Re:Library

Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 725 to 754

November 9, 2021 CatatoPatch 1 Comment

725 to 754 are out!

Chapter 730: Starry Infatuation

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

This widespread sharing of my bio was one of the reasons why, no matter how much I tried to explain that I was a male, no one would believe me; seeing as my bio page in the Federation listed me as female.

Or at the very least, those who were willing to believe me were probably those who would prefer I was a male…

I had attempted in the past to correct the data, but that required one year of processing. More importantly, this so-called error was made by sister Bitong… should she insist on this error… What else was a man to do? Sigh…

After a bit of random monologuing, I finally remembered that I actually had a job to do here and yanked my attention back from the abyss.

“This area is a disaster, at least for having a chat, how about we change locations instead? A cafe, maybe? A sweets shop – what do you think?”

The moment I said the word cafe, his words nearly lit up. “Cafe? Goddess, you want to go on a date with me?”

A date? As if! Who would want to go on a date with a nutjob? I just want to lure you away from this location, that’s all.

I waved my hands and profusely tried to deny that, “I won’t say it’s a “date” date, I’m just hoping we can understand each other better, that’s all.”

“I knew I was chosen by the heavens, haha! Even the Goddess wants to go on a date with me. Is this what they mean by a main character’s halo?” Yamabe Takuma confidently jumped off his throne, casually striding down the mountain of zombies with a light hop in his steps.

He beckoned in a certain direction as he continued, “Goddess, I know a decent location nearby, we can head there for a chat.”

Oh? He actually agreed. But why is it still in this theme park?

“About that… if it’s possible, I would rather we go up to the surface. This cave setting makes me a little uneasy.”

“Goddess, you prefer the surface? But the surface is noisy. Down here, it’s nice and quiet…” Yamabe Takuma paused for a second, clearly hesitating about something. “Goddess, I still think it would be better if we go to that little shop I mentioned. The environment’s great there. It has everything, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”

He firmly rejected my surface suggestion. Because I still needed information from him, I acquiesced in the end.

“Alright, we’ll go with your plan then. Hopefully, it’s as good as you say.”

“Definitely,” he said with a pat to his chest. “The shops I recommend are all the best.”

As a show of goodwill, I dismissed my three fire elementals and followed him to a nearby cafe called “Starry Infatuation”.

Like he said, the interior of the shop was excellent. It had a mostly black theme. Its ceiling was decorated after a night sky, giving the impression of a soothing outdoor dinner for its patrons. Assuming of course, you ignored the cowering girls in the corner over there…

The moment we entered the shop, I spotted a dozen or so young, beautiful girls huddled up in a corner. Their heads were lowered, as if they did not even dare to look Yamabe in the eyes.

So there are other survivors… but they are all female, and they seem deathly afraid of the boy… Did he do something to them?

Maybe, but before gathering some hard evidence, I can’t act yet.

“Waitresses! My Goddess is here, hurry up and get us some refreshments!” Yamabe started raising his voice the moment he stepped into the shop, as if this was his restaurant to begin with.

At his command, two beautiful waitresses in uniform stood up from the cowering group and approached us. They were clearly dragging their feet as they shuffled up to us. None of them wanted to do the job, but they were also afraid of what he would do to them if they didn’t.

“Master Yamabe, how may we serve you today?” The first waitress to speak up was a twenty or so red-headed girl. After tidying up her dress, she gently said, “The kitchens have all been sorted out, you may order whatever’s on the menu.”

Yamabe didn’t immediately answer her question. Instead, he pulled out one of the wooden chairs for me like a gentleman then proceeded to sit opposite me.

Seeing him seated, the other girl shakily laid down a menu onto the table, her face as white as the surroundings were black.

“You’re afraid of me?” Yamabe nonchalantly asked without picking up the menu. He tapped ominously on the menu while giving her a sharp look.

“No… not at all… master Yamabe has always treated us very well. I’m not afraid… ” Even though she said that, her lips were already quivering and her eyes were clearly saying otherwise.

It was precisely her quivering that caused Yamabe to raise an eyebrow. “Not afraid? So you’re saying I’m a pushover then?”

“No… no… master Yamabe is a kind man who would never harm us…” Crushed by the overbearing pressure he emanated, the black-haired waitress slumped to the floor in a shaking mess. It took her utmost just to stop herself from crying right there and then.

Exactly what did he do to her to cause such a violent response? Regardless of what he did, she needed help now.

I pointed at one of the pictures on the menu. “I will have the Taro Shaved Ice, extra ice, and the biggest bowl you have. Take your time, but make it good.”

Hearing my order, the black-haired waitress woodenly turned her head towards me, clearly scared out of her wits by Yamabe.

“You dare to ignore the Goddess? What’s the point of even keeping you then!” Yamabe immediately lost his temper when the waitress did not respond. He raised his hand, ready to deal the girl a resounding blow.

Thankfully, even if I did not expect him to hit her like that, I was still able to react in time. I activated the fire-controlling abilities of Lion’s Majesty, firing off an arrow of fire between the two of them, blocking his right hand in the process.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

Chapter 729: Yamabe Takuma

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Did you think that just by killing off three of my summons, you have the right to challenge me?” I coolly floated in the air, Icy Inferno in my right hand. “You must have some degree of intelligence. Perhaps you already remember some parts of your former life as a human… Or not, but that doesn’t matter now. Because you’re already dead!”

I focused a surge of SP into my weapon, ready to face his challenge with an equally forceful response of my own.

Ice Edge!

I swung my blade in the zombie’s direction, blasting out a wave of icy sword energy, so condensed that it almost appeared to be physical.

The giant zombie was still in the middle of a leaping strike when that happened, but with the sword wave’s unmatched sharpness, the wave bifurcated the zombie the instant it sliced into the zombie.

Just like that, the zombie fell to the sides with an unceremonious thud. On one half, the slice was perfectfully even, with the surface completely frozen over into a mirror surface. On the other, the flesh was already turning black from the flames that ate into it, filling the air with an acrid smell in the process.

I calmly smiled at my handiwork, not at all perturbed by the sight. “That’s the price for challenging me, idiot.”

I will give that bit of showboating a 99/100. Not a perfect hundred since I clearly overdid it just now with my SP expenditure. Speaking of which… time to replenish my SP.

I immediately purchased three bottles of SP Recovery and downed them.

A surge of energy filled my body in an instant. Taking advantage of this state, I promptly began the summoning process once more.

Given how many zombies there were in this theme park, hacking them one by one would be a chore without some help. I wasn’t some kind of butcher after all.

The following descent down the stairway was relatively uneventful. That giant zombie was the only mini-boss like character I encountered. The remaining zombies were no match for my elementals.

Yet the moment I reached the fifth floor, I was stunned by what greeted me.

Atop a nearly hundred meters tall mountain of zombies, a black-haired teen, roughly around my age with average looks, dressed in a black T-shirt and bluish-white jeans, sat atop the grisly hill in a pensive stance.

Right at the very summit of that mini hill was a bony throne on which he sat. But unlike the mountain of corpses below, this throne did not seem natural at all. It wasn’t just pieced together out of stacked bones, rather it seemed to be held together by some other force.

After all, there were no chains holding them together, nor were there any signs of the throne itself being carved from a single large piece of bone.

“Someone dares to… You… you’re the… Goddess?!” The black-haired teen first looked at the fire elementals, but his gaze was immediately torn away when I entered his view. He nearly jumped off his throne, finger shaking as he pointed at me. “Goddess… are you here to see me? I never thought that I would ever be able to see you in the flesh in this lifetime. I’ve always regretted not being able to visit Phoenix city… yet here you are now… I’m so touched… weeping.”

Well, someone is really getting into his character. Maybe I know him from somewhere? No, more like he knows me… but I don’t know him.

All the zombies in the last floor seemed to have been stacked up on that giant corpse hill over there. From a quick glance, I estimated at least a hundred thousand of them there. In fact, they didn’t seem to be dead at all. Rather, they were just silently lying there, neither growling or clawing, as if they were in a sweet slumber.

