade Seal, ultimately transforming into the SSS-rank talent Devouring Evolution and the BOSS Template.'
'Therefore, I need enough knowledge and data to find a way to upgrade my Virus Resistance: Profound talent, and through that, gain further control over the Profound Virus.'
Qi Suian's idea was clear. Since the Profound Virus was his foundation, he would use it as the capital for his growth, strength, and survival.
As for relying on the doomsday game? He was still an irregular. The game had tried to eliminate him right from the start; it just hadn't succeeded.
'Good thing I know where the Watchman Morning Company's headquarters is. With the help of the AI Brain, I should be able to find what I want.' Thinking this, a look of resignation crossed Qi Suian's face. 'Learning from scratch... this is going to be a huge undertaking.'
He had also considered letting the Tai Sui God's AI Brain do all the learning while he reaped the benefits.
But he rejected that idea. Knowledge was only real when you mastered it yourself. If he relied entirely on the AI Brain, he would become useless. How could he expect to last long then?
The AI Brain could be used as an auxiliary tool, not as a crutch for everything.
In a time of peace, Qi Suian naturally wouldn't have cared; he could have just coasted. But this was the apocalypse. The pressure was on him. Improving himself was a way to become stronger—and the most direct way at that.
'First, I'll get the data. Then, I'll kill those two lucky survivors.'
'In the meantime, I can have the AI Brain teach me the basics of biology, pharmacology, and other related subjects.'
Qi Suian understood. It was time to get back on the grind. Only this time, he was grinding for his own life and future.