"It’s a good thing the nations were defeated. They left me such a massive inheritance."

Qi Suian gazed at the densely packed zombies. This horde originated from a batch of the nations’ clones, supplemented by infected survivors.

That was how it had grown to its current scale. The number wasn’t large for now—only three thousand.

This was mainly due to the sharp decline in the number of survivors.

With the Cold Energy Monsters now led by a Venerable-grade entity, the slaughter of survivors had reached a new level.

The number of survivors had dwindled to just over ninety thousand. Originally, there had been a little over ten billion.

After all, the entire population of the planet had become survivors.

Of course, not all of these ten billion-plus survivors died at the hands of Cold Energy Monsters.

The vast majority actually perished due to the low-temperature environment. A large number died right at the start, even with the early arrival of the apocalypse game.

Only one in ten survivors could make it past the first month, meaning ninety percent were wiped out in that initial period.

The remaining ten percent were left to struggle on. Then, starting from the second month, the difficulty increased even more, and ninety percent of that remaining ten percent were eliminated.

After experiencing the great outbreak of Cold Energy Monsters and other such events, having over ninety thousand survivors left was actually quite impressive.

The fact that Qi Suian was able to gather these zombies was a testament to his protagonist halo providing some potent luck.

But it wasn’t all bad news. These were all dual-attribute Mutated Zombies, with the weakest being Tier 9 dual-attribute Mutated Zombies.

Of course, in the Cold Winter World, the dual attributes of a Tier 9 zombie were a bit lackluster.

Although they could reach a 1.2 modifier at Tier 1, that was the only qualitative leap. The zombies’ growth from then on was not high at all.

They wouldn’t undergo another major transformation unless they reached the Corpse King level.

But as for their upper limit... it was nothing to write home about.

However, what truly made this horde of zombies powerful was their possession of Clone Link, a potent special ability originating from the nations’ Clone Legions.

By linking them to the Tai Sui God, the zombies could receive the Tai Sui God’s attribute boosts and simultaneously gain the SSS-rank special ability, Gluttonous Feast of the Greedy.

Zombies weren’t scary. What was scary was zombies that could deal true damage. Even if their attack power was low, they could ignore your defense and forcibly subtract 1 HP. With enough numbers, that becomes deadly.

Of course, that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that the Cold Energy Mutated Zombies created by Qi Suian had the ability to infect Cold Energy Monsters.

Although the effect wasn’t as potent as it was on survivors, it still gave them the ability to snowball.

’Unfortunately, they can only reach Tier 9 at most. Moreover, the Cold Energy Monsters they can infect must be common-grade. For Beast King-level Cold Energy Monsters, as soon as the Profound Virus enters their bodies, it’s neutralized by their immunity.’

Qi Suian knew, of course, that if he continued to invest resources into evolving the Profound Virus, he could make it capable of infecting Beast King-level monsters.

However, the cost did not justify the return. How many Beast King-level Cold Energy Monsters were there, anyway? Compared to the common-grade ones, they were just a drop in the ocean.

If a single Beast King-level Cold Energy Monster could wipe out tens of thousands of common-grade ones, then it would naturally be worth the investment.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t. Take King Zhen Ao, for example. It was Beast King-level, but its overall strength was only enough to shatter a residential house.

As long as you had a hundred common-grade Cold Energy Monsters of roughly equal individual strength, it was possible to overwhelm and kill a Beast King-level one.

Being able to fight a hundred enemies at once was actually very powerful. It was just that Qi Suian’s enemies were basically all from that small group at the top of the pyramid.

If he were to give up on those potential gains, Qi Suian could be off crushing weaklings everywhere instead of facing Venerable-grade Cold Energy Monsters. Life would certainly be easier.

But the process of growing stronger was inevitably accompanied by all sorts of risks.

The higher the risk, the higher the reward.

There’s no such thing as a risk-free, guaranteed-profit business in this world. If there is, it’s a scam.

"AI, you’re in command of these zombies. Within twelve hours, I want to see their numbers reach ten thousand. Are you confident?" Qi Suian asked.

[Of course. This is the Ice Continent, and Cold Energy Monsters are numerous. Not to mention, I have your protagonist halo to assist me.]

Ten thousand zombies was not a difficult task for the AI.

As for how the AI would control the zombies, it would naturally do so indirectly through Qi Suian, using his fused viral-bloodline symbiote armor.

After all, these zombies were Qi Suian’s puppet clones. The AI itself had no authority to control them directly.

This was the only way.

As Qi Suian granted authority to the AI, the three thousand zombies began to disperse.

Qi Suian didn’t care how many zombies might be lost in the process. He only cared about the result, not the method.

As long as he got his ten thousand, it was fine.

After that, it would be simple. Gather the numbers and steamroll everything in his path.

If the Venerable-grade Cold Energy Monster really intended to counter him with a massive number of its own kind, it would just be sending him reinforcements.

And if it decided to come kill Qi Suian personally? Well, the zombies weren’t just for show.

The Venerable-grade Cold Energy Monster couldn’t completely control the Cold Energy Monsters under its command, but Qi Suian could.

His Cold Energy Mutated Zombies would march to their deaths without a moment’s hesitation. That’s just what puppets do.

