Chapter 189: Shifting Priorities

Leaving the heavily guarded hospital.

“Commander Fang, don’t you think Yenir’s murderous intent is too extreme?”

“If he keeps acting this way, he’ll end up offending a lot of people. After all, Zhang Yang is still Commander Zhang’s son—if something goes wrong…”

Listening to his subordinate, Fang Hao chuckled nonchalantly.

“What, you think killing one person is a big deal?”

“Murderous? If I were Yenir, I’d do the same.”

As if struck by a thought, Fang Hao scoffed and gazed at the bustling Capital Zone:

“What’s the point of the Fire Seed Plan? It’s supposed to pick out true geniuses!”

“The old method—judging both talent and background—could pick out not a damn thing!”

“In my opinion, they should have launched a life-or-death battle from the start! Whoever survives gets nurtured! Only those geniuses who make it through a fight to the death are the real deal!”

“They treat a mere deathmatch like it’s the most important event ever! Ridiculous!”

He made no effort to hide his dissatisfaction.

To Fang Hao, both the Military and the higher-ups seemed to have forgotten what time it was. They’d grown too complacent—many had forgotten this was the end times!

Have the mutants disappeared? Are the monsters eliminated? Is the corpse horde over!?

All those creatures are still around—they’ve simply stopped moving, no longer launching massive attacks on humanity!

Now, the so-called Awakeners cultivated by various factions are like delicate flowers from a greenhouse. When hunting mutants, they all have a cluster of Third-Stage guards around them.

What kind of system is that? How can it produce any real power?!

Why is it that, year after year, the Awakeners in the Huaxia Battle Zone seem to become weaker? It’s all because of these idiots! If an Awakener doesn’t emerge from the brink of death, no matter how high his rank may be, he’s a waste!

Continuing like this, Fang Hao truly feared that when the monsters eventually sweep in, these so-called high-rank fighters might not be able to protect China.

Hearing Fang Hao’s words, a subordinate couldn’t help but give a wry smile:

“Sir, the times have indeed changed…”

“Changed?”

Without further comment, Fang Hao simply shook his head and sneered.

He knew full well that the entire Huaxia Battle Zone had grown lax. Many Safe Zones had already started downsizing their forces to build skyscrapers. Many even began shouting slogans about restoring ‘civilization’ and returning to a golden age.

But he understood that the monsters’ strength had never diminished. In some dangerous areas, the mutants—both in number and power—still sent shivers down his spine.

Too many.

As a veteran of the Sixth Army, which fought mutants most frequently, he always harbored a strong sense of impending danger.

Those creatures were like hidden time bombs, silently gathering as though waiting for the perfect moment to detonate and shatter humanity to pieces.

When that moment came, all this prosperity would be nothing but an illusion.

Faced with a recurring catastrophe, the entirety of China would turn into a hell far worse than the original apocalypse.

……….

In the quiet Hospital Room, Yenir exhaled slowly before turning his attention to reviewing the rewards from his trial.

His expression filled with anticipation.

What intrigued him most was the special reward from the system and the new talent for the Fourth Category.

Both rewards were the hardest to obtain and, naturally, the most valuable.

Yenir even suspected that his reward might be the only one of its kind among global Awakeners.

As for the item rewards, he glanced over them briefly; he didn’t need them at the moment.

He planned to assess which equipment he lacked after selecting the Military’s first sequence reward.

“View New Talent”

Murmuring the command softly, a semi-transparent Information Panel instantly appeared before his eyes.

“【Fury】: New talent for the Strength Category. In combat, the more damage you take, the greater your burst of strength. This can trigger a brief state of enhanced power where defense is reduced but attack damage is significantly increased.”

“【Unyielding】: New talent for the Constitution Category. As you get injured, your damage reduction increases, up to a maximum of 33%.”

“【Overload】: New talent for the Agility Category. It temporarily boosts your attack speed and agility. Once the effect ends, you enter a weakened state.”

“【Willpower Dominance】: New talent for the Willpower Category. When activated, it forms a field of dominance around you, intimidating enemies within range. If their willpower is lower than yours, the deficit induces fear and shock.”

After carefully reading through the new talents, Yenir couldn’t help but feel delighted.

Each of the four new talents was comparable to S-level talents on its own.

Especially the first three, which could work in tandem to become stronger the more you’re wounded. The more severe the injury, the greater the power—paired with Overload’s burst, he could already envision his battle prowess surging even while badly injured.

“Four S-level talents plus an SSS-level—this combination is insanely strong…”

After a moment of admiration, Yenir sighed. Suppressing the urge to test them immediately, he shifted his focus to the special reward embedded in his ring.

This item was the special reward mentioned in the system announcement. It couldn’t be anything too shabby.

With a thought and a flash of red light, a crystalline item materialized in his hand.

“Guardian Crystal (Special Item)”

“Upon receiving fatal damage, it triggers a brief state of invincibility and randomly teleports you to an unknown location.”

He paused, momentarily stunned.

Staring at the black crystal in his hand, Yenir blinked—he hadn’t expected the system’s special reward to be something like this.

“A protective item? Extra life plus teleportation—it’s like having another chance at life…”

Despite its brief description, Yenir quickly grasped its true value.

“This is pretty awesome… Looks like the system isn’t willing to let the top Awakener of the Fourth Category perish.”

With a satisfied grin, Yenir secured the Guardian Crystal, a surge of security welling up within him. Now he had nothing to worry about—his only flaw was his weak self-preservation.

With this extra lifeline in hand, he couldn’t have been more pleased, though the random teleportation still irked him a bit.

Suppressing his good mood, he began planning his next moves.

With the crucial sequence already secured, he would no longer worry about resources.

First target achieved, now onto the next plan…

“Priority One: Rush to Fourth Stage. Strength is everything.”

“Priority Two: Complete the Sword God System task. The four materials needed for the upgrade should be easy to obtain. Just ask the Military.”

“The system upgrade will boost battle power to a whole new level.”

“Priority Three…”

As he swiftly mapped out his subsequent plans, a frown tugged at his features when he reached the third point.

“Priority Three: Personally approach the Military and, using my status and influence, ensure the immediate evacuation of the 061 Safe Zone!”

In his previous life, it was foretold that about a month later, the 061 Safe Zone would be attacked by a large swarm of mutants, leading to the death of over a million people. This would mark the greatest loss in the Huaxia Battle Zone after more than two decades of peace—and the beginning of calamity.

“Not only must we warn the Military and organize the evacuation,”

“we also need to find a researcher surnamed Sun!”

His gaze hardened as he recalled details about this researcher. Yenir strained his memory for any related information.

From what he remembered, this researcher—whose surname is Sun—was a key figure in the Supernatural Plan. His research was critical to enhancing Yenir’s ability to absorb Spirit Crystals. Whether he could reach Peak Third-Stage depended entirely on this man!

“This is rather tricky…”

After sifting through all the information, Yenir sighed deeply.

All he knew was that the researcher’s surname was Sun and that he had escaped to the Capital Zone after the destruction of the Safe Zone. The researcher met his end in an experimental accident in the second year after devising his method. Had Yenir not been involved in the Supernatural Plan in his previous life, he wouldn’t have known it was his doing.

“Finding a researcher surnamed Sun among millions…”

“Especially when I heard that before entering the Capital, he was just a minor figure in a Private Faction…”

“Deathmatch… System Upgrade… Prevent the first disaster… Initiate the Supernatural Plan ahead of schedule…”

“There’s so much to do…”