Had it not been for the fact that they were stacked up in a hill, and that teen appearing atop them was just too strange, I would have most likely started burning that hill right now.

I quietly ordered my elementals to stand down. As I did so, I checked to see where the coordinates Aunty Xinqing led to, all the while keeping my eyes on the teen.

It’s beneath me… but there’s nothing here except for those zombies… so my target is that hill then?

Having been left with more questions than answers, there was only the option of asking that teen left. Assuming, of course, he was willing to answer them.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Yamabe (last name/surname) Takuma. I came here on a holiday with my parents. I’m also a member of the Goddess Ke Ke Cult. I’ve been following you since your early days at the cafe. Honestly, I wanted to visit Phoenix City to find you, but my parents were adamant about visiting this theme park. And that’s how I landed up here… I thought I would never get the chance to see the Goddess ever again, but fortune has smiled on me today! I must be the luckiest boy on the planet right now!”

As the teen continued blathering on, his face only grew more excited, distorted even.

While he seemed to be on my side on the surface, I dared not let my guard down. This whole scene was just too odd. From the way this whole scene was set up, to how there was suddenly no contact with the Federation, that teen had to have some hand in them.

Regardless, a smart move would always be to get him to leave his home grounds. In this area, I was clearly at a disadvantage…

And in a giant theme park of death, him being the only survivor was definitely suspicious. Even pigs flying would have been more believable.

Based on what he just said, this teen was an ardent fan of mine. In that case, starting from that angle should work out. After sorting out my emotions, I started talking in the most gentle manner possible. “Nice to meet you, Yamabe Takuma. If you don’t mind, I have a ton of questions to ask you… Perhaps we should find a more comfortable location to talk?”

“That’s perfect! I have so much to say to the Goddess as well. I’m just a normal cult member, but the bishops would always put up pictures and videos of the Goddess in our holy grounds. I have to look at them at least once before I can even sleep. Ah… how lucky I am to be able to be this close to the Goddess! I can just die right now… No, no… I can’t die yet.”

Clearly, the kid was out of his mind. His words were starting to get jumbled up. Even so, since he even knew about the holy grounds, he had to be a fan of mine.

As a side note, this so-called “holy grounds” was just the official Goddess Ke Ke Cult’s website. Everyday, that site would be updated with a ton of new information about me. Pictures, videos, etc. Sometimes, a fan would even upload a screenshot of my bio in Federation’s database…

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 728: Attack of the Evolved Zombies

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

As if Anti-magic Blade wasn’t enough, the other skills of Icy Inferno were even more shocking.

Ravaging was clear enough in its description. Thanks to that skill, I hadn’t found a single foe I wasn’t able to slice through with Icy Inferno.

The last of my active skills, Ice Edge, was a powerful skill that I had often used in the past. In its basic form, its SP expenditure wasn’t much, but it boasted an impressive killing power.

Now that I could clearly evaluate Lion’s Majesty and Icy Inferno, I was feeling confident, to say the least. A little bloated on it, one might even say.

My three elementals continued clearing the path ahead for me, sweeping down the spiraling staircase with brutal efficiency. All it took was a pinpoint strike to the head and a zombie was down. With their aid, the points kept increasing at a rate I couldn’t even keep up with. It was then that I realised: this was points heaven!

While I might not have an exact standard to measure them against, their strength should be at the third or fourth level. Not exactly at the level of an exosuit, but more than enough for these zombies.

The road downwards required another fifty meters or so of slaughtering, at which point we arrived at the first floor of the park.

The entire park had five floors, each floor being a hundred or so meters tall. Every floor would feature different attractions, every one more entertainment than the previous. Such a pity that this park did not even make it past its fifth year before the zombie apocalypse happened.

The signal I received wasn’t from the first floor, meaning I still had another storey to descend to. But thanks to my fire elementals, it wasn’t a trip even worth mentioning. At the entrance to the second floor, I suddenly felt something was off. I raised my head up and found an observation elevator platform hanging above. It was suspended abruptly there, clearly in the middle of descending before tragedy struck. From outside, I could clearly see the claws swiping out towards me as a cacophony of zombie howls started filling the air. However, there were several dozen meters between us, so I chose to ignore that platform.

Unfortunately, this bit of laziness would soon come to bite me in the butt.

A massive zombie shoved aside the smaller zombies on the observation elevator. Because of my lower vantage point, he only appeared to be a slightly taller zombie. Oh… how wrong I was…

Still in the dark, I casually commanded the fire elementals to continue clearing up any zombies they encountered. I was completely undefended when suddenly the skies darkened and a massive zombie shadow came crashing down from the heavens, flattening one of the fire elementals and a bunch of smaller zombies in the process.

“BAM!!”

Its massive five meters tall body landed heavily on the spiralling stairway. Because of the sheer momentum behind its leap, and the relatively small landing point, it had to clutch onto the railways just to stop it from toppling over the edge.

Even so, the stairway wasn’t built to withstand such forces. Not long after the deafening crash, an ominous cracking sound could be heard. Numerous fissures began crawling their across the entire structure, built entirely out of what was supposed to be the strongest building material on Gaia. But that bit of sturdiness was no match for the zombie’s flamboyant entry… I had to admit, it was a shocking entry, indeed.

Just based on its destructive power, this giant zombie had to be at the sixth level -the first mini-boss of this theme park. If this was actually a dungeon in a game…

Armed with a new target, the remaining fire elementals immediately charged at the monster, their fists roaring with flames as they threw out the first blows of this fight.

Yet this massive zombie had long passed the stage of caring about a couple of punches from these little flames. With a mighty roar, it breathed a gust of icy white gas at the left fire elemental, instantly extinguishing that poor elemental into nothingness…

The other fire elemental had taken this opportunity to swing at the zombie once more, but its puny fists couldn’t penetrate the defenses of the new zombie. In fact, not only did it fail to land a decisive hit, it had placed itself in the position for a counterattack.

The zombie swung a mighty fist back at the elemental. Being a creature of elements, such physical attacks wouldn’t normally work against it, but this zombie was clearly imbued with some sort of ice element. Thus when its fist struck, the fire elemental was quickly relieved of its arm, snuffed out like its comrade…

Just from that short exchange alone, I learnt that its breath and aura was a force to be reckoned with. Ice and Fire were both opposing elements. Fire was normally strong against Ice, but this zombie was clearly much stronger than those elementals, thus they were easily defeated.

Deprived of an arm, the giant zombie easily finished the elemental with a further couple of punches.

Victorious, the zombie let forth another sonorous howl. This time, it seemed to be challenging me to a fight… was it trying to figure out my strength? Did this zombie possess some degree of intelligence?

If someone were to say that a zombie could ever be smarter than a human… I would most likely call their bluff. However, now that these zombies were starting to raise their levels, having some degree of intelligence was no longer an impossibility. Perhaps this giant zombie was one such specimen.

The width of the spiralling stairway wasn’t even seven meters. With its massive girth, that zombie was able to block off the exit downwards just by standing there. Even the smaller zombies who were trying to squeeze their way through it from the second floor were summarily smacked aside by it.

Naturally, I could just fly over him and skip down to the next floor, but that would mean the end of my free-and-easy point farming.

Also, that was three of my summons he just took out. It would be remiss of me not to give him some payback.

In that case, we fight!

A swing of my left hand and a flash from Lion’s Majesty later, a massive flame wall roared to life underneath the zombie’s foot, threatening to swallow him whole in an instant.

However, the giant zombie merely clasped its hands together and bashed down on the rising flames. Its icy white aura collided with the flames, the two cancelling each other out instantly.

Now that the wall was gone, the zombie howled one last time before breaking into a deafening charge at it. With every lunge of its lumbering body, the stairs underneath it would groan in protest.

Because I had slain a number of zombies before this, it had to wade through a sea of corpses as it ran. Bits of zombie flesh and heads would fly about the stairway like trees behind a raging hurricane.

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 727: The True Power of an Epic Accessory

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Because of the sheer amount of zombies loitering around, the cavernous theme park entrance seemed almost claustrophobic. Even with my wings, I would most likely end up bumping into some of them while flying.

