The night stretched on endlessly.

Huo Lingling leaned against Li Xuan and fell asleep.

Yun Xiuzhi hid in the corner, occasionally glancing at Li Xuan while muttering under her breath, "Aren't you the one who ultimately benefits anyway?"

"Blame me for teaching improperly? I can see you're quite pleased with yourself - you can barely keep that smile off your face."

"Hmph~ Men~"

Yun Xiuzhi used her claws to swipe across the phone screen, scrolling through Douyin videos. Most content was posted about a month ago, with very few videos published in recent days.

At this point in time, survivors who still had phone battery were truly the elite.

"Li Xuan, the authorities have announced information about supernatural characteristics! They're encouraging survivors to kill mutated zombies and seize supernatural characteristics to become stronger! Non-transformers who discover mutated zombies can report them to the official survivor base in exchange for food and water!" Yun Xiuzhi said.

Li Xuan took the phone. The authorities had published relevant announcements across various platforms.

On Douyin, there were several educational videos about mutated zombies, featuring video explanations of three types of mutated zombies, along with text explanations of over ten varieties.

The first video explained a massively built type standing over three meters tall - taller than a single-story building when standing on level ground. Its back grew numerous hand-like appendages, while its abdomen featured a huge fissure containing no organs but instead swarming with insect-like creatures, creating an utterly horrifying sight. This was the aberrant characteristic zombie.

Another type was the emaciated speed-mutated zombie, extremely fast-moving. While it couldn't catch bullets, it could run swiftly before people fired guns to dodge them. It required deploying an entire squad to successfully suppress a speed-mutated zombie. For humans, speed-mutated zombies were extremely dangerous among mutated zombies. The recommendation was not to run recklessly when encountering them but to find ways to hide in narrow spaces for counterattacks.

The final type wasn't a zombie but a mutated zombie tiger standing upright with humanoid form but tiger characteristics. Authorities suspected it possessed multiple supernatural characteristics and was currently active in North River, warning survivors to be cautious.

Several days earlier, the zombie mutated tiger had led a horde to massacre a survivor-established base, leaving no one alive. It was extremely dangerous.

Li Xuan's gaze sharpened - it was that mutated tiger. He had looked for it but couldn't find it.

"It's already established its dominance," Li Xuan murmured.

Additionally, the authorities released two videos showing transformers demonstrating their powers after absorbing supernatural characteristics.

The first, codenamed Electric Eel, was a slender girl of short stature with cropped hair and sharp eyes. In the video, she transformed into a meter-long electric eel that released electrical sparks.

After watching the video, Li Xuan understood how she achieved this.

The slender girl had absorbed a supernatural characteristic called 'Organ Enhancement,' which highly suited her electric eel transformation. Her electrical discharge ability was strengthened, enabling her to release electric currents against enemies as if she had mastered lightning powers.

In the video, the electric eel's sparks flew about one meter, though it was unclear if this was her limit.

The second transformer could become a dairy cow after absorbing a nutrition enhancement characteristic. Three drops of her milk could satiate an adult man for a whole day, making this an extremely important ability - even more crucial than the electric eel girl's.

Li Xuan's expression turned peculiar - not from envy of the dairy cow transformer's characteristic, but because the transformer was male!

That's right! A male had transformed into a dairy cow!

Transformation abilities could change males into females. When the apocalypse first descended, there was a woman who claimed she could transform into her husband's appearance - a complete transformation from female to male.

When he found Yun Xiuzhi, he had even checked her pigeon form - fortunately, she was female.

Huo Lingling's snake form was also female.

"I really can't imagine how the authorities convinced that person," Li Xuan said quietly.

"Maybe he wasn't resistant to the idea. This isn't about seeking thrills - it's about saving people. He alone can save many people from starvation," Yun Xiuzhi said from beside him.

"That makes sense too."

At the end of the video, there were several special transformers, including one who was a little white rabbit that had transformed into a human. Official investigations revealed that before the darkness descended, the rabbit's owner had been preparing to kill and eat it when the desperate rabbit bit its owner and gained the ability to transform into a human.

The owner was still alive, and when the two identical individuals stood together, anyone would call them twins unless informed otherwise.

Li Xuan stroked his chin. It seemed he couldn't disguise Huo Lingling as the first supernatural person anymore. He hadn't expected the authorities to discover animal transformations into humans.

The number of animals transforming into humans was already pitifully small. After the apocalypse descended, animal-transformed humans acted foolishly, retaining animal instincts. Unless they stayed in enclosed spaces, they were too easily infected by zombies.

Huo Lingling had hidden in an enclosed space without going out until Huo Shuangshuang rescued her.

"The white rabbit transformed into a human can absorb supernatural characteristics. I feel like the authorities will have it absorb supernatural characteristics, then research how to enable humans to obtain them too," Yun Xiuzhi said.

"Who knows," Li Xuan shrugged.

Several days passed with Li Xuan and the two girls holed up in the small room without going out. Their energy expended during travel had fully recovered. At night, Li Xuan came across new intelligence.

