60 – Total Annihilation

“Tsk.” Zhang Hu smacked his lips, without further questioning.

After all, if Wang Ping didn’t want to elaborate, pressing him would only offend him.

And the current Wang Ping was not someone he could afford to offend.

Let alone, he hadn’t revealed the details of his own Golden Finger either.

“Wang Ping, could you please foresee the future for us?”

Cai Yonglong stared at Wang Ping seriously as he spoke.

He hadn’t noticed Wang Ping’s cultivation level, assuming Wang Ping was just an ordinary person.

Although swordsmen can sense if the other has comprehended Sword Intent, if one can hide it, others can’t perceive it.

Unless, the difference in their swordsmanship attainment is too vast; the stronger party can still see through the weaker one’s depth.

Even though Cai Yonglong had comprehended Blade Intent, he was evidently not in that category.

“Hmm.”

Wang Ping glanced at the crowd without saying much, pretending to close his eyes.

The images from the Life Simulator could be seen even with his eyes closed.

However, he usually preferred to watch them with his eyes open.

Seeing Wang Ping close his eyes, everyone’s expressions became solemn, hoping for a favorable outcome.

Fang Yun, Zhang Hu, and Zhang Jun exchanged glances, silently standing in different positions, watching outside through peepholes or slightly parted curtains, guarding against any monster attacks.

Obviously, this had been discussed in advance in their chat group.

Wu Jun and Liu Mei, who had no combat abilities, could only pace around nervously.

Cai Yonglong and Chen Yao, on the other hand, sat quietly, waiting for the results.

“System, start a free simulation…”

Wang Ping said in his heart.

“Ding, free simulation starting…”

The System’s voice echoed in Wang Ping’s mind, and text started to emerge.

[Day 1, Cai Yonglong and others hoped you could foresee the future with a good outcome, but you stated that you couldn’t predict anything because your Golden Finger was ineffective in this other world.]

[Everyone was deeply disappointed, their spirits particularly heavy, feeling that encountering such a problem at the start meant danger ahead.]

[You then began discussing the next plan. After the discussion, Cai Yonglong suggested that you, Wu Jun, and Liu Mei, all of whom lacked combat ability, stay at the temporary base to avoid dragging the team down. Wu Jun and Liu Mei happily agreed, finding it safer.]

[But you thought differently and insisted on joining the team to help eliminate the bizarre zombies. Cai Yonglong and others were puzzled by your proposal, thinking with your useless Golden Finger and lack of combat ability, you’d only be a burden and pose a safety risk.]

[You then suppressed your cultivation and intentionally revealed that you were at the peak of the Innate Realm. This shocked everyone; they never expected your cultivation to be so high.]

[However, due to your revealed strength, everyone began to doubt and guard against you, thinking you must be hiding your true Golden Finger and your so-called foresight was a lie.]

[Sensing their thoughts made you helpless, but you had anticipated this. In the end, you could only explain that you had some fortunate encounters.]

[No one believed you, including Cai Yonglong. You stopped trying to explain and reiterated your desire to join the team.]

[Finally, due to your strong abilities, Cai Yonglong agreed to let you join the team.]

[You left the temporary base together, starting to hunt bizarre zombies. Through discussion and analysis, you concluded these bizarre zombies must be extraordinary like the mutated zombies. Moreover, since the group task was suddenly issued, it was likely that they appeared in the city where Zhang Jun was. Otherwise, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, an impossible task.]

[Thus, you decided to kill all the mutated zombies in the city, better to be safe than sorry.]

[During the hunt, after killing zombies, you obtained special crystals. Through Zhang Jun’s explanation, you learned these crystals could enhance human physical strength and were unique to this world. Zhang Jun had reached an astonishing physical level through frantically hunting zombies to collect these crystals.]

[Everyone was thrilled; if you could acquire many high-quality crystals, it might drastically enhance physical strength. Even Cai Yonglong was tempted. You couldn’t help but marvel at the endless peculiarities of different worlds.]

“There are actually such things… Should I say, fitting for a zombie world…”

Wang Ping thought to himself.

If these things were useful to high-level cultivators too, they’d be revolutionary.

Even if not, using them for Body Tempering would likely save a lot of training time, perhaps more effective than Qi and Blood Pills.

But who knows if they have any side effects…
After feeling a sense of awe, Wang Ping calmed his mind and focused on the simulator again. The text reappeared before him.