“Just a gentle reminder, our valued host may consider using his Epic-grade Lion’s Majesty to summon fire elementals to clear out these zombies.”

Now that she said that, I suddenly remembered that I had shoved a certain piece of high-jewellery into my inventory. The reason being that it was too… girly for me!

It featured a silver chain, three smaller red jewels arranged into a triangle, with a larger red jewel right in the center of this bejeweled web. The chain hooked around my wrist before extending up to my middle finger and my ring finger.

A great design… just too girly for me…

Even after the system told me that this was an Epic-grade piece of accessory, and even after the system told me that it had already been bound to me, it was still too girly for me!

Some things are so important, they have to be repeated thrice!

That was why when the system first suggested using Lion’s Majesty, I immediately rejected her proposal. After all, I was the host here, not her. Just because she said I should use it, didn’t mean I would. What kind of host listens to his tenant like that? At the very least, I should voice my displeasure…

I looked down at the spiraling staircase, filled to the brim with clutching zombie hands… and decided to use it…

The moment I came to that decision, the system suddenly said, “Hold on a moment. In order to avoid such a situation in the future, and better explain the advantages of using the system’s tools, your system has decided to implement an emergency patch. The patch should only take a short while.”

As the system said, the entire patching only took ten seconds. And there was nothing to “inject” into me as well…

“Valued host, you now merely have to tap on the item, mentally say the words “display info”, and the system will bring up a menu with all the relevant details.”

I tapped on Lion’s Majesty as instructed, then recited the phrase…

Name: Lion’s Majesty
Grade: Epic
Status: Bound (Mo Ke)
Effects:
Greatly increase the user’s SP recovery rate.
Increase the user’s control over fire.
Decrease the user’s SP consumption when using Fire magic
Increase the user’s resistance to fire.

Skills:
Summon Fire Elementals, Active Skill: expend SP to summon three fire elementals.
Summon Inferno Lion, Active Skill: expend SP to summon an elemental lion. (Sealed. Automatically unsealed when Max SP reaches 500.)

Those effects are… insane!

I immediately put on Lion’s Majesty using my left hand. The moment I did so, the knowledge of how to operate it seeped into me mentally, as naturally as if I had already known it.

“O Emissary of the Inferno, I command thee, burn all that stands before me to nothingness!”

As the words left my mouth, I could feel all the SP within my body rapidly leave me. Despite that, there were no signs of any fire elementals forming. Thus, I bit the bullet and spent 50 points to purchase a Medium SP Recovery Potion. The mysterious liquid immediately transformed into a dense concentration of SP, filling every crevice of my body with SP, only to be sucked out a moment later to feed the fire elementals.

By the time the second potion was about to run its course, the summoning finally ended.

Three humanoid-shaped fire beings burst to life out of thin air in front of me. The temperature immediately soared amidst an ominous backdrop of crackling fires in a sea of pitch-black silence.

The three of them maintained a stable shape. Their features were clearly defined, easily recognisable as being a human face. However, the surface of their bodies would crackle and dance from time to time from the raging flames that made their bodies.

“Do it.”

At my command, the three elementals whom I had summoned through blood, sweat and points -mostly points- dove into the zombie horde and began burning down everything they saw.

Nothing could stand in the way of their hellish flames. As more and more targets caught fire, they were able to leech the very energy off these new flames, all the while absorbing SP from the surrounding air as well.

Technically, these three elementals could exist forever unless some external force destroyed them. A fact I only discovered after I summoned them.

Their bodies burned at a frightening 3000 degrees celsius. Every strike they threw melted their targets before they could even catch fire. Even if the zombies couldn’t feel pain, that didn’t stop them from being burnt to a blackened crisp.

Yet that wasn’t the end of their astonishing abilities either. These three elementals seemed to be able to learn from their battles. Not long after they were summoned, they started to aim the zombies’ heads, a clear indication that they knew this was their weak point. Their rampaging attack style quickly shifted to more pinpointed attacks where only the heads were targeted. In the process, their monster hunting efficiency rose dramatically.

While the elementals continued slaughtering their way down the stairs, I pulled Icy Inferno for a quick look. Once more, I was shocked…

Name: Icy Inferno
Grade: Epic
Status: Bound (Mo Ke)
Effects:
Increase the power of the user’s Fire magic.
Increase the power of the user’s Ice magic.

Skills:
Anti-magic Blade, Passive Skill: deals double damage to creatures of darkness
Ravaging, Passive Skill: causes extra destruction due to its dual nature of Fire and Ice.
Ice Edge, Active Skill: expend a small amount of SP to fire off an ice sword energy projectile. The more SP expended, the greater the power of the projectiles.

Woah… No wonder they are called Epic.

Creatures of darkness naturally referred to beings like the undead, devils, monsters. Even vampires, werewolves -essentially the bad monsters you hear about in fairy tales would be included. Zombies were included as well, but these zombies were so low level, doubling the damage done to them made no difference at all. Their numbers were what made them a headache to deal with.

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 726: Invitation to the Park

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

My objective this time was to find a bunch of combatants. According to Aunty Xinqing’s information, there were no civilians in this group I was heading for. They were all pilots armed with exosuits.

Yet, for some strange reason, she did not elaborate further after giving me the coordinates.

Upon arrival, I was immediately greeted by a well-known sight: one of Southern Plains’ most famous underground theme parks. It was said that this very location was once the home of a subterranean offshoot species of humans. When the first fossilised skeleton was discovered, there was a mad rush amongst the archaeological community, whether in the Federation or the other planets.

After a long period of excavation, the Federation team finally uncovered a previous settlement of subterranean humans. The buildings all had a unique earthen architecture to them. Their basic tools were also made of earth and clay, but there were some scatterings of bronze tools as well. This led to the archaeologist concluding that these humans were most likely at the bronze age before their civilisation ended.

Speaking of civilisations ending, no other skeletons were found in this settlement, as if they just vanished one day.

Eventually, this settlement was transformed into an underground theme park. The ticket fees were expensive, but anyone visiting Southern Plains wouldn’t pass up on a chance to visit this exciting slice of history.

Ignoring that cheesy welcome sign stating, the wonderful world of the subterranean awaits you, I quietly flew above the horde of wandering zombies below, eyes scanning the area for my objective today.

To be honest, when I saw where the location of today’s mission was, I had a hunch it would involve some spelunking, and it probably wouldn’t be an easy task.

“Ke, have you reached the coordinates yet?” A holographic feed of Aunty Xinqing suddenly popped up in front of me. Her eyes betrayed a myriad of emotions within them, most of them anxiety. “The mission has been cancelled, there’s no need for you to go any further.”

“Wait, why?”

What the heck, I’m literally at the front gate, why is it cancelled? Do they think I’m incapable of completing this mission?”

“The Subterranean Park has always been a popular destination. When the virus first broke out, this was one of the first places, and also the worst hit. The park itself is actually built by a private but powerful conglomeration. They even had an exosuit security force set up just for the theme park. In fact, their power has even extended to the upper ranks of the Federation. There was a police post nearby which sent in help when the virus first struck… Unfortunately, there has been no news of that team since…”

Looking at that weighty expression on her, I immediately understood what she was trying to say.

“So there has been no communication since then?”

“No. Only one-sided communications from the other party.”

“Aunty Xinqing thinks this is a trap?”

“While we do not want to admit this, the degree to which Southern Plains has fallen is severe. Coupled with the fact that not only has civilian communications been severed, the entrances have been sealed up as well… Strategic Command says there’s an extremely high chance of this being the other party’s trap…”

“Even if this is a trap, I still have to check it out.” As I said that, I waved my hand and conjured forth a three-meter wide wall of flames in the most concentrated zombie horde. The spell immediately spread like wildfire, tearing into the zombies with merciless rage. Any zombie unfortunate enough to be caught in the initial contact had already been turned into ashes before the wall reached its full potential.

Focusing my will, I had the spell inch forward slowly into the horde. In just a few seconds, I had already taken out over a hundred zombies. However, moving the wall required an exorbitant amount of SP. Just those few seconds alone were enough to deplete most of my SP reserves, forcing me to down a SP Recovery Potion.

