'I've died so many times... I'm a little dazed...'
Qi Suian had been studying for seven days straight, without sleep or rest.
During that time, the AI controlled the Tai Sui God to scavenge for evolutionary materials everywhere while also coordinating with Qi Suian's studies.
His armor rating had naturally improved, though not by much.
But Qi Suian was reaching his limit, dying once every fifty minutes.
'I need to find a way to block my pain receptors... No, I'll just have the Deep Virus destroy my nerves in sync. It'll save me the misery.'
'Besides, I only need my eyes, ears, and brain to study. No need to involve anything else.'
The more Qi Suian thought about it, the more ruthless his ideas became. With Death Recast as his safety net, he was willing to try anything.
'Still, the gains over these past seven days have been immense.'
Thanks to the latest Death Serum, after seven days of high-intensity, sleepless study, Qi Suian had finally learned most of the relevant knowledge he needed.
Multitasking, a photographic memory, and an extraordinary capacity for learning and comprehension—with his cognitive abilities pushed to the max, the results he'd traded his life for were naturally achieved with great efficiency.
But this knowledge was still insufficient for him to conduct in-depth research on the Deep Virus, upgrade his F-rank talent, Virus Resistance: Profound, or even control the virus for his own ends.
When it came to the Deep Virus, he was still just a novice. The gap between him and the Watchman Morning Company was still immense.
Since he couldn't keep up with their progress, it didn't matter. Qi Suian would just steal their data and use it as a stepping stone.
"I'll take some time off to recover." Physically and spiritually, Qi Suian wasn't tired. Psychologically, however, he had died so many times that he felt he might be becoming a bit twisted.
For instance, he had grown indifferent to life. If he felt nothing from his own deaths, he felt even less when others died.
As a result, he no longer held much fear of death.
It was a mixed blessing. Fear wasn't all bad; it could also inspire a sense of awe and prevent arrogance.
Of course, Qi Suian wasn't the least bit arrogant; after all, his physical condition didn't allow for it.
With his current 0.5 constitution, Qi Suian estimated he was weaker than even a regular zombie.
As time went on, even the constitutions of ordinary zombies began to improve.
According to intelligence gathered by the AI, the average constitution of an ordinary zombie had risen from 0.5 to 1.0. This meant the predicament facing survivors was becoming increasingly dire.
Survivors had no concept of "leveling up." To raise their attributes, training was the best method, but it couldn't help them break past human limits.
Another way was to find opportunities in the Doomsday World, such as the gene enhancements or biological modifications offered by the Watchman Morning Company.
The final method was to rank high in the Doomsday Game's events to earn attribute points. However, such rewards were typically reserved for only the top three participants.
The Doomsday Game's stinginess was plain for all to see.
Qi Suian had no idea what the Doomsday Game hoped to achieve with this approach.
None of this concerned him, however, as none of the three methods were suitable for him.
With Qi Suian's constitution, training was simply not an option. His 0.5 constitution was the peak value he had right after a Death Recast.
As his infection level rose, his constitution would continue to drop. At that point, never mind getting winded after two steps, he might not even be able to walk at all.
However, Qi Suian had also discovered something interesting. After consuming large quantities of the Death Serum, the "+1 Enhanced Super Adaptability" from his Celestial Fate: Profound talent seemed to have activated.
Even without taking the Death Serum, as his infection level rose, his Spiritual Power would increase in tandem. The initial estimate was that his Spirit increased by an amount equivalent to the loss in constitution.
This essentially meant that the weaker his constitution became, the stronger his Spirit grew.
It was like a special passive ability.
Of course, this passive ability had its limits: only a drop in constitution caused by a rising infection level would trigger the increase in Spirit.
A decrease in constitution through any other means would have no such effect.
However, with further stimulation, there might be a significant improvement.
"AI, does this mean that if I continuously survive in harsh environments, Super Adaptability will gradually grant me the corresponding resistances?" Qi Suian asked.
"Yes, but I would advise against implementing that plan now. Your current priority is the Deep Virus."
Without a moment's hesitation, Qi Suian had the AI inject him with the Death Serum.
This was much faster than taking it orally, and the effect was stronger.
'I know. I know how to upgrade my Virus Resistance now.'
Qi Suian brought up the AI's interface and began running calculations based on his newfound inspiration.
'The Virus Resistance talent is the core. Super Adaptability will be the support, and I'll add the precarious antibodies in my body to the mix.'
'If I want to make the Deep Virus serve me, the first step is to gain the ability to suppress it.'
Resistance is about rejection, but the Deep Virus is too powerful for most humans to resist at all.
Suppression, on the other hand, is about control and restraint—a prerequisite for turning the tables.
The Deep Virus was originally the invader, but once Qi Suian could suppress it, it would be completely trapped.
After reversing the situation, Qi Suian could then figure out how to slowly gain control over the Deep Virus in his body.
"It'll work!" A smile spread across Qi Suian's face as he looked at the final results.
"AI. Inactivate and Rebirth."
After recasting, Qi Suian looked at the data he held and began a second round of modifications using the Death Serum.
'My antibodies are too unruly, but that's fine. I'll use Super Adaptability to alter them.'
'I'll turn the antibodies in my body from defenders into a Slave Capture Team.'
Their target for capture would be the Deep Virus, of course. What else could it be?
'It's just, the cost... Oh, wait. That's not my problem.'
The cost he was referring to was the Deep Virus Crystal. Mutated Zombies all carried it now, just in varying concentrations.
The AI, controlling the Tai Sui God, could acquire a significant amount in a single day.
Especially after raiding that armory, Qi Suian had no shortage of firearms.
So there had been no need to hunt zombies excessively.
However, as time passed, high-level Mutated Zombies had already begun to develop special abilities. This left Qi Suian speechless—how could the zombies' rate of mutation and evolution be so fast?
'Why couldn't he have that kind of growth rate?'
Fortunately, high-level Mutated Zombies were still a minority. The zombies' power levels formed a natural Pyramid structure: the higher up the pyramid, the stronger the zombie, and the fewer their numbers.
If powerful zombies were everywhere, how would any of the survivors manage to stay alive?
'According to the data, I should have results in about ten days.'
'If I succeed, my F-rank Virus Resistance will evolve into an E-rank Virus Suppression.'