【Going forward, you felt that this pace was too slow, so you decided to split up to hunt more efficiently. However, to prevent any mishaps, you split into groups of three. You, Chen Yao, and Fang Yun formed one group while Cai Yonglong, Zhang Hu, and Zhang Jun formed another. If an emergency arose, you would use Cai Yonglong’s communication talisman to contact each other.】

【A day passed and as the sun was setting, you killed numerous mutated zombies and had significant gains. However, you were unable to find the elusive zombie, which made you slightly anxious.】

【At the same time, you discovered something very eerie: you hadn’t seen a single living person; it was as if everyone in the world were dead. Zhang Jun could only remain silent about this. He initially thought that he hadn’t explored enough areas, but now it seemed that this wasn’t the case.】

【According to Zhang Jun’s explanation, zombies become violent and extremely dangerous after dark, so he suggested returning to the temporary base for the night. You all sighed and returned to the base.】

【However, upon returning to the base, something hair-raising occurred. Liu Mei and Wu Jun had turned into zombies and lunged at you, attempting to infect you all.】

【You could only suppress and kill them with heavy hearts.】

【The sudden zombification of the two left a shadow over your hearts, making you feel very heavy-hearted. In less than a day, two people had died under bizarre circumstances.】

【Moreover, upon inspection, you found no signs of forced entry from outside; the doors and windows showed no evidence of any zombie breaking in. Even the toilets and sewers had been sealed off, making it seemingly impossible for any strange creatures to enter silently.】

【Yet somehow, the two turned into zombies mysteriously, leaving you baffled and terrified. At this point, even the powerful abilities you, Cai Yonglong, and Chen Yao possessed couldn’t calm your nerves.】

【After all, no matter how strong you were, it’s difficult to guard against such uncanny occurrences.】

【Zhang Jun asked calmly if there were similar bizarre capabilities in the demon world. Chen Yao said she didn’t know, leaving everyone disappointed without any reference points.】

【Next, you asked Zhang Jun whether it was possible that the virus transmitted through the air. Zhang Jun shook his head, saying it was unlikely since he would have zombified long ago if it were the case.】

【Zhang Jun’s reasoning was logical and weighed heavily on you all. The unknown was far too terrifying.】

‘What’s going on?’

Reading this, Wang Ping’s expression changed dramatically, and he instinctively clenched his fists.

Just as the simulation had suggested, encountering a powerful enemy wasn’t frightening because at least you could fight back. But dealing with such eerie events was nerve-wracking and made it impossible to stay calm.

If this bizarre truth could not be uncovered, Wang Ping had a premonition that they might all perish in this world.

The changes in Wang Ping’s expression didn’t go unnoticed by the others present; their pupils contracted and their faces changed, sensing an ominous foreboding.

After all, if the future vision was going smoothly, Wang Ping wouldn’t have shown such an expression.

For a moment, everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

However, nobody dared interrupt Wang Ping. They wouldn’t make a sound until he opened his eyes.

With heavy hearts, Wang Ping focused on the simulator again.

【Unable to come to any conclusion, you all went to bed with heavy hearts, sleeping in shifts of three.】

【However, two hours later, something odd happened again. Cai Yonglong, Zhang Hu, Fang Yun, Chen Yao, and Zhang Jun suddenly turned into zombies and attacked you. In shock, you unleashed your full power and suppressed them.】

【Although you managed to subdue them, fear gripped you. The situation was too eerie. While on night watch, you hadn’t sensed any zombies entering the room, yet the five turned into zombies inexplicably, even the powerful Cai Yonglong and Chen Yao.】

【To note, Cai Yonglong was at the Half-step Spirit Origin Realm while Chen Yao, with her system and official training from the demon world, had grown rapidly, reaching the level comparable to the Innate Realm of the fantasy world.】

【Yet, these two were silently infected, which made your scalp tingle.】

【For a moment, you felt restless, believing the room itself to be the cause. You fled into the night, looking for a new place to stay, not daring to sleep for fear of suddenly turning into a zombie. You even suspected that if not for your green innate talent of immunity to all poisons, you might have already turned into a zombie like Cai Yonglong and the others.】

【The night passed and you were not infected, relieving you somewhat but weighing even heavier on your heart. You now had to survive alone in this eerie apocalyptic world.】

【You took all the supplies everyone had brought before their crossover, stored them in your storage ring, and then wandered the city. You no longer hunted mutated zombies. Despite wanting to solve the elusive zombie problem, you valued your life more.】

‘…’

Seeing the text in the simulator, Wang Ping’s expression shifted multiple times, becoming grim as he tightly clenched his fists.