The spell itself had been highly successful in taking care of the zombies. Their mindless flailing about would inadvertently spread the fire onto other zombies who would then set off a domino effect. But the stench of burning flesh was truly horrendous. So bad in fact, I instinctively commanded the wall to burn off the stench, in the process, learning how to purify the air… I’m such a genius.

By the second bottle, Aunty Xinqing’s curiosity was thoroughly aroused. “Ke, what’s that you are drinking?”

“A small bottle of SP Recovery Potion. It can refill my SP reserves in an instant. Quite effective for its size.” I casually tossed the potion bottle down at the zombies like I would a hidden weapon. And like a ninja’s throwing knife, the decidedly blunt bottle tunnelled through the zombie’s head with sheer brute force…

I think I’m getting more and more violent… I swear it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t toss a bottle at a zombie after downing one of these potions…

“SP Recovery Potion?” Unable to see my casual bottle toss, Aunty Xinqing’s attention had never once changed from the contents of said bottle. “Forget it. Now’s not the time for idle talk, are you sure about heading down into the park, Ke?”

“I am. Giving up halfway isn’t my style, after all.”

“In that case, your aunty won’t say more. Just be careful.”

“I will. I’ll be off, if there’s nothing else.”

I was just about to shut off the channel when Aunty Xinqing suddenly chimed in at the last second, “Don’t forget to turn on your video feed.”

“Video?”

I paused for a second. What for?

Aunty Xinqing was already prepared for that question, even if I didn’t voice it out loud. “We want to know what happened in the park itself. We’ve been trying to find out, but there’s some sort of unknown energy interfering with communication. I hope Ke would be able to record what’s going on down there.”

“I understand.” I shut off the channel and turned on the video capturing, as instructed. It was then that the system dinged me.

“Ding! Mission update…”

Mission: An Invitation from Subterranean Park.
Objectives: Investigate the strange happenings in the theme park.
Reward: 10,000 points.
Comments: A theme park is a great place for a date. Too bad you don’t have one now.
Status: Incomplete.

TEN THOUSAND?! Is the sun finally going to rise from the west? When did my black-hearted system become so generous all of a sudden?

In other words, is the danger within the park really that serious… Well, no point thinking too much at this point.

The main entrance of the park was a cave that extended downwards into the abyss. The sides of the giant hole were lined with spiralling staircases, but if one wasn’t feeling particularly athletic that day, there were also cable cars that extended downwards. Then there were specially crafted transparent walkways for the more adventurous visitors. Dotted around were little pockets within which rock hunters could exercise some amateur digging…

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 725: Are You Done?!

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Sis, I purchased an item to lift the distance restriction when using the Marketplace. You should be able to access it whenever you want now…”

“…”

“Oh, the item? It’s not expensive at all, don’t worry. In fact, it’s really cheap. The system told me this was a special discount…”

“…”

“Right… Right… I’ll be careful. You guys watch out as well. And remember to use the detection kit on those survivors. If you find any infected, just isolate them and feed them an antidote potion. Those potions only work before they transform -I’ve tested this out myself…”

“…”

“I might take a little longer to return. I just got a call from Aunty Xinqing and the General. There’s a place he told me about which I plan on checking out…”

“…”

“I know… But if you encounter any danger at all, call me.”

“…”

“That giant pile of bones should be harmless, I’ve already confirmed that its Soul Flame has been extinguished. It just looks a little scary, that’s all. Besides, the outside is too dangerous for the whole inn to evacuate. Just stay there for now…”

Soon after we ended our call, I heard Sima Junmo’s stern voice chime in from behind me. “Lady Mo Ke, I’ve completed my questioning. The situation is as follows…”

I turned around to find Sima Junmo smiling at me with a perpetually ingratiating look.

As he began explaining what he learnt from those six, I couldn’t help but marvel to myself all of a sudden: maybe knock-off goods weren’t that bad after all…

“So what you’re saying is that they drank a fake?”

My jaw nearly fell to the ground when I heard that ludicrously simple explanation.

“That’s right. After our investigations, we found out that all six of them had procured their serums through black market sources.” Sima Junmo proudly elaborated. “In the first place, that serum sold like hotcakes when they were first released. A lot of people wanted one, but the stock was just too limited. That’s when someone had the idea to start selling fakes… Who would’ve thought that this would end up saving lives instead…”

Well, that was a serendipitous display of stupidity….

“I’m surprised you managed to get an answer so quickly.” I looked at the man with genuine surprise and praise.

Sima Junmo immediately broke into a smile wider than his cheeks would logically allow. “Lady Mo Ke is too kind, interrogation is my previous line of work!”

Hah. Who would’ve thought he actually made a living off his brains… in the past anyway…

“Some of my comrades are holed up in a nearby inn with more survivors. I was planning to lead you all there, but the outside is too dangerous right now. With our current manpower, I can’t guarantee all the survivors’ safety. That’s why I’ve decided that you guys should fortify this location for now. I’ll search for more reinforcements in the meantime.”

Even if the majority of the population was dead now, there should still be small pockets of survivors scattered about. If I was lucky, I might even find some ability users who weren’t crooked.

Based on Aunty Xinqing’s videos, these new ability users were all powerful in their own right. Even that worthless tri-colored hoodlum was able to control that giant skeletal monster. If he actually managed to complete that monster, it would have probably been fifty meters tall!

As a comparison, a Mobile Armor was usually twenty to thirty meters tall. At fifty meters, I wouldn’t be surprised if his skeletal construct was able to slap a Mobile Armor to death.

“Lady Mo Ke is leaving?”

“… Officer Sima… you’re a grown man, for crying out loud. Don’t give me that abandoned puppy look.”

“But Lady Mo Ke, you are in fact going to abandon us…”

So you’re not even going to deny it…

Looking at his forlorn expression reminiscent of a schoolboy who had his first love crushed, I couldn’t help but cringe a little. I nearly face-palmed myself as I mumbled, “What is this world coming to…”

“That’s right, that’s right. We were all living our own lives just not too long ago, and those terrorists had to mess it up for everyone… Those ******** at Life Unbound Biotech are the worst, I hope they all get banished to the eighteenth level of Hell! How dare they upset Lady Mo Ke like this! Even the eighteenth level of Hell is too good for them!”

Sir, why are you getting so worked up like someone just killed your parents? And you’re the one that’s making me upset! At this rate, I doubt I will ever be able to convince you of my gender unless I get some kind of official document.

Fine, you know what? All that’s not important right now. What’s important is that I’m out of here.

“Just wait for my news. I have my own mission to complete.” With that said, I was really off.

But before I could even take a step further, Sima Junmo was already badgering me. “Lady Mo Ke, how about I go with you? I can help protect you.”

“No need. I can handle myself.”

At the end of the day, Sima Junmo was just a normal human, or perhaps an enhanced human at best. Compared to a normal person, he was definitely formidable. But to me… he might as well have been dirt; I could easily impart onto someone the ability to throw magic, after all.

Besides, even with his exosuit, his strength wasn’t exceptional when compared to those skeletal beasts. Having him follow me around might endanger my life instead.

Mind set, I quickened my pace then leapt out the nearest window.

“Ah!”

The survivors yelled in surprise, clearly not expecting someone to jump out at this height.

Yet even if this was the twentieth floor, I wasn’t the least bit worried about falling, as the moment the sky expanded before me, I spread open my purple wings.

Having barely fallen ten meters, I had stabilised myself to a standstill mid-air. I looked at the direction of the warehouse, then took off like a rocket.

“Only Lady Mo Ke can look so beautiful jumping off a building…”

Screw you!

I swear I need to distance myself from this idiot. At this rate, his stupidity might rub off on me.

However, not long after I left, Aunty Xinqing sent me a set of coordinates, with a note stating that there was a group of combatants there that seemed to have encountered a situation of sorts.

That was about all she told me, so I had no idea what to expect. Still, I decided right away to check out the area. Hopefully, I won’t leave empty-handed.