"I have this ethereal feeling, like my brain is being pulled out," Qi Suian said suddenly.

He was controlling all three thousand of these Cold Energy Mutated Zombies, and the Tai Sui God was shouldering 99% of the strain. Otherwise, with Qi Suian’s stats, it would be impossible.

Controlling ten thousand would be out of the question. That was why he needed to constantly consume the Death Potion and periodically undergo Death Reconstruction.

[It’s not just a feeling. Your brain is literally leaking out.]

The AI kindly reminded him.

Qi Suian touched the spot on his philtrum and, sure enough, it was his own brain matter.

"And here I thought it was just a runny nose from the side effects. Turns out it’s my brain that’s running," Qi Suian griped.

He didn’t pay it too much mind, though. This was a minor issue.

It was because his brain was overloaded, and the stimulation from the Death Potion didn’t help. He just hadn’t adapted yet.

Once he died a few more times, this little problem would go away.

"I’m just a bit dizzy. Good thing I was smart enough to hand this over to you beforehand."

"If I had really tried to do it myself, I’d probably be in a total panic."

Qi Suian said, wiping away some more of his leaking brain.

"With so many things wrong with my body, I can barely feel it when my brain acts up. Compared to all my other afflictions, this is child’s play." Qi Suian had long since grown accustomed to the various problems with his body.

He certainly wasn’t going to think it was a big deal just because his brain was leaking from his nasal cavity in a mushy paste.

Especially when he could resurrect, these were all just minor issues.

[When you have a free module slot, you should really install a medical module, just in case.]

[Even if you don’t use it for treatment, it can be used to keep you alive longer, allowing you to hold on for a bit more time in various situations and thereby reduce costs.]

"My module slots are never free."

"With the time it would take, I might as well just evolve the Profound Virus’s regeneration and healing abilities into true immortality. Wouldn’t that be more convenient? And it would save me a module slot."

Qi Suian was well aware that the Profound Virus could evolve in this direction. Back then, the life force of the Blood and Flesh Pillar·Profound God had this exact function.

This meant that if he continued to let the Profound Virus evolve and mutate, it was an attainable goal.

However, that was something to consider only after his virus talent had evolved from S-rank to SSS-rank, at the very least.

As for divinity... Qi Suian wouldn’t even consider that ability. He had no idea what it even was.

"I didn’t expect you to be so efficient. It’s only been a moment, and you’ve already added a dozen or so zombies for me. Your efficiency is just..." Qi Suian didn’t even finish his sentence before he died on the spot.

He was immediately reconstructed. He wiped his nose; his brain started leaking again the moment he came back to life.

"Looks like my limit really isn’t that high. I died instantly just from adding a dozen more." The reason Qi Suian died was because the load of the newly created Cold Energy Mutated Zombies was added to his own.

It was his first time using this method, so he wasn’t paying attention and got himself killed.

With more experience, he’d be able to handle a few more before dying.

[You were already at your absolute limit. Every addition is a dual burden on your physique and Spirit. Even with the Tai Sui God sharing the load, the core part you bear is extremely critical.]

The AI offered some words of comfort.

It was basically saying something like, ’even three seconds is a long time’.

The AI was just using a more emotionally intelligent, less direct way of putting it.

How could Qi Suian not understand the subtext? He just didn’t let it bother him.

-----------------

’Something is wrong. Very wrong.’ Tang Qing had keenly sensed that there was a huge problem with the trial given to him by the Taiyin Celestial Monarch.

As his investigation deepened, he soon discovered an extremely serious issue.

The Taiyin Celestial Monarch was currently human.

That might sound like a statement of the obvious, but it wasn’t.

The Taiyin Celestial Monarch might not have been human in the beginning, but later became human through some means.

’It’s the Taiyin Refining Technique!’ Tang Qing immediately identified the root of the problem.

’Combined with the disappearance of the Red Dragon Corpse from the bottom of Longling Lake at Celestial Pillar Mountain...’

’The Taiyin Celestial Monarch—no, I should say the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s predecessor—was that Red Dragon.’

’After it died, it used the Taiyin Refining Technique to possess a Cultivator.’

’That’s why it deliberately released the Taiyin Refining Technique, its manuscripts, and so on—all to continue possessing new hosts.’

’It can live forever, but its physical body died, leaving only its soul behind.’

’The sixth layer of the Taiyin Refining Technique might exist, but only it can cultivate it.’

’Any other human who cultivates it is probably just turning themselves into a vessel for it to possess.’

Over the past few days, Tang Qing had gathered various pieces of intelligence and data. Now, with the final piece of the puzzle he had just obtained, he put it all together.

Tang Qing pieced together the final truth.

’However, the Red Dragon might not be the Taiyin Celestial Monarch’s true identity. There are definitely things I still don’t know.’

’No wonder the apocalypse game wants me to kill the Taiyin Celestial Monarch.’

’And there’s something wrong with Dragon’s Roar, Hu Xiao, and the others, too.’

’There’s a good chance they aren’t human either, which is why they didn’t become survivors in the apocalypse game.’

A chill went down Tang Qing’s spine as he realized this might be a setup targeting him specifically.

He had to find a way to break out of it.

His gaze then fell upon the mandatory quest.

’The way to break free... was actually given to me from the very beginning.’