The thing they feared the most had happened.

Eerie indeed!

When it came to such eerie situations, it wasn’t merely a matter of strength anymore.

Silently making even someone as strong as Cai Yonglong turn into a zombie was far too terrifying.

Seeing Wang Ping’s expression change drastically again, everyone in the room contracted their pupils and grew even more uneasy.

All they could do was stare at Wang Ping, not daring to make a sound for fear of breaking his concentration.

Text continued to appear before Wang Ping’s eyes.

【The next day, you were safe and sound.】

【Third day, you are safe and sound.】

【Tenth day, you encountered a terrifying mutated zombie with a combat strength shockingly at the Innate Realm. You fought and killed it, obtaining a crystal, which increased the strength of your physique.】

【Twentieth day, you found that more and more mutated zombies were appearing, and some of them were becoming increasingly powerful. Worried that these zombies would continue to grow stronger and threaten your life,
you decided to leave the city and survive in the wilderness where zombies were scarce.】

【Thanks to your sword-flying ability, you did not encounter the zombie horde and successfully escaped.】

【Twenty-first day, you arrived in a rural area. After clearing out all the zombies, you began a solitary life. Due to the lack of spiritual energy in this world, you did not dare to casually consume the spiritual stones in your storage ring for cultivation. Moreover, having reached the peak of the Spirit Origin Realm, you could not break through to the Half-step Transcendent Realm, making cultivation meaningless.】

【One hundred sixtieth day, while comprehending the sword, you were suddenly interrupted by a loud commotion outside. When you went out to check, what you saw made your scalp tingle. Endless zombies appeared in your sight, and the sky was filled with densely packed mutated bird zombies.】

【You tried to escape but faced considerable resistance. After an intensely fierce battle, you killed many zombies. However, the sheer number of zombies was overwhelming. Most of the mutated zombies had combat strength at the Acquired Realm, and many even reached the Innate Realm. Some terrifying mutated zombies even reached the Spirit Origin Realm.】

【Despite your desperate efforts, you couldn’t break through the terrifying encirclement. Your spiritual energy was rapidly depleting and was about to be exhausted. Feeling utterly hopeless, you couldn’t believe your end had come so quickly.】

【Before you died, you saw a tentacle burst from the ground, piercing through your body. You lost consciousness as your vision plunged into eternal darkness.】

【Due to your death, this simulation ends.】

“This…”

Wang Ping looked at the simulated outcome, his eyelids twitching.

Although he knew that he would definitely die at the hands of the zombies in this simulation, he didn’t expect to die so quickly, only lasting one hundred sixty days.

The speed at which these zombies mutated was terrifying.

By the one hundred sixtieth day, combat power at the Acquired Realm was commonplace, and Innate Realm combat power was everywhere.

Even the Spirit Origin Realm was not rare.

The combat strength of this zombie horde was simply too terrifying. He feared that all the martial artists in his world, Great Xia, combined wouldn’t be enough to fend off this horde.

“Different worlds, different upgrading systems… indeed, it’s quite vibrant,”

Wang Ping murmured to himself.

In his world, Great Xia, becoming an Innate Realm expert was extraordinarily difficult, not to mention a Spirit Origin Realm expert. The entire Great Xia probably didn’t even have a hundred Spirit Origin Realm experts accumulated over hundreds of years.

However, in Zhang Jun’s zombie world, the zombies took only a short time to reach such levels.
Although these zombies’ techniques were surely not as powerful as those of the experts in a fantasy world, their rapid growth was terrifying nonetheless.

“However, the emergence of these zombie hordes is somewhat peculiar,” Wang Ping frowned, sinking into thought.

He had already gone into seclusion, so logically, it should have taken a long time for them to reach him.

Yet, these zombies, without any regard for reason, formed a terrifying horde to besiege him.

There was definitely some highly intelligent mutated zombie leading all this behind the scenes.

Most likely, it was the entity responsible for the tentacle that pierced him in the simulator.

Wang Ping exhaled lightly, opened his eyes, and looked at his group mates who were staring at him with solemn and tense expressions.

“How’s the situation? What will happen in the future?”

Seeing Wang Ping open his eyes, Cai Yonglong asked gravely.

“Total annihilation.”

Wang Ping was silent for a moment before uttering these two words.

In an instant, the pupils of everyone present constricted, their faces turning pale.