Shameless Self-promotion

Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 720 to 724

September 10, 2021 CatatoPatch Leave a comment

720 to 724 are out!

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» Chapter 720 | Chapter 721 | Chapter 722 «
» Chapter 723 | Chapter 724 «

Chapter 724: Right to Purchase

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Aunty Xinqing, I have something to confess. Actually, I’ve awakened a certain ability ever since becoming an evolved ability user. It’s not just me. Sis Bitong, Lixiang, and Qiaoqiao have all awakened abilities too. The whole story is a little long for an impromptu conversation, I’ll fill you in when there’s more time.”

Naturally, Aunty Xinqing already knew that Bitong and the girls had some sort of ability, else she would not have been able to put them in the Bureau, no matter how much authority she wielded.

As the name suggested, this bureau wasn’t meant for ordinary civilians.

“Alright, since it’s not convenient to talk about it here, I won’t pry further.” Aunty Xinqing had complete confidence in me. Seeing as I did not want to talk now, she knew I had my reasons. She simply told me to be careful before parting with this, “Oh right, General Rodenas said he wanted to talk to you.”

She then winked at me after which the screen went black. The next time the screen lit up, a different person was displayed. A decidedly balder, ugli- Ahem… Well, the bald Raging Bear wasn’t exactly an affront to my eyes, but he certainly wasn’t related to the word handsome at all. And that shiny head… Pfft… Ahem. Laughing at his baldness would be rude, so I definitely did not do that!

“We finally meet again, Lady Mo Ke.” The bald general started off with a beaming grin in a bid to present a softer image of himself. However, with a face that even a mother wouldn’t love, smiling was only going to make him seem scarier.

I coolly nodded my head. “Greetings, General sir, I hear you’ve got something for me?”

“Actually, it’s nothing big… I just wanted to talk to Lady Mo Ke about a certain matter.” At that, the bald general blushed like a schoolboy talking to his crush. “The 12th District has a military warehouse that has been abandoned for five years. There’s a number of unused exosuits stored there. They should come in handy for you… That facility was supposed to be a maintenance facility, but it was later sealed up for reasons… I’m not entirely sure what reasons they are, but I just came across this piece of information and I thought it would help you.”

“You have my thanks, General sir.

Since the start of this zombie virus outbreak, it could be said that all the possible armed forces in Southern Plains had been mobilised. But the enemy had proven too unpredictable… Even without factoring those zombies, the appearance of those ghosts and skeletal beasts had resulted in the loss of ninety percent of Southern Plains’ forces.

The only two ways of strengthening ourselves now could be broken down into two broad categories: searching for surviving members, or scavenging usable exosuits, and then filling those exosuits up with anyone able to pilot them.

Thanks to advances in technology, the controls of an exosuit could be perfectly simulated in games. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if some of these survivors knew how to control an exosuit.

In that sense, we weren’t really lacking in soldiers, just weapons to arm those soldiers -something General Rodenas helpfully delivered right into my hands. How thoughtful of him.

They might be five year-old goods, but something was always better than nothing. I mean… they couldn’t be worse than those entertainment exosuits we piloted, right?

“Haha, there’s no need for that. As long as Lady Mo Ke finds them useful, I’m happy.” The general scratched his non-existent hair and put on a stupid grin in response to my thanks. It was just a pity that even this series of innocent actions looked terrifying on a face like his.

Not long after closing the comms channel with Rodenas, I sent out a video call to Bitong. She quickly accepted the request and the image of her cockpit appeared before me.

“Ke, how are you doing over there?” She immediately opened up in concern.

“Everything’s fine. I’ve found the first batch of survivors, roughly fifty civilians and five SAT members.” I began telling her about my encounter. “… but now I’m faced with a lack of manpower. There are too many survivors to escort them safely to the inn. I can only leave them here for now… Oh right, there’s another important matter regarding that serum… The incubation period doesn’t seem to be constant amongst those who drank it. There might still be infected hiding amongst the survivors… I did not have much time to check them all before leaving… If possible, you guys should buy one of those 100 point virus detection kits…”

“Got it, I’ll do it right now…” She immediately attempted to access the Marketplace.

“It’s not working, the Marketplace seems to be locked down…”

“Locked down?” I tried opening up the Marketplace myself. I succeeded without any difficulty. “That can’t be right, my Marketplace is working fine. Are you sure yours is locked down?”

“I’ll try it again.” A while later, she came back with a sigh. “It failed again. The system says the Marketplace is locked down.”

“Hold on a second, Sis, I’ll have a chat with the system.”

“Got it.” Seeing my furrowed brows, she nodded simply.

I closed the comms channel and called for the system mentally.

System, get out here now! I have something to talk to you about!”

“Valued host, how may I assist you?”

Didn’t you tell me that Bitong and the girls can use the Marketplace once they are in the Book of Oaths? Why can’t they buy anything now?

“Has our valued host forgotten already? One of the requirements for opening up the Marketplace is for our valued host to be near his harem members. Should that distance exceed a hundred kilometers, they will temporarily lose the ability to access the Marketplace.”

A distance requirement, huh… Now that you mention it… I do remember you saying something like that…

“Are there any other questions, valued host?”

For some reason or another, she sounded really snarky when she said that. But wasn’t she supposed to be unfeeling, right? So how dare she get snarky with me!

System, is there some way I can lift this restriction for the girls?

“There is. For 1000 points per nameslot, our valued host can give his harem members the ability to access the Marketplace without a distance restriction.”

1000?

“That’s right. 1000. Cheap, ain’t it? That’s just 10 points per 1 km. Criminal pricing, love~”

System… I suddenly have this urge to murder someone. What should I do?

“Does our valued host wish to purchase this authority?”

Hey, don’t ignore me! Bah. I’ll buy it… I’ll buy three!

No matter how annoyed I was with the system’s unscrupulous sales tactics, I couldn’t say no. After all, what was a mere 3000 points compared to the girls? I had the strength to earn points easily now, so even if 3000 was a sizable chunk, it was manageable.

Yet when I saw my 6142 points decrease down to 3142, I still couldn’t help but feel a stab in my heart!

“Thank you for your kind patronage.”

You dirty merchant, are you not satisfied unless I murder you?!

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 723: Attempting a Cure

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

If there was ever a competition for World’s Most Obvious Bootlicker, Sima Junmo would have been first. Bar none! Now… if only he would convert all that raw talent into learning how to address me as SIR Mo Ke.

Even so, there was no reason to turn down someone so willing to offer his service. “Alright. You can feed him then. Hopefully, we can still make it.”

“No problem. You can leave this to me.”

Sima Junmo happily picked up the antidote, then with the gentlest of pinches, popped open the seal on the vial.

The blonde pilot took the opportunity to force open the zombie’s mouth, without instruction, all the while maintaining a chokehold on the zombie. Sima Junmo quickly stuck the vial into the zombie’s mouth, pouring all its content without ever wasting a drop.

A few seconds later, the zombie started reacting to the antidote. Its body began convulsing violently, as if it was going through the seizure of the century. Then as suddenly as it came, the seizures stopped. It slowly closed its eyelids like it was going to sleep.

But just when everyone thought the antidote had worked, the zombie suddenly opened its eyes. Its feral claws raked at the blonde pilot with no remorse, as if to announce to the world that it was back.

“So it failed… Dispose of it.” Faced with irrefutable proof, I could only shake my head in disappointment.

Looks like I still don’t have a way to turn them back… and killing it off now would be a lot easier than trying to preserve it for a future cure.

Without ever needing me to do the dirty deed, the blonde pilot snapped the zombie’s neck a full one eighty degrees.

Having taken care of the zombie, the blonde pilot dragged the corpse to the window, before tossing it out of the building…

“Thud!”

A thud and a sickening splat later, the world was quiet once more…

That entire sequence of events was brutally efficient but quick. Witness to the whole process, the survivors were even more on edge now that they had a firsthand experience with my methods.

Now… onto that aunty and her five serum-drinking companions. Why isn’t there any sign of the virus on them? Is their body special in some way? But if that’s the case, six of them appearing in one single location is just too much of a coincidence…

“Kay. Now let’s talk about your situations.” I swept my eyes over the six survivors in question. “How did you guys get your hands on the serum? How much did you pay? And how many bottles did you get? Who else has drunk it? Tell me everything you know.”

“Young lady, your aunty over here has… actually…” Perhaps my little altercation with the zombie was starting to show effect, but the middle-aged survivor was a lot politer when she addressed me this time.

She started mumbling about a bunch of unrelated matters, then just as I was starting to get visibly irritated, I received a video call from Aunty Xinqing.

Naturally, there was no comparing an old hag like her to the mature beauty that was Aunty Xinqing. I quickly accepted the call.

“Officer Sima, I’ll leave the questioning of these survivors to you. I have another matter to attend to.”

“Roger, you won’t be disappointed!” Sima Junmo acknowledged with a smile that immediately disappeared when he turned to those survivors. “You’ve all commited a crime, you hear me? Now, come quietly, and I will be sure to interrogate you lot gently.”

Then without even waiting for them to respond, he signalled for his subordinates to take them away to the segregation room.

From behind, I could hear their constant griping, but I was more than happy to chuckle at their misfortune now. In my opinion, these six were clearly up to no good; a little lesson was in order. After all, how could my detection pearl ever make a mistake? Hah! As if something made by my system could ever be a lemon? Preposterous.

“Ke, your aunty was just watching your heroic slaying of that giant monster. Well done!” As always, Aunty Xinqing was more than ready to shower praises on me without reason. “Absolutely superb! Beautiful, even!”

“Aunty Xinqing, could you use the word handsome instead? Unless my memory is playing tricks on me again, beautiful is the word you use on a girl.”

“And if your aunty Xinqing’s memory isn’t playing tricks on her, then Ke’s bio says that Ke is actually… a girl.” She then pulled up a holographic display of my personal details. The word “female” was clearly written in the gender field.

Ahhhh… damn it! I can’t believe Bitong’s single blunder is still haunting me! And Aunty Xinqing is constantly rubbing that in as well… No wonder they’re mother and daughter…

In order to avoid delving deeper into the endless rabbit hole that was my gender, I hurriedly said, “Aunty Xinqing, were you looking for me for something?”

“It’s like this. Your aunty just got into contact with a nearby SAT team, but they seem to be in trouble and need Ke’s help.”

“Oh? I understand, I’ll be right there.”

“Here’s their coordinates, they are in the same district as you Ke, the 11th District.”

“Oh right, I just uncovered an alarming piece of information…” It was only in the midst of my clever sidetracking that I remembered I actually had something important to distract her with. “I found some infected amongst the survivors. None of them had shown signs of zombification when I arrived. And their numbers weren’t low either….

I briefly recounted what happened to Aunty Xinqing.

“Understand, I’ll be sure to remind the other policemen and soldiers. But, Ke… how do you have an antidote for the virus?”

Aunty Xingqing looked me right in the eyes – I knew there was no avoiding this question then..

However, how to answer was a dicey issue as well… After all, there was no indication of me ever having such an antidote. If I was in her shoes, and it wasn’t me who was saying this, I would have definitely suspected the person of plotting something…

Naturally, I was innocent, but I had no way to logically explain the antidote… Maybe I should just dump this all on the system?

Hmmm. It could work, but I need to change the story a little…

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 722: A Zombie Appears

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“Come over here for a second.” I beckoned to the six survivors who claimed to have drunk that serum. I raised my pearl up to them individually for a quick check and… nothing, as I had expected.

“Are you sure that pearl of yours isn’t a fake?” The first of the survivors to claim to have drunk the serum -the aunty figure- eyed me with barely disguised envy. She bluntly stated, “Young lady, are you sure that antidote of yours is even real?”

Hey now, when have I offended you? Why are you looking at me like I’ve stolen your husband?

“Sigh. Aunty, the antidote is real.” I patiently explained to the best of my ability. “The detection device is real too.”

“Who are you calling an aunty? Do I look that old to you?” The middle-aged woman’s face immediately turned black. “I’m only sixty this year; the only reason I look a little old is because I’m tired from overworking! Don’t you know sixty is the prime of our lives? Hmph, now you’re being rude, young lady!”

She wasn’t actually wrong about the sixty part. Thanks to medical advances, a woman at sixty was the equivalent of a woman in her thirties in the past. Yet for some reason or another, this middle-aged aunty did seem a lot older, resulting in me stepping on that landmine…

Honestly, her hostility towards me was apparent even before I blundered – I wonder when did I ever offend her?

“Calm down, I will look into your situation, so just…” I did my best to placate her, but before I could get another word in, the sounds of someone banging against a door interrupted us…

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The heavy banging continued. It was that segregation room I had specifically dumped that annoying youth into which was causing this disturbance.

Completely focused on arguing with me, the middle-aged aunty was startled to silence by the suddenness and sheer ferocity of the banging. Because the area we were in was a lounge for the staff, the doors were all made of sturdy wood. The full-bodied thud of the bangs were different from that of a metal door’s banging. I knew right away that youth was the source.

“Lady Mo Ke, that man has started to show signs of zombification…” The pilot’s voice started to trail off at the end, the weight of his blunder finally starting to sink in.

“Didn’t I tell you to make him drink it?” I glared at the pilot. Through his holographic display, I could tell he was desperately trying to avoid my gaze.

“It was inconvenient to feed him the antidote while in an exosuit…” The pilot feebly replied. “So I left the antidote there for him to drink.”

“I guess my words mean nothing to you then.”

The blonde pilot immediately lowered his head in shame. “I did place the antidote there… he just didn’t drink it. That’s all…”

From his story, I’m guessing he just wanted to inconvenience the youth a little. Probably to get some payback for me… or perhaps he thought I was exaggerating the situation. Most likely, both. Even so, the fact was that the antidote was within reach for the man. He could have drunk it anytime before the process started. He had only himself to blame for not doing so.

Regardless, it seems like this die has been cast for me. Whatever reason motivated that pilot to do what he did is no longer important. What’s important is how do I minimise the fallout… I am still under surveillance, after all… I mean I’m livestreaming…

“Open the door.”

“But…”

“Lady Mo Ke told you to open the door, didn’t she?!” Sima Junmo finally lost his temper with the younger pilot, smacking him on his head. “Now, get to it!”

Even his team leader had spoken, what else was that pilot to do at this point.

Having just reprimanded his subordinate, Simo Junmo immediately turned around to me, face as gentle as summer breeze, as if that barking monster from before was someone else entirely. “Lady Mo Ke, this is all my fault for not controlling my men well. If there’s any way I can make up for this, do not be shy.”

I threw the man an annoyed look. “You can start by calling me SIR Mo Ke.”

“Haha. Lady Mo Ke is such a kidder.”

“I wasn’t joking!”

“Hahaha…”

“…” Bah.

Not long after our quick exchange, the blonde pilot had the door to the segregation room opened.

“Rawr!”

The zombie pounced out the moment the door was even slightly ajar. Its sudden appearance sent shockwaves through the survivors. Screams started to erupt amongst their ranks as their already fragile mental state was pushed past the brink.

Now that it was fully a zombie, it had lost all sense of reason. The only thought left in its head was to grab the living and feast on them. It just so happened that the blonde exosuit pilot was the closest.

Still safely protected by his exosuit, the blonde pilot easily grabbed the zombie by his arm, subduing it in a couple of quick moves.

“Wait! Don’t kill it yet!” I yelled -just in time too- as the pilot was mere seconds away from snapping its neck. Instead, the blonde pilot switched his grip back to a restraining chokehold. No matter how much that zombie struggled, there was no overcoming the sheer strength difference between an exosuit and a zombie.

In the meantime, I walked into the room and found the antidote on the floor, just as the pilot stated. It was standing upright, as pristine as the moment when the system first spat it out into my hands. In other words, that annoying youth never bothered to drink the antidote. This was completely on him.

Yet just as I was about to pick up the antidote, Sima Junmo suddenly called out, “Wait.”

