Lin Xinghai observed the varying increases in the three main attributes, sparking some ideas in his mind. However, now wasn’t the time to delve deeper into them.
Many people, having completed the task and touched the zombies, began returning to the armored personnel carrier.
There was not much time left for him to collect Blood Essence.
Lin Xinghai quickly closed his status panel and rushed to the next zombie corpse. When he started running, he immediately felt something different.
“Oh, I’m already moving so fast!”
He could now easily surpass the maximum speed from his last sprint. However, he hesitated to test his full capabilities to avoid drawing attention.
The increase in speed also allowed Lin Xinghai to collect Blood Essence faster. In the end, he had collected 13 additional Blood Essence points.
By then, hardly anyone remained on the field. To avoid drawing attention, he had no choice but to return to the armored personnel carrier.
…
“How’s it going? Have you found the reason?” As soon as Lin Xinghai sat down, Roger sat next to him and asked.
“I have some speculations.” Lin Xinghai pondered for a while and then said, “The wound on the back of the head doesn’t feel like the last hit because the wound isn’t deep. More importantly, it looks like it was a slice rather than a stab, which doesn’t make sense.”
“Also, I have restored the missing flesh, which made me realize that there seems to be a piece of missing flesh from that area.”
“If I guessed correctly, there should be something on the back of these zombies’ heads that was taken away.”
After explaining his observations, Lin Xinghai looked at Roger. He wasn’t just making things up; he had genuinely taken a close look.
A flash of surprise crossed Roger’s face, but it was gone in an instant. He nodded, “Yes, that’s an energy crystal, a crystal that contains special energy.”
After a brief silence, Roger continued, “Now that you’ve seen the situation outside and have a grasp of the apocalyptic circumstances, let me ask you again: Are you willing to join my mercenary group?”
“What are the benefits of joining a mercenary group?” Lin Xinghai asked.
Seeing Lin Xinghai’s interest, Roger smiled, “There’s too much unwanted attention here. Let’s find a quieter spot to chat.”
Lin Xinghai glanced around. Everyone perked up their ears and glanced at them from time to time. This is indeed not a suitable place for conversation.
But the question is, where can you find a spot with fewer people in this vehicle?
However, Roger had already stood up, prompting Lin Xinghai to quickly do the same.
Arriving near the front of the vehicle, Roger gave the alloy steel plate a solid knock.
Creak!
The alloy steel plate, which had seemed perfectly sealed, had slowly opened with the help of a pneumatic device, revealing a small door that led to the driver’s area.
Lin Xinghai bent down and followed in. He found that the space in the driver area was quite large, more than enough to accommodate six people.
After greeting the soldier driving the vehicle, Roger led Lin Xinghai to a corner, and they sat down.
“Let me introduce our mercenary group. It’s called the Sky Fracture Mercenary Group. We’re a level 1 mercenary group registered with the Mercenary Guild. Among the hundreds of mercenary groups in the shelter, our ranking is somewhere in the middle.”
“With your Grade B genetic assessment, if you join our mercenary group, you can earn 100 points as payouts every week.”
“Points?” Lin Xinghai interrupted and asked.
Roger explained, “Points are equivalent to currency. Everything in the shelter is purchased with points. The reward of 100 points a week is definitely higher than any normal job.”
“And that is only temporary. If you become an Enhanced, your weekly reward will be at least 150 points.”
[TN: I will refer to those whose genetics have been optimized or enhanced as Enhanced.]
“Enhanced?” Lin Xinghai’s heart skipped a beat. He vaguely felt that this had a lot to do with the genetic enhancement degree listed in the system panel.
“Hmm!” Roger seemed to have anticipated Lin Xinghai’s question.
He immediately explained, “This goes back to our genetic engineering. Since the start of the 20th century, humanity has never ceased researching our own genes. However, for over 200 years, there weren’t any significant breakthroughs, until the appearance of the energy crystal.”