Intelligence [Eternal Daylight Version: In one hour, the dark clouds will disperse, the heavy rain will stop, the sun will appear, and it will not set for three months! Avian zombie mutation probability greatly increased! A very small number of mutated zombies will simultaneously awaken two supernatural characteristics!]

"It's finally about to update!" Li Xuan thought to himself.

He had also had enough of the heavy rain version - the air felt saturated with water, everything was damp daily, dark clouds blotted out the sky with low visibility, and mutated zombies hid underwater, making them difficult to find.

The Eternal Daylight version would certainly be uncomfortable too, but finding mutated zombies would be easier, with the chance of getting "double-yolked eggs."

"Avian mutated zombies have too high mobility - very hard to catch. I hope subsequent intelligence concerns mutated zombies rather than mutated birds," Li Xuan thought silently.

One hour later, the heavy rain stopped. The entire world stopped simultaneously - one moment the heavy rain continued unabated without any sign of diminishing, the next moment it ceased abruptly as if a deity had pressed a button to stop the rain, modifying the world's laws.

The sound of rain disappeared, and the world fell silent.

Yun Xiuzhi hadn't slept yet, sensing something unusual about the surroundings. It was too quiet. She looked outside.

The rain was gone.

She rubbed her eyes with her wings, widening her eyes to confirm repeatedly.

"Li Xuan! The rain stopped! Look quickly! The rain finally stopped!" Yun Xiuzhi shouted excitedly. She disliked the heavy rain - during rainy days she couldn't fly, becoming completely useless.

She didn't want to be useless!

With the rain stopped! She could fly into the air to help Li Xuan find mutated zombies! She wouldn't be useless anymore!

Li Xuan's expression remained placid, his voice calm. "Mm, I know."

Yun Xiuzhi looked at Li Xuan's undisturbed expression, flew onto his head, and grabbed his hair. "You bad person! You knew the heavy rain would stop already! And you didn't tell us!"

"The sun is about to come out," Li Xuan said.

"The sun? But it's nighttime."

As soon as Yun Xiuzhi finished speaking, a glimmer of light shone in from outside - it was the long-awaited sunlight.

A great sun broke through the dark clouds, hanging high in the sky!

Warm sunlight spilled across the land, darkness receded, and animals hidden throughout the world issued cries.

Survivors stared dumbfounded at the sun in the sky.

"The sun? Am I going insane? The sun shouldn't rise at this time!" one survivor murmured.

"After so many strange things have happened, the sun rising at night seems quite normal!"

"Worldwide heavy rain is understandable, but the sun? There's only one sun! If the whole world can see the sun, that means there's more than one sun now!"

"Hahaha! The sun! So warm! I love the sun! That damn heavy rain is finally over!"

In H City, the Alligator Gar finally obtained a supernatural characteristic through various means, though it didn't suit his alligator gar transformation well.

"Visual enhancement characteristic - far inferior to the boost from strength characteristics. I'll make do with it for now and seize new supernatural characteristics later," the Alligator Gar murmured to himself.

With visual enhancement, his status at the official survivor base would rise, making it easier to access new mutated zombies.

Hearing the commotion outside, he frowned and walked out of the room arrogantly.

Sunlight fell on his body. The Alligator Gar rushed to the window and looked at the sun in the sky, feeling an ominous premonition arise within him.

Sun, you will set, right?

The Alligator Gar prayed inwardly. His transformation ability was an aquatic animal - once the floodwaters disappeared, his status at the base would inevitably decline sharply.

He had finally obtained a supernatural characteristic and hadn't even enjoyed a single day of privilege yet. The sun must set! It must!

Throughout Xia Country, authoritative officials calmly issued various commands. Bases began operating - history showed that plagues easily broke out after great floods. Without control, many would die.

This heavy rain had lasted too long, water levels were too high, zombies had soaked in water for months with countless viruses - a plague outbreak was almost certain!

The vast majority of survivor-established settlements lacked this awareness, still immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the sun's rise, unaware that death was already knocking at their door.

......

In the small room atop the tower

Huo Lingling woke up. Seeing the sunlight, she got frightened and hid in Li Xuan's embrace.

"That's the sun, no need to be afraid," Li Xuan rubbed Huo Lingling's small head.

After stabilizing her emotions, Huo Lingling cautiously approached the sunlit ground. She extended her small foot, gradually probing the sunlit area.

Then quickly withdrew it, before extending her foot again.

A warm sensation transmitted from her foot to her brain. Huo Lingling's eyes lit up. "Warm, comfortable."

She ran to the window, closed her eyes to enjoy the sunlight, spreading her entire body to receive the sun's rays.

After a while, she thought of something, opened her beautiful eyes, and scampered toward Li Xuan, grabbing his arm and holding it to her chest.

"Li Xuan, comfortable, come with me."

Li Xuan chuckled but didn't resist, letting Huo Lingling pull him to the window to enjoy the sunlight.

Huo Lