Chapter 179: Chapter 158: Can’t Beat Them! Back to the Cyber World for Gear

Now that he had the clue, Lin Qi needed a map of Shuining City for comparison.

This wasn’t hard to find. Lin Qi just had to leave the station, casually take out a few Zombies on the street, and grab their phones to get the data.

Most locals’ phones had cached data from navigation apps.

After using his collection robot’s processing system to analyze the data, Lin Qi quickly locked onto several suspicious locations.

Shuining City didn’t have many foundries. Furthermore, based on the perceived range of the Blood Moon Descent Object, Lin Qi believed it was highly likely the Moon Worshipers were hiding in the city proper.

For this reason, the number of suspicious targets was narrowed down to just one.

It was located about twenty kilometers from the station.

Lin Qi chose not to pilot the Mecha. Instead, he had Wei Yue remain inside and wait, then proceeded on his own, traveling light.

Relying on the mobility provided by his Exoskeleton, he closed in quickly.

The closer he got, the more certain Lin Qi became that he was on the right track.

The surrounding Spiritual Particles were exhibiting an increasingly peculiar state.

’He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that if he meditated while bathed in Spiritual Particles like these, his efficiency might reach an unprecedented level.’

But Lin Qi didn’t dare to try it rashly.

The unique state of the Spiritual Particles clearly indicated a strong connection to the Blood Moon.

Moreover, the Blood Moon was clearly a conscious entity.

’Meditating in this environment, with Moon Worshipers around, would be no different from exposing himself directly to the great pupil of the Blood Moon.’

’However, this feeling only further proves that the Wizard Profession and the Blood Moon are closely linked. Otherwise, it would never produce this kind of effect.’

His mood growing heavier, Lin Qi approached the smelting plant.

Opening his Spiritual Vision, Lin Qi beheld a scene that could only be described as grotesque.

Inside the smelting plant, a giant, fleshy cocoon filled an already-cooled furnace.

On the surface of the cocoon were dozens of orifices.

Through these orifices, tentacles waved slowly, one after another.

Surrounding the cocoon were hundreds of upright figures.

Not Zombies, but... humans.

No, not humans either. They were corpses.

But these corpses seemed to be drawn by some kind of power; their muscles still functioned, holding them upright around the giant cocoon.

Slightly further away, there were about a hundred other people inside the smelting plant.

Moon Worshipers!

They were all Moon Worshipers!

The number of Moon Worshipers in Shuining City had actually grown to such a scale!

No wonder the Shuining Rescue Team was wiped out without a trace.

’Lin Qi figured it wasn’t just that the monsters had put enough pressure on the rescue team. More importantly, the Survivor Camp in Shuining City had likely been infiltrated by Moon Worshipers.’

In other words, the original Moon Worshiper in Shuining City was a smart one.

Unlike Wei Yue, that inexplicably lovesick, artsy girl who had to sculpt a plaster statue by hand just to create a Blood Moon Descent Object, completely oblivious to the power of modern industry.

This development put Lin Qi on alert.

’This meant that clever Moon Worshipers knew how to disguise themselves. God only knew how many of them were hiding out in the apocalypse.’

However, that wasn’t Lin Qi’s main concern at the moment. His focus was on the fact that among this group of Moon Worshipers, he had discovered an individual with abnormally high Spiritual Power.

This individual’s Spiritual Power was strong enough to block Lin Qi’s own from penetrating any further.

’This meant his Spiritual Power had likely already surpassed my own, though he hadn’t yet reached Tier Three.’

"Everyone! We only have one day left!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"When night falls tomorrow, on the one night of the month when the Blood Moon’s power is at its most potent, the time of the Blood Moon’s descent will be upon us!"

"And on that day, I will become a Blood Moon Envoy, the Blood Moon’s most cherished servant!"

"As for all of you, you will become beings second only to myself! You will survive long into this apocalypse, obtain everything you’ve ever wanted, and even... eternal life!"

The Tier Two Moon Worshiper was delivering a passionate speech.

’Just from the content of his speech, Lin Qi could tell this guy had likely frequented places like beer halls. He knew how to deliver a speech, how to manipulate the hearts of people in this apocalyptic world.’

’If Wei Yue had possessed this kind of skill set, that betrayal never would have happened.’

Lin Qi shifted his attention from the Moon Worshipers to the monster.

Just like the monster in Modu’s Beining District, the one here was also a composite creature.

This was most likely related to the nature of such composite monsters.

Monsters like Zombies had a growth rate nearly identical to that of an ordinary Extraordinary.

Even now, they were generally only at Tier One combat strength. Reaching Tier Two would take them at least another month, if not longer.

Even a mutated one would only reach a Tier Two level.

’Relying on a Zombie to break through Tier Three and reach Tier Four?’

’That would probably take an eternity.’

Only by using a composite monster—a being whose leveling speed was beyond comprehension—could the Moon Worshipers hope to obtain the specific ’trait’ they needed.

The emergence of this trait seemed to require the birth of a Tier Four Monster.

This was true of both Wei Yue’s past actions and the scene unfolding before Lin Qi’s eyes.

’This monster is almost at the Tier Three Limit. And those tentacles aren’t just for show—they’re combat-capable. If I’m right, the monster can probably even use them to move around.’

’On top of that, the monster should have other special Abilities. Controlling the corpses? Or something else? It’s impossible to know for sure yet.’

’Thankfully, I have one more day. Tomorrow is the most critical phase.’

’The night of the month when the Blood Moon’s power is most potent? Tomorrow?’