Although they had already guessed from Wang Ping’s previous reaction that the outcome would not be pleasant, they had not expected it to be total annihilation.

The first group meetup, the first group task, and it had led to a total wipeout—truly spine-chilling and terrifying.

“What happened?” Cai Yonglong sighed and asked.

Wang Ping remained silent for a moment. He looked at Wu Jun and Liu Mei, causing them to tense up to the extreme.

Then, Wang Ping slowly began to speak, “We will continue with our plan. Because I couldn’t use my abilities in the foreseen future, we can only explore this world’s situation. Since Wu Jun and Sister Liu’s combat
strength was too weak, they stayed behind, while the six of us went out together to hunt mutated zombies, looking for the bizarre zombie.”

“However, because the efficiency was too low, we split into three-person groups for hunting. At the end of the day, we found nothing. When our two small groups returned to the temporary base, Wu Jun and Sister Liu had already been infected and turned into zombies.”

“!!!”

As soon as Wang Ping finished speaking, everyone’s pupils contracted sharply.

Among them, Wu Jun and Liu Mei’s expressions turned instantly pale, their faces filled with fear.

Neither of them had expected to die on the first day and become zombies.

“Were we attacked by zombies?” Liu Mei said bitterly.

“No.” Wang Ping said calmly, revealing the analysis from the simulator.

Everyone fell silent.

Eerie.

It was just too eerie.

“It’s over, I’m going to die.” Wu Jun held his head, his face full of fear, falling into a strange state: “I’m still young, I don’t want to die… I still want to fall in love…”

“Shut up.” Zhang Hu looked at Wu Jun in this state, his expression turned fierce, and he shouted.

Zhang Hu’s shout startled Wu Jun. He came to his senses and, seeing Zhang Hu’s fierce expression, immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head in silence.

This made everyone frown slightly.

Liu Mei looked at Zhang Hu, quietly distanced herself a bit, and moved next to Cai Yonglong, falling into silence as well.

“Zhang Hu, what’s your problem? Why are you yelling? Xiao Junzi is just an ordinary person; it’s normal for him to be scared hearing this news.”

Fang Yun frowned and said coldly.

Zhang Hu also came to his senses, his expression returned to normal, and he scratched his head awkwardly: “Sorry, Xiao Junzi, I was just a bit on edge.”

“No, it’s… it’s okay.” In response to Zhang Hu’s words, Wu Jun lowered his head and said softly: “It’s my fault.”

For a moment, the atmosphere grew oppressive.

Chen Yao glanced at Zhang Hu and Fang Yun, then at Zhang Jun who was silently wiping his knife, and finally at Cai Yonglong with a grave expression and furrowed brows. Lastly, her eyes landed on Wang Ping, who remained calm, her gaze flickering, still maintaining a cold expression.

However, she sat down on the sofa next to Wang Ping, moving her body closer until her skin almost touched his.

“What happened next?” Cai Yonglong asked in a deep voice, having calmed down.

“Next, we took turns keeping watch. Two hours later, all five of you suddenly turned into zombies.”

Wang Ping scanned the crowd and spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Wu Jun and Liu Mei’s faces grew even paler.

And Zhang Jun, Zhang Hu, Cai Yonglong, and Fang Yun’s expressions also turned pale and extremely grim.

Even Chen Yao, who was usually calm and cold, had a pale face.

After all, they were different from Wu Jun and Liu Mei; they possessed great strength.

However, even they were inexplicably turned into zombies.

Unbelievable.

Unacceptable.

Incomprehensible.

For a moment, the shadow of death lingered over their hearts, impossible to dispel.

Especially Cai Yonglong, who thought his strength was the greatest and his survival rate the highest.

But the result was Wang Ping telling him that strength meant nothing, causing his mental state to collapse, unable to maintain his composure, his expression as ugly as if he had eaten a dead child.

“You didn’t die?” After the initial fear, Zhang Jun seemed to realize something, his gaze sharp as he stared at Wang Ping and asked.

Hearing this, everyone also looked at Wang Ping, wanting to hear his explanation.

“There are two reasons.”

“First, it might be because my cultivation has reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Origin Realm. Second, it might be because I have a constitution immune to all poisons. Of course, I lean towards the second reason.”

Wang Ping looked at everyone calmly, no longer hiding anything, and spoke slowly.

As he spoke, Wang Ping also slightly released his aura, causing everyone to feel suffocating pressure.

This made the entire room fall into silence.