Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System
Chapter 172: Infection (GT Bonus)
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"Phew—" Vikram let out a long breath as he looked at the mutated zombie lying motionless on the ground.
Although he had finally dealt with it, he didn’t feel relaxed at all. This was evident from his slightly trembling body.
He wasn’t sure whether the zombie virus had invaded his body through the wound on his back, or if it was a side effect of using Berserk Mode.
Right now, Vikram just wanted to have a good sleep. It would be even better if he never woke up.
As he thought this, his body unconsciously collapsed to the ground. His back, which had been torn open by the mutated zombie, made direct contact with the freezing snow.
Logically, this should have been extremely painful, but Vikram had no energy left to care about the pain.
With heavy eyelids and a hazy mind, he was about to fall into unconsciousness.
"Vik..." the Phantom Druid shouted urgently. It quickly lifted him onto the bike and started the engine.
While continuously poking him with its vines, it kept calling out, "Vik... Vik... wake up! Don’t fall asleep. If you want to sleep, let’s go home first and sleep there."
He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but after a few pokes, he really did feel much more awake.
Once his mind cleared a little, an icy, piercing pain immediately followed.
One must know that this zombie had been on the verge of becoming a major boss-level creature. Its attacks were naturally extremely powerful. Although Vikram had only suffered a wound on his back during the fight, the injury was deep enough to expose bone and carried a large amount of lethal zombie virus.
Vikram felt grateful that the Phantom Druid had woken him up. Otherwise, if he had truly fallen unconscious in the snow, something terrible could have happened.
Soon, they reached inside his territory. The Phantom Druid immediately shouted, "Healer! Light Mage! Come quickly! Vik is injured!"
Hearing the urgent call, the Light Mage Druid and Healer Druid appeared almost instantly.
Other Druids also quickly arrived at the scene. Soon after, Divya, Anjali, and Sophia came running over, their faces filled with worry.
"What happened?" Divya asked urgently.
The Phantom Druid briefly explained everything, how a group of zombies had suddenly appeared, and how a powerful mutated zombie had infected Vikram.
The Healer Druid gently laid him on the ground and removed his shirt.
As the fabric came off, Sophia, Divya, and Anjali got a clear look at the wound on his back. They gasped simultaneously.
"Oh no! Vikram, your bones are showing!" Anjali exclaimed, her voice trembling as she clutched his arm tightly. "What do we do? You’re not going to die, are you?"
Her small face was filled with worry and fear. This was the first time Vikram had seen such genuine anxiety on her face. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Compared to Anjali, who was pacing anxiously, Divya appeared calmer, though her brows were tightly furrowed. "How is it? Can it be healed?"
"The Healer will heal you, right?" Sophia asked.
Vikram felt a warmth in his heart seeing their concern.
However, he simply waved his hand weakly and said, "It’s fine... Let the Healer and the Light Mage do their jobs."
Ever since he woke up from the Phantom Druid’s poking, his attention had been focused on the Plant System.
[Warning! Warning! Dangerous biological virus detected in host’s body!]
[Host, please eliminate it quickly. Otherwise, the host will turn into a zombie in 20 minutes.]
The system’s alarm had been ringing nonstop ever since the mutated zombie’s claws had torn into his back.
Vikram interrupted the alarm in his mind, "Stop making noise. I already know. Analyze my current physical condition."
[Ding! Host has suffered a large area of trauma on the back and is infected with the zombie virus.]
[Furthermore, the spread rate of the zombie virus has been greatly accelerated due to the host activating Berserk Mode, significantly shortening the mutation time.]
"Good heavens," Vikram muttered inwardly. "No wonder the virus is spreading so fast. I only fought for a short while, and now I only have twenty minutes left before I mutate."
"So Berserk Mode also accelerates the virus’s spread..."
He took a moment to carefully feel the changes happening in his body. This kind of experience was rare, if he didn’t observe it properly, it would be a waste of being infected.
First, there was a complete lack of strength throughout his body. Even with his powerful physique, he barely had the energy to sit upright. His mind also felt sluggish, as if it were filled with thick paste. No matter how hard he tried to think, his thoughts moved extremely slowly.
"Phew..." After observing enough, Vikram withdrew his consciousness from the system.
When he opened his eyes, he found Sophia, Divya and Anjali staring at him with intense worry.
Fortunately, after he spoke, most of their anxiety eased a little.
He forced a weak smile onto his lips and said, "I’m fine. No need to worry."
At that moment, the Light Mage Sprout used Purifying Bloom, completely removing the zombie virus from Vikram’s body.
Immediately after, the Healer Druid activated its Advanced Restoration, beginning rapid healing.
A soft radiant glow covered Vikram’s back as the remaining corruption vanished. At the same time, the healing energy surged through his wound.
The deep gash began to close quickly. Flesh regenerated, muscles reconnected, and the exposed bone was covered as his skin restored itself.
Within minutes, the wound had completely healed, leaving behind only faint marks.
Divya, Anjali, and Sophia watched in stunned silence, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Once again, they were amazed.
The plant sprouts’ abilities were simply beyond imagination.
Sophia whispered softly, "This... is incredible."
Anjali could only nod repeatedly, still in shock, while Divya stared at the nearly flawless skin on Vikram’s back with a complex expression.
Vikram let out a long sigh of relief as strength gradually returned to his body. He slowly stood up with the help of the Druids.
However, not sleeping for a long time, combined with traveling and fighting all night, still left him physically and mentally exhausted.
Vikram then looked at Phantom and asked, "Loot boxes."
Although he didn’t care about the other lootboxes, the mutated Zombie has dropped a blue-purple box.
Hearing it, Phantom took out the blue-purple loot box from the vehicle storage slot.
He also knew what is important, or not important. And loot boxes were the important things. But since Vikram was in a grim situation, he only took the blue-purple loot box.
Seeing the blue-purple box, Vikram also looked forward to the drop from killing the Mutated Zombie.
Based on previous experience, it was possible for Epic-level materials to drop from it.