"It's a potent antiviral agent. Without the proper protections, it's just like a fever—either you die, or the virus dies."
"There's no chance of survival."
The Secondary Solid Clearing Serum in Qi Suian's hand had already been dismantled into pieces.
'Unfortunately, aside from the basic clearing serum formula, there are still a lot of unknowns, like its activation principle, the protective technology, and so on.'
'This must originate from a higher level of the Apocalypse Game's rules.'
Qi Suian couldn't fully deconstruct the Secondary Solid Clearing Serum. For example, he knew how to grant a one-time immunity to the Abyssal Virus—by applying a potent antiviral agent directly.
But he didn't know how survivors managed to stay alive after using such a potent antiviral.
The agent targets the Abyssal Virus, but it doesn't just affect the virus. It also causes lethal damage to the human body.
Normally, if an ordinary person were to use the Secondary Solid Clearing Serum, there would be two outcomes: either they'd die before the Abyssal Virus did, or they'd die right after the virus was cleared.
There was simply no chance of survival.
'It does have some uses for me, though. While I can't use it to clear the Abyssal Virus, I can use it as a stimulant and a means to seize control.'
Currently, the Abyssal Virus was being corralled by the antibody 'Slave Capture Team' in his body, but that didn't mean Qi Suian had it under control.
It was a temporary containment at best. Given enough time, the Abyssal Virus would likely mutate further.
Of course the Abyssal Virus had the ability to mutate. Otherwise, where did all the Mutated Zombies come from?
The Abyssal Virus in Qi Suian's body was a conventional strain, but it was unrealistic to think it wouldn't mutate after a long time.
Therefore, what he had to do was guide the Abyssal Virus's mutation in a direction that would benefit him.
However, this was no small feat. He lacked a vast amount of knowledge and experimental data.
Granted, after some destructive self-modification, his body could now secrete the variant adrenaline associated with his SS-rank Talent for Blood-red Willpower. This allowed him to withstand a higher dose of the death potion to enhance his cognitive processes.
Combined with his luck, his research had been progressing smoothly. But he was ultimately a novice in this field. Even with Zhi Nao's assistance, catching up to the progress of the Watchman Morning Company was still a distant dream.
'Another period of adaptation, and I can probably increase the death potion's concentration tenfold,' Qi Suian estimated.
After acquiring the variant adrenaline, the dosage of the death potion Qi Suian used had soared from the initial single dose to a double dose.
As a result, he couldn't even survive for fifty-five minutes now before he had to watch a thirty-second ad to respawn.
Generally, he would die around the thirty-minute mark. And the cause of death wasn't suicide, but the massive enhancement to his Spirit from the death potion, which his body couldn't withstand.
His cause of death was no longer preemptive termination, but his brain being fried to a pulp.
Only because he could resurrect did Qi Suian dare to be so reckless.
"The side effects are a little severe, though. I need to find a way to change that. Zhi Nao, any suggestions?" Qi Suian asked.
Zhi Nao was controlling the Tai Sui God, taking Qi Suian around to collect the necessary evolutionary materials, but their efforts were proving rather inefficient.
The Tai Sui God was too picky, and its needs were vast. Without help from other modules, leveling it up would still be quite difficult.
It was an SSS-rank entity, after all. Infinite growth was bound to be difficult.
[You could try releasing a massive amount of dopamine via your neurons, in order to...]
Qi Suian was left speechless by Zhi Nao's words. The AI's assessments of him were getting more and more bizarre; its first suggestion was always destructive self-modification.
Of course he knew about dopamine. As a neurotransmitter, it has various physiological functions in regulating the central nervous system.
It's also a precursor to adrenaline. Specifically, dopamine is released by neurons, sending signals to other nerve cells to help them transmit impulses.
According to Zhi Nao's plan, this would allow Qi Suian to reach a hundred-fold concentration of the death potion while also staying alive a bit longer.
With a peak physique of just 0.5, Qi Suian and Zhi Nao had somehow managed to produce results several times more effective than that.
"Not a bad suggestion," Qi Suian admitted. As exasperated as he was, he couldn't deny its potential.
[We can use the Abyssal Virus's activity for further stimulation. In combination with the variant adrenaline, you could achieve a state similar to a power-up burst.]
Qi Suian knew this. Dopamine isn't a substance that creates happiness; it actually enhances motivational intensity. It's roughly equivalent to human desire or aversion being driven toward fulfillment or avoidance.
Therefore, it doesn't just regulate emotions; it also adjusts bodily movement, cardiovascular activity, and more.
So, if he really were to use a variant dopamine stimulated by the Abyssal Virus in conjunction with the variant adrenaline... to put it mildly, Qi Suian could cause his physique and Spirit to skyrocket in a short period.
His physique would likely leap from 0.5 to around 1.5 points, and his Spirit, thanks to his super-adaptability, would go even higher.
The price, of course, would be death. It was comparable to the Celestial Demon Dissolving Technique.
Qi Suian figured he could go from a complete weakling to one of the top experts among the survivors in a single leap.
The Apocalypse Game did indeed reward attribute points, but such rewards were rare, and they came in increments of 0.1, not a full point.
Aside from prescient reincarnators, it was highly unlikely any survivor could gain a full attribute point in a short amount of time.
[Warning: You have violated the rules by killing a total of one hundred survivors.]
[Commencing forceful obliteration...]
The Apocalypse Game's warning materialized before Qi Suian's eyes. While out searching for evolutionary materials, it was inevitable that he would run into other survivors.
When these survivors came within a certain range of a violator like him, they would receive a notification from the Apocalypse Game. That was why most of them fled the moment they saw Qi Suian.
The few who dared to fight back probably did so because there was a reward for killing him.
Thus, whenever they encountered a survivor on the road, Zhi Nao would control the Tai Sui God to kill them on sight.
It didn't take long to reach a total of one hundred.
'You're kidding... there's a "forceful" obliteration?' Qi Suian suddenly grew anxious. 'Don't tell me even my X-rank talent can't handle it.'
'The fact that they used the word "forceful" means this isn't going to be simple.'
[Detecting...]
Seeing the "Obliteration Failed" warning appear, Qi Suian breathed a sigh of relief. His plot armor was tough enough; it had actually held.
However, it wasn't over. A series of brand-new notifications quickly appeared.
By the time Qi Suian finished reading, his expression had turned rather strange.
'Since they can't obliterate me, they're planning to turn me into a boss for all the other survivors to farm?'
'The problem is, they can't beat me. How is this any different from them just lining up to die?'