“The crystals contain a special kind of energy. While we can’t absorb it directly, with the right processing, we can turn it into a genetic serum that optimizes the genes within our bodies.”
“When the enhancement of human genes reaches 30%, it’s as if breaking free from shackles, resulting in a significant boost in our overall performance. There’s even a small chance of manifesting some unique abilities.”
“That’s why we refer to people whose genes have been enhanced beyond 30% as an Enhanced.”
After listening to Roger’s explanation, Lin Xinghai’s pupils shrank slightly. However, he soon understood his situation. A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
With the System, my genetic enhancement degree has reached 19%.
Moreover, he had 13 points of Blood Essence left unspent. It wouldn’t be long before he became an Enhanced!
However, Lin Xinghai needed a way to mask his rapid growth. Joining the Sky Fracture Mercenary Group became undoubtedly a good choice.
“If I choose to join your mercenary group, how do you plan to train me? Especially regarding the genetic serum, how much can I get every week?” Lin Xinghai asked.
Even though Lin Xinghai had a System, the genetic serum sounded like something valuable. Of course, he wanted to secure them as much as possible.
Seeing Lin Xinghai’s growing interest, Roger smiled, “Three bottles. I can secure you three bottles of genetic serum every week.”
“Three bottles are too little. I should have 20 bottles of them, given my Grade B genetic assessment, right?” Lin Xinghai immediately asked for more.
As soon as he said these words, Roger’s face darkened instantly. Even the soldier who had been focused on driving shot Lin Xinghai a peculiar look.
“Do you know how many bottles of genetic serum a new member of a mercenary group can have per week? One bottle!”
“Even if you are a formal member of the mercenary group, you only have 2 bottles a week.”
“Even with my abilities, plus the compensations given for my captain’s position, I only get six bottles of the genetic serum a week.”
“Yet, you expect 30 bottles? Just getting three for you already means swallowing my pride and asking the group leader.” Roger said while suppressing his anger.
After hearing this, Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but be taken aback. If that’s the case, then the treatment the Sky Fracture Mercenary Group is offering to me seems too generous!
Lin Xinghai had a wild idea. He quickly summoned the system panel and used “appraisal” on Roger.
Name: Roger
Constitution: 50
Strength: 65
Speed: 43
Skill: Robust Strength (strength increases by 30% within three seconds)
Genetic Enhancement Degree: 65%
“He’s even stronger than I imagined! He’s already awakened a skill, yet he only receives 6 bottles of genetic serum a week. That says a lot.” Lin Xinghai put on a faint smile after reorganizing his thoughts.
“Captain Roger, your genetic assessment shouldn’t be Grade B, right?”
Roger’s irritated expression faltered slightly.
Reading Roger’s expression, Lin Xinghai added, “So, my Grade B genetic assessment must be pretty valuable! Imagine if the other mercenary groups got wind of it…”
Lin Xinghai stopped elaborating, just smiling as he looked at Roger.
“For Grade B genetic assessment, you can opt to join the military. It is safer than joining a mercenary group. You will also get three bottles of genetic serum every week.” The soldier driving suddenly chimed in.
Roger’s face darkened even more. In hindsight, he would have been better off discussing things with Lin Xinghai inside the carriage rather than the driver’s area.
“Four bottles of genetic serum per week. That’s my limit. But I have one more condition: within a month, the rate at which your strength increases has to match your potential. Otherwise, you’ll get a maximum of three bottles per week.” Roger laid out his revised terms.
“Deal! But if the rate I enhance my strength surpasses your expectations, how do we settle the genetic serum then?” Lin Xinghai asked with a smile.
Roger’s eyes narrowed slightly, but recalling Lin Xinghai’s attitude toward touching zombies before, he suddenly chuckled, “I like your spirit. I hope it’s not just all talk. If that really happens, our Sky Fracture Mercenary Group will surely not let you down.”