Chapter Twenty: The Second Crimson Descent

Because in his previous life, Gu Sha never had the chance to awaken his superpower, so he had no knowledge of the changes that occurred after awakening. It was only now that he realized that awakening a superpower was also related to the gene lock. The gene lock within the body would undergo mutation, becoming covered with a layer of special energy.

At this moment, Gu Sha could sense that his gene lock was enveloped in this peculiar energy, though the coverage was minimal—barely enough to fully cover the first gene lock.

“A Stage One superpower wielder!”

He had to admit, this giant cat, destined to become a king-level zombie beast, possessed formidable energy in its mutated bones. It pushed Gu Sha straight into the ranks of Stage One superpower wielders.

Third-tier extraordinary, first-stage superpower—this was now Gu Sha’s comprehensive strength.

Immediately, he began experimenting with the newly mastered time superpower.

In his previous life, the time superpower was one of the most supreme abilities, widely renowned. Gu Sha knew that outside the Tong City bastion, a great battle had broken out in the future. In that battle, the human legion suffered betrayal and fell into a decapitation trap set by the zombie army. Many leaders and elite fighters were surrounded and slaughtered. At the critical moment, a royal-tier time superpower wielder used his ability to reverse time by ten minutes, covering several kilometers in range, turning the tide and saving humanity from defeat.

Of course, Gu Sha was only a stage one superpower wielder now. His abilities were far less potent—he could only alter the flow of time in a small area. As for reversing time, it was entirely beyond his reach.

Still, Gu Sha was delighted. The power to alter time could serve as a trump card.

And its arrival could not have been more timely. Tomorrow at noon would mark the second Crimson Descent, when source beads would begin to fall. Many armed factions would vie for them. Facing those with hot weapons, the time superpower might prove crucial.

He exhaled deeply, then took some food from his bag and ate. Once full, he lay on the bed to rest.

The days ahead would likely allow no rest at all.

…

“Cabinet bulletin, cabinet bulletin. Survivors, please take note: the authorities have established temporary shelters in all cities and will dispatch troops for rescue. Please wait patiently and trust the officials…”

“According to research institute investigations, zombies possess acute hearing. Take extreme care…”

“The world disaster has arrived. Everyone must stand united…”

“Regarding the source beads, the latest official research summary…”

…

At dawn, Gu Sha tinkered with a radio in his room.

Now, there was no entertainment broadcast to be found. The only thing he could receive was the official news—updates on shelters and survival guides for the apocalypse.

Over the past month, the official satellites had partially recovered, but available equipment remained scarce. Only some radio broadcasts and satellite phones barely functioned, endlessly relaying official research information.

For example, the existence of source beads had already been publicly announced, urging survivors to swallow them as soon as they were found.

Concepts like source energy and gene locks had been defined and disseminated. Zombies, zombie beasts, and other terms were introduced to the populace.

The officials had designated May 10, 2023 as the first day of the first month of the year of catastrophe.

In fact, Gu Sha possessed information not yet made public. For instance, the authorities had begun research on the Qi Drawing Technique, having discovered the pervasive source energy in the world and seeking methods to absorb it.

Moreover, Gu Sha knew that soon the officials would use source energy to develop gene serums, rapidly creating batches of super soldiers and establishing shelters worldwide.

Having survived the last apocalypse, Gu Sha maintained profound respect for the authorities. One must never underestimate their power, even when faced with the sudden arrival of the end times.

Gu Sha sat quietly in his room, waiting.

He held a wristwatch, an old-fashioned model scavenged during his supply searches. It needed no signal, only power.

Twelve o’clock arrived!

“Roar!” “Roar, roar, roar…”

At that moment, frenzied zombie howls echoed everywhere, the terrifying, beast-like sounds overwhelming and dense. Outside the building where Gu Sha resided, he could clearly hear those dreadful noises.

The zombies had fallen into a frenzy.

Gu Sha knew: the second Crimson Descent had arrived!

And this time, another large group of survivors would be transformed into zombies, further reducing humanity’s numbers, while among the zombies and zombie beasts, many would evolve into super zombies.

This Crimson Descent would mark the beginning of zombies and zombie beasts closing the gap with humans.

Originally, humans possessed hot weapons, granting them overwhelming advantage against zombies and zombie beasts at the dawn of the apocalypse. However, after the second Crimson Descent, many zombies and zombie beasts underwent secondary evolution, their strength soaring, diminishing the advantage of human hot weaponry.

Although, thanks to the official announcement regarding source beads, a new wave of extraordinary warriors emerged among humans during the second Crimson Descent, their numbers were far too few.

It would not be long before the first great battle between zombies, zombie beasts, and humans erupted!

It was in that battle that humanity suffered a crushing defeat. Temporary shelters across the country were destroyed in the tides of zombies and beasts, prompting governments worldwide to propose the establishment of bastion cities. Tong City, where Gu Sha was now, was one such bastion.

Gu Sha had experienced that tide of zombie beasts and zombies in his previous life. At that time, he was in Cang City, hiding in a temporary shelter. It was the first time he saw humanity’s pride—hot weapons—lose their power to suppress.

Among the evolved zombies and zombie beasts, the ranks had grown exceedingly numerous. When the tides of corpses and beasts swept in, hot weapons proved powerless.

“Sigh!” Gu Sha breathed out, not wanting to think further.

That grand trend was not his concern.

He needed to focus on the present.

The Crimson Descent was about to end!

Three minutes—the Crimson Descent lasted only three minutes.

3, 2, 1…

Time was up.

Gu Sha lifted the wooden board nailed over the window; sure enough, the crimson outside had vanished.

He shouldered his backpack and rushed to the rooftop.

The second descent of source beads differed from the first. The first descent coincided with the Crimson Descent, while the second occurred after its end.

When Gu Sha reached the fifth-floor rooftop, he saw golden spheres raining down from the sky like a meteor shower. Though dense overhead, they dispersed sparsely across the land below.

Gu Sha’s pupils contracted as he stared fixedly at where source beads were falling in the Li Family Garden area.

In the next instant, he leapt directly from the top of the building. With a crash, his legs broke the ground, stones flying, the soles of his shoes shredded.

He didn’t pause for a second, sprinting barefoot, hacking down two zombies and snatching a source bead, tossing it into his backpack. Then, dragging his machete, he dashed into a nearby alley, where a source bead lay surrounded by several zombies.