Chapter 32: The Team Grows

Soon, the number of spider zombies began to decrease significantly.

The pressure on Fang Heng and his companion gradually eased.

"Liao Bufan, how much fuel is left?"

Liao Bufan reached up to wipe large beads of sweat from his forehead.

"9.3% remaining."

Fang Heng nodded.

It was enough.

Three-quarters of this batch of spider zombies were already dead; the threat was no longer great.

While controlling the flamethrower's switch, Fang Heng even found time to steal glances at the game log.

The game log had long since scrolled into a long list.

[Prompt: Player successfully killed a spider zombie. Player obtained 23 Survival Points.]

[Prompt: Player successfully killed a spider zombie. Player obtained 33 Survival Points.]

[Prompt: Player obtained a Complete Evolution Crystal *1]

[Prompt: Player successfully killed a spider zombie. Player obtained 33 Survival Points.]...

Among the mutated zombies, spider zombies belonged to a relatively high tier.

Therefore, they had a higher probability of dropping Complete Evolution Crystals.

With a quick glance, Fang Heng saw at least five or six.

Enough to get him to Level 7!

Five minutes later, the last spider zombie finally lost all signs of life under the scorching flames.

Coincidentally, one canister of fuel ran dry.

The entire passage was filled with blackened, charred corpses.

Beneath the corpses, red specks remained on the ground, emitting a bloody glow.

These were the evolution crystals dropped by the spider zombies after death.

Fang Heng reached out his hand.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The evolution crystals left on the ground flew one by one into Fang Heng's hand.

[Prompt: You have obtained 15 Complete Evolution Crystals.]

Fang Heng turned his head to look at Liao Bufan.

"Let's go. Let's get out first."

Taking advantage of the fact that the wooden frame at the entrance of the passage was still burning and the wall of fire still provided protection, the two of them quickly exited the passage.

...

Outside the passage.

Fang Heng securely locked the three iron gates.

Liao Bufan's short-sleeved shirt was soaked through.

During the battle just now, he had been under immense psychological pressure.

Not to mention, the high temperature caused by the flames made the entire basement feel like an unbearable furnace.

It was deathly hot!

Both Liao Bufan and Fang Heng looked as if they had just been pulled out of water.

Liao Bufan leaned against the wall and slumped down limply.

He felt as if he had just taken a trip to the gates of hell.

Fortunately, he was lucky to be alive.

"Sigh!"

Liao Bufan let out a long sigh.

It seemed to be an emotional outburst.

"Boss, you gotta pay me more!"

After securely locking the three large gates, Fang Heng also plopped down beside Liao Bufan.

At this moment, he could finally relax and rest properly.

"You have a point."

As Fang Heng spoke, he pulled a handful of evolution crystal shards from his backpack, opened his palm, and handed them to Liao Bufan.

"Is this enough?"

"Crystal shards? This many?"

Seeing the glittering evolution crystal shards, Liao Bufan's eyes lit up.

"Enough, enough! Boss, you're the man!"

Liao Bufan's dejected expression immediately switched to a beaming smile.

He grabbed the evolution crystal shards from Fang Heng's hand and crushed them in his palms with a series of *bang, bang, bang* sounds.

Liao Bufan's level soared to Level 4.

Sitting on the ground, Fang Heng began to flip through the game log, tallying the gains from this cleanup of the prison basement passage.

In this operation, they had killed a total of 57 spider zombies and obtained 17 Complete Evolution Crystals.

Not bad!

Fang Heng gripped the obtained evolution crystals in his hand.

*Bang!!*

A dense red aura exploded from his palm, merging into his body along the lines of his hand.

*Bang! Bang!*

For a moment, the corridor was filled with the sound of crystals bursting.

Beside him, Liao Bufan watched Fang Heng absorb the power of the evolution crystals with pure envy.

Look at him, already starting the next stage of leveling up!

With that momentum, he'd probably be pushing for Level 10 soon, right?

Envy aside, Liao Bufan was easily satisfied.

After all, Fang Heng was an outlier; why compare himself to him?

Liao Bufan thought to himself that he had already reached Level 4.

At this stage of the game, how many players could actually reach Level 4?

He was a top-tier player too, alright!

If he hadn't met Fang Heng, he might still be gnawing on tree roots somewhere.

Thinking happily, Liao Bufan pulled two cans of beer from his backpack, handed one to Fang Heng, and began drinking on his own.

[Prompt: Your character level has increased to LV: 7.]

[Prompt: Due to the influence of the Talent Skill Enhancement - Split Zombie Clone, you have gained 7 additional Zombie Clones.]

After absorbing the power of the evolution crystals, Fang Heng's level successfully rose to Level 7, leaving him about one-quarter away from Level 8.

The concrete floor at Fang Heng's feet began to warp.

A red magic circle emerged from the ground.

*Ssh!*

A grayish-blue arm suddenly thrust out from the magic circle.

The zombie clones emerged from the magic circle one after another, standing firmly behind Fang Heng.

Seven in total.

A moment later, the magic circle vanished.

Fang Heng waved his hand, sending the zombies out to scavenge for supplies while idling.

Almost there, almost there. Only a quarter of the experience left to reach Level 8.

If luck was on his side and there were enough spider zombies in the passage, he might even be able to push for Level 9 today!

Thinking of this, Fang Heng suddenly felt a surge of motivation throughout his body.

"Are you rested? Ready to start the next wave?"

"No way! Boss? I haven't rested enough yet!"

Liao Bufan pulled out another can of beer, looking at Fang Heng with pleading eyes.

"How about we rest a little longer?"

...

The next day at noon.

Inside the basement passage.

With a wave of his hand, Fang Heng attracted the evolution crystals on the ground into his palm.

*Bang! Bang, bang!*

The evolution crystals burst one after another.

The crimson mist was absorbed by Fang Heng in an instant.

[Prompt: Your character level has increased to LV: 9.]

[Prompt: Due to the influence of the Talent Skill Enhancement - Split Zombie Clone, you have gained 9 additional Zombie Clones.]

Now, having reached Level 9, Fang Heng possessed a total of 45 zombie clones.

Compared to two days ago, his overall strength had nearly doubled.

Consequently, his efficiency in gathering supplies had also doubled once again.

"Phew!! The last batch of spiders! Finally finished!"

Liao Bufan, shirtless, let out a massive sigh of relief.

He sat down on the ground, feeling a profound sense of liberation.

Beside him lay a dozen or so empty fuel canisters scattered about.

Nearly half an hour had passed, and no new spider zombies had emerged from the right corner of the corridor.

Counting yesterday afternoon and this morning, Fang Heng and Liao Bufan had cleared the basement passage five or six times.

"Come on, let's go see what's inside."

After a brief rest and replacing the fuel canisters, the two continued their exploration.

Fang Heng led the way with the flamethrower.

He carefully navigated the corner and took a few more steps forward.

A fork in the path appeared ahead.

The fork split into a straight passage and another passage turning to the left.

The path directly ahead was blocked by three lowered iron gates.

Peering through the gaps in the iron bars, Fang Heng looked inside.

Behind the three iron gates, there seemed to be a staircase leading downwards.

It looked like there were even deeper passages below.

"Why is the basement of this prison built so deep?"

Liao Bufan also noticed the stairs and couldn't help but curl his lip.

Fang Heng, however, frowned and whispered, "Strange."

(End of Chapter)