“Hm?” I turned around, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Sima Junmo strode across the lounge towards me, his grin as wide as the berth I wanted to give him. “How about I do it instead? There’s no way I can let Lady Mo Ke handle such a dirty job… There’s no telling if the virus is still lingering inside the room. And even if it isn’t, it’s unthinkable to let a lady breathe in the same air as that scum.”

Shameless Self-promotion

Chapter 721: The Hidden Infection

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

There just so happened to be a hall large enough to hold all the survivors, as one would expect from a giant shopping mall. Thus the survivors were herded like schoolkids in a single file towards the hall where they were neatly lined up in rows and columns.

Some bemoaned the treatment, but for the most part, everyone complied quietly.

As I swept my eyes over them, I couldn’t help but marvel at the spread of survivors before me. Some of the survivors were just standing there with their arms folded and brows knitted in annoyance, as if this entire crisis had nothing to do with them. There were those who were shivering where they stood, as if a simple breeze could topple them. Then there were those who stood there with blood in their eyes, the look of grief written all over their haggard faces. In all likelihood, these were the unfortunate ones who had lost someone close to them during the crisis. However, the majority were just in a daze. Their soulless eyes would stare at me as they pleaded and cried about their lost future.

“All the survivors have been gathered, Lady Mo Ke. What should we do next?” Sima Junmo asked.

“Next, I need you all to watch them closely. I will search them for signs of the infection.” Having said that, I walked to the front of the survivors and raised my voice. “Amongst you are people who have been infected. If you’ve drunk the Gene Enhancement Serum, I hope that you would voluntarily step forward.”

My request was only for those who drank the serum to step forward, because only in them would the virus incubate silently for a period. If they were bitten, they would have turned to a zombie already.

A nearby youth immediately scoffed at my question, even going so far as to thumb his nose at me. “What a waste of time… If someone here had drunk the serum, they would have already turned into a zombie. Why would he wait till today to turn?”

I paid the youth no heed. “I hope those of you who have drunk that serum would stand out. I have the antidote.”

“Huh? You have the antidote?” Realising that I was ignoring him on purpose, the youth raised his voice even higher. “If you really have the antidote, why didn’t you take it out yesterday to save us?”

While that man’s attitude was annoying, this last question of his was on point. No longer able to ignore him anymore, I sighed before turning to him in earnest. “The availability of the antidote is low, and it just arrived as well.”

“The virus just began surfacing yesterday, and you’re telling me you have the antidote the next day? Are you the one who spread it?” The youth pointed his finger right in my face. “And even if you didn’t, I bet you had something to do with it.”

I had to really hold myself back when he said that. No matter how annoying his harassment was, I had to endure… since I was the face of the Federation right now… Not that I liked that status… But I had my principles – I won’t use violence against an ordinary civilian.

“The virus has nothing to do with me, and the antidote is real.”

“As if! You say the virus has nothing to do with you, and somehow this so-called antidote of yours is real?! No way, there’s definitely something up with you!”

He wasn’t wrong. If it wasn’t for my system, even I would find what he just said believable.

“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. What matters is that you’ve drunk that serum, haven’t you?” I could already see my detection pearl glow brighter as I stepped towards him. From the looks of things, he was one of those infected.

But there was no guarantee he was the only one either.

“Drink this and you will be saved.” I exchanged one of the antidotes for 10 points, then handed the bottle to the man, fingers still gripping its cap tightly.

“Oh hoh. So the mythical antidote does exist.” The youth unrepentantly threw a snide comment my way before reaching out with both hands to grab the antidote. However, his hands seemed to be stretching even further than the bottle cap…

That *******… there’s no way I’m letting some random man touch my hand.

I reflexively pulled back.

Because of that, the youth ended up grabbed onto nothing.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You say you will give me the antidote, but you took it away at the last minute. You’re just trying to make fun of me.” And to no one’s surprise, the youth immediately turned around to accuse me.

“I want him segregated.” This time, I just ignored him entirely. I handed the antidote to one of the exosuit pilots. “Make him drink the antidote later, and take a video of the process.”

“Understood.” The SAT member received the antidote from me, then unceremoniously shoved the youth to a nearby room for segregation.

Naturally, the youth wasn’t going to cooperate at all. Unfortunately, this was an exosuit he was dealing with, and the pilot within had absolutely no fondness for him. Whether he liked it or not, he was tossed into an empty room, after which the antidote was placed inside. Whether he drank it or not was up to him.

If we were being perfectly honest here, I did not want to save him either. But I still had a duty to fulfill, and I couldn’t very well abandon him while I was still the face of the Federation.

And while we were being honest, I was damned sure this youth would end up turning into a hoodlum like that tri-colored scumbag, given the right circumstances. However, he still hadn’t done anything wrong yet, so I couldn’t punish him preemptively.

Shortly after dealing with that youth, I ended up finding three more infected. They were a young couple and a dead-looking teen. They were apprehensive of the antidote at first, but the Federation’s name still carried some weight. And it was true that they had taken that serum, so they knew that I wasn’t without reason. Thus, they drank the antidote I offered them.

As I watched them gulp down the contents of the bottles, I saw the glow in the detection pearl calm down before my eyes. I knew then that the infection was finally under control.

“Alright, you all can leave now.”

“Wai- wait…” A quaking hand was raised, belonging to a middle-aged aunty the size of a pig. “I… I’ve taken the serum as well. Can I have a bottle?”

“You’ve had the serum?” I paused in surprise, but I soon recovered and brought the detection pearl close to her. No reaction.

“You’re sure you’ve drunk it? My detection kit would have picked up the infection if you have.”

“Actually… I’ve drunk it as well…”

“Me too…”

Five other survivors raised their hands, all expressing that they’ve taken the serum. However, the detection pearl clearly showed that there were no traces of the virus on them. Were they special in some way? Perhaps they were immune to the virus?

Or maybe they were lying?

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Chapter 720: Infections Amongst the Survivors

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“The only people that can save you are your own selves, never others.”

I ended up saying that, but what I was actually trying to say was that I was not an angel. I just so happened to have the bloodline of an Angel-type within me. However, what ended up leaving my mouth was a string of nonsensical, almost middle school-esque, string of words.

“Blasted fool. We’re the ones that are supposed to be rescuing others right now, not getting rescued ourselves!” Sima Junmo chided the young policeman. He then turned to me, face significantly softer looking than before. “Lady Mo Ke, now that the enemy has been taken care of, let’s get down to the business at hand. This building is a treasure trove of supplies, so let’s grab some refreshments while we talk. It’s not like the owners will be open for business anytime soon.”

“I’m sorry, Officer Sima, but I have to turn down your offer. Now’s not the time for idle chatter. There are still many survivors out there waiting for us to save them. It would be better if we keep our conversation short.”

Even though I really wanted to correct his usage of “lady” right now, that’s an issue we could spend an entire day harping on. For now, discretion is the better part of valor, and all that.

Sima Junmo wasn’t disheartened by my rejection. Instead, he furiously nodded his head before saying, “Oh, absolutely. The people’s safety comes first. There are still many survivors in the midst of danger who need rescuing by the Goddess of Hope.”

Hmph, don’t think you can butter me up that easily! Especially not when you use the G word on me! Damn it… why a goddess…

Now that we had sorted out our priorities, Sima Junmo brought me to the shelter they had set up in this building. It was the staff lounge, within were several dozens of civilians mulling about with whatever they could distract themselves with. They were mostly shoppers who had visited the building while the rest were staff, judging by the uniform they wore. Given their familiarity with the building, the location of this temporary shelter was probably suggested by them.

A neatly sorted stack of supplies were placed in a corner of the room. In all likelihood, the staff volunteers were to thank for this as well.

I swept my eyes over them. Most of them were just idling about, but they couldn’t very well go to work in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I guess. Some of the braver youths were already playing their holographic games, while those who were still traumatised were in a daze, wandering about in a corner.

“When the zombies first appeared, we rushed here immediately. There were tens of thousands of shoppers at that time…”

Sima Junmo started recounting his valiant efforts at rescue. Like how he led a squad to break through the zombie blockade around the building. Like how he chased away those ghosts last night through sheer force of will and bravery. Or like he was so noble…

At this point, he might as well have been Superman. Not that he was, nor did he say so. But he definitely implied it.

