The RAT-A-TAT-TAT of gunfire gradually subsided. All the survivors in the underground air-raid shelter were dead.
The safe point selected by the AI had been used as a base by a group of survivors who had banded together for warmth, and it had already grown to a considerable size.
However, there weren't many survivors—only a dozen or so in total. Every last one of them died in the sneak attack.
But these weren't top-tier survivors. After a thorough search, nothing of value was found.
In the end, they could only be laid to rest.
After Qi Suian took over, he began to develop an antivirus.
Since he couldn't kill Chunyu Bao head-on, Qi Suian would kill the Abyssal Virus inside his body instead.
Without the Abyssal Virus, there was at least a fifty-percent chance Chunyu Bao would die outright. The alternative was that his strength would plummet, leaving him severely weakened.
If it was the latter, Qi Suian would naturally be delighted, as he could then capture him alive himself.
Of course, there was also a small chance it would have no effect at all.
However, he had faith in the Apocalypse Game. After all, the Secondary Solid Clearing Serum was a reward it had issued.
He had no idea that Chunyu Bao had brought ten elite special forces teams from the Watchman Morning Company and was using satellites, surveillance networks, and the AI, Dawn, to conduct a grid search for him.
Compared to that, he was more concerned about the several hundred survivors who had gathered together and were getting closer and closer to him.
The Apocalypse Game's "Kill the Violator" event was already starting to show results.
Ambitious and capable survivors would definitely not pass up the chance to take down a major boss like Qi Suian.
The rewards for this event weren't for just one person. Instead, they were distributed based on combat contribution in the kill. The greater the contribution, the richer the reward.
"Switch over the surveillance feeds," Qi Suian instructed his AI.
Watchman Dawn's AI, Dawn, had indeed seized control of all surveillance systems. However, Qi Suian's AI was no pushover, especially since the area it needed to control was small.
As long as it didn't try to challenge the enemy's strengths with its own weaknesses, it stood a chance.
So, the AI had stealthily gained access to the surveillance equipment around the air-raid shelter to monitor the area.
Otherwise, how would Qi Suian have known that survivors were coming to "farm" him, the big boss?
Unfortunately, the surveillance system was rather limited. As time went on and with no one to maintain the power grid, many areas had already started losing electricity.
Once the power went out, the surveillance equipment naturally stopped working.
What about the ones that might be solar-powered? They could indeed continue to run, but the network also needed electricity to function.
Without a network, neither his AI nor Dawn could control them.
So, they still had an advantage for now. But as the apocalypse dragged on, modern technology would inevitably regress completely.
Most likely, only the headquarters of Watchman Dawn would be able to maintain its level of technology.
The AI quickly pulled up the surveillance footage. Many of the images were blurry and incomplete.
Among these people, he recognized one famous, named individual from his past life's memories.
Based on the footage, Qi Suian guessed that this person was the one who had organized such a large force.
'Jin Linyun. His talent is the S-rank Puppet Master.'
'According to my memories, by the mid-stage of the zombie apocalypse, he had already taken control of a Corpse King as his puppet.'
'Furthermore, that Corpse King was a dual-attribute mutation, possessing the Dark Body ability.'
'Later, he even raised it into a Corpse Emperor.'
Zombies, of course, had ranks. After the ninth-rank zombie came Corpse King, Corpse Emperor, Corpse Emperor, and finally, Overlord.
In his previous life, Qi Suian had been the only Overlord-level zombie. The highest rank below that was Corpse Emperor.
'Right now, Jin Linyun hasn't obtained a Corpse King yet, but he does have a third-rank, dual-attribute Mutated Zombie under his control.'
At the current stage of the apocalypse, Corpse Kings hadn't even appeared yet. The highest-ranking zombies were probably only around the fifth rank.
The higher the rank, the slower the rate of advancement, naturally.
It's not like you can level up quickly at lower ranks and expect the same efficiency at higher ranks. Of course, there's a slowdown.
'Being able to control a third-rank, dual-attribute Mutated Zombie... he's a talented one, all right.'
'His Spirit attribute was most likely maxed out from birth. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to control a third-rank, dual-attribute Mutated Zombie.'
'Too many people. It'll be hard to kill them all.'
A third-rank Mutated Zombie was indeed a bit tricky to deal with, but it was just a paper tiger in front of the Floating Cannons.
The real difficulty was the large number of survivors. Their individual strength was low, but Qi Suian's wasn't exactly high either.
He hadn't yet reached the point where he could ignore the threat of an elephant being killed by a swarm of ants.
Especially since every one of these survivors was armed—with firearms, no less.
Most likely, Jin Linyun had provided them.
With his methods, acquiring enough firearms and ammunition wouldn't be a problem.
If he were truly pinned down by their firepower, Qi Suian definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"There is a solution, though." Qi Suian's eyes narrowed. "I just need to get them infected with the Abyssal Virus and turn them into zombies."
And the one thing Qi Suian didn't lack was the Abyssal Virus.
"Gas dispersal is slow, but I don't need to infect everyone. As long as a portion of them are infected, it will be enough to break their formation."
Don't be fooled just because this mob was gathered by Jin Linyun and seems to follow his commands.
Qi Suian was certain that the vast majority of survivors weren't truly loyal to Jin Linyun. After all, the total contribution points were split by percentage.
If you take a bigger bite, everyone else gets a smaller one.
Everyone's goal was to survive. Who would be willing to give up this opportunity?
Therefore, as soon as a small number of them turned into zombies and caused a commotion, this temporary alliance of survivors would instantly collapse.
"This just stings a little." Without hesitation, Qi Suian drew a large vial of blood from his own body.
As a heavily infected individual, his blood wasn't the bright red of a normal person, but a viscous black.
In fact, it wasn't just his blood; his muscles, bones, internal organs, and even his brain had this same terrifying appearance.
It was precisely for these reasons that Qi Suian's physical constitution could only reach a maximum of 0.5 and couldn't be improved any further.
But in exchange, Qi Suian's entire body contained a high concentration of the Abyssal Virus. Once extracted, it only needed to be aerosolized to become infectious.
If Qi Suian didn't wear the Tai Sui God, even a normal person standing too close to him would be infected by the Abyssal Virus he exhaled.
He was a walking source of Abyssal Virus infection.
Of course, he was still a ways off from turning into a full-blown zombie, held back by his own talent.
"The rest is simple. I'll just strike first." Qi Suian had his AI start drawing up a plan. "I hope the people who die this way aren't counted against me."