Now that he was done praising himself, he began recounting what he termed, “the greatest regret in his life”.

They had no reliable way to distinguish the infected from the healthy. And the survivors weren’t helping either with their lying. That led to massive casualties in the beginning. Completely avoidable, had it not been for their deception.

Finally, he confidently guaranteed that the remaining survivors were all clean. After all, the incubation period was over.

However, that last bit wasn’t important at all. What was important was that my virus detector was giving me a warning glow.

Realising that I wasn’t all too interested in his tale, he was about to change the topic when he noticed the strange object in my hands glowing.

“Lady Mo Ke, what is that wondrous-looking pearl you have there? It’s even glowing, how strange.”

“Oh. This? It’s a virus detection kit. It can detect any undead energy in the vicinity. Meaning if there’s an infected person who comes near this pearl…”

I paused at that instant, eyes wide as I realised the implications of what I was explaining. There was an infected here!

Sima Junmo was still listening to my explanation like a happy student, or maybe just a braindead ape. “What happens if there’s an infected person?”

“It will glow!” I nearly called him an idiot at that point.

I thrust the pearl in front of him. Even through his exosuit, the pearl should still be able to function. It was, after all, an item that cost me a whopping 100 points.

However, there was no obvious change in the pearl. In fact, it even grew a little dimmer, meaning Sima Junmo wasn’t infected. I then checked the remaining SAT members. Clean.

That left only one group…

“Officer Sima, separate those survivors immediately! One by one!”

“Got it.” Having finally realised the severity of the situation as well, Sima Junmo did not even question the efficacy of the pearl. He had complete faith in my words as he turned to the other three exosuit pilots and commanded them. “You heard Lady Mo Ke, I want all the survivors segregated.”

“But we don’t have enough rooms.” One of the male pilots answered.

“Then have them put in a larger area with at least three meters between them. I want them facing each other as well, just in case one of them turns.” I cut Sima Junmo off before he could reply.

“Roger!”

The SAT members promptly carried out my instructions. In the beginning, the survivors were annoyed by the sudden disruption, but they complied for the most part… Sigh. Just goes to show how fast human beings get complacent. Just five minutes ago, they were all shaking in their boots, now they’ve already recovered enough to complain. But I guess I’m partly to blame for not telling them the true situation…

Hiding the truth from them was something I had specifically instructed them to do. After all, if it got out that there were infected people amongst them, a panic would break out.

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Devil Evolution Catalogue Chapters 714 to 719

September 10, 2021 CatatoPatch Leave a comment

714 to 719 are out!

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» Chapter 714 | Chapter 715 | Chapter 716 «
» Chapter 717 | Chapter 718 | Chapter 719 «

Chapter 719: Are the Zombies Evolving?

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Damn it… can we talk about something proper for once? Sorry, but I don’t care if you swear on your life… that’s just gross. No, thank you!

However, now wasn’t the time to argue with the man as I could sense danger creeping in on us. I whipped around to face the source of the impending danger. But just as I did so, Officer Sima called out to me. “Don’t go… I meant it when I said I will protect you with my life…”

Suddenly, the ground nearby shook with a deafening bang. The sheer shockwave from the impact sent even Sima Junmo stumbling a little, despite his exosuit nearly rooting him to the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of loud impacts happened in quick succession soon after the first. As the impacts reverberated throughout the floor, we could feel the entire building sway from the force.

“What’s going on?”

“An earthquake?”

“If only it was an earthquake… At this point, an earthquake is the least of our worries in Southern Plains.”

“A monster?”

“Enough talk, they are here.”

“Lady Mo Ke, do you know what’s going on?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I know there’s a strong foe beneath us.”

I definitely did not miss the usage of “lady” just then, but the situation did not allow for such talk.

Just endure it for now… there’s an enemy in front of us.

“Sir! What’s happening outside?” From behind the door, the last of Sima Junmo’s squad dashed out. Just as before, this newcomer was suited in a battered and bloodied exosuit. The pilot’s voice was clearly female. “The survivors are in a panic…”

“Well, they aren’t the only ones!” Sima Junmo snapped at the newcomer. “Go back to your post, and don’t come out without my orders, no matter what happens outside!”

“Roger!”

The newcomer immediately left through the door. Her mission must have been to guard the survivors. Given the unpredictable nature of our enemies… definitely not an easy job.

A second after that female pilot left, another frightening collision shook the building.

BANG!

With that last impact, the ceiling rained down dust on our heads, and a gigantic hole cracked open from beneath the ground.

“DIE!”

I did not even hesitate before tossing out a massive Fireball in the direction of the hole. Just as the projectile reached the hole, a monstrously huge zombie head emerged. The Fireball blasted it right away, but the damage seemed minimal at best. Rather than a sphere of concentrated heat, that Fireball might as well have been a pleasant breeze on a summer beach, gently caressing its ugly mug as it emerged from the sea of rubble beneath it.

Next came the zombie’s pillar-like arms which wrenched its upper body through the hole, widening it further in the process. I could tell it was a tight fit for its sheer size, what with how its putrid flesh seemed to almost spill at the seams of that cragged hole. There was no life to be found anywhere on its deathly green visage. Its head was completely barren like a desert, and its eyes shone like a pair of bloody rubies.

“Fire!” Sima Junmo gave the order to his remaining subordinates on standby near him. Immediately, ten beams of laser zipped towards the exposed zombie with frightening power. At the very least, I knew my current self had no way of standing up to such a concentrated beam of energy.

However, what happened next could only be described as shocking. Or perhaps, horrifying. The beams hit the zombie, as expected. But the zombie actually managed to raise its hand in time to guard its weak spot, avoiding a direct hit against its head. What was even more surprising was that even those laser beams were unable to penetrate the zombie’s hand. In fact, the burn marks seemed to be healing up right before our eyes…

Oh sh*t, you’re telling me they can regenerate now?! That’s a zombie evolution, right there!

“Keep firing!” Realising that his first volley had failed and the zombie was even clawing its way up further, Sima Junmo immediately commanded his soldiers to fire in a stern tone, tinged with a worrying hint of fear. “I don’t believe it can keep healing up forever!”

The laser volleys continued without rest. Yet none of their attacks seemed to have a lasting impact on the zombie who kept squeezing through the hole unabated.

“Officer Sima, sir, this isn’t working at all… let me have a go instead.” It was that pesky young policeman who volunteered to fight the monster in melee. However, such a course of action was nothing short of suicidal.

“No! Keep your distance and keep firing!” Sima Junmo answered without hesitation. “And even if it comes to that, it would be me who fights that monster!”

I know you’re all ready to sacrifice your life and all that… but that thing is still climbing up. Look. it’s shoulders are completely through… Crap, their lasers aren’t going to cut it at all.

It’s already two meters tall right now. In all likelihood, it’s entire body should reach up to five meters. This zombie was most likely designed with building destruction in mind…

“Everyone, stop. Let me handle this.”

I knew I couldn’t stand back and watch any further.

Having given that heads-up to Sima Junmo, I kicked off in a running jump, Icy Inferno pointed right at the zombie’s head.

The massive zombie that it was gave out an aura of stench that could only be described as death. I thoroughly despised this stench, thus I was already trying to scorch the smell away using Icy Inferno,even before I reached it.

A second later, the zombie’s head was cleanly split in half; Icy Inferno did not disappoint me, as always.

Rumble…

Without its Soul Flame to animate it, the zombie lifelessly tumbled down to the nineteenth floor, slamming the ground with a force that shook the entire building.

“It’s… dead?” Sima Junmo gasped in disbelief.

“It should be.” At the very least, I did not think that a zombie would be able to survive with its head sliced up. If that wasn’t its weak point, it wouldn’t have instinctively tried to shield that area when Sima Junmo fired at him.

“That was amazing!” It was that youth who had argued with me prior who yelled first. “You’re just too amazing! You must be an angel sent down from the heavens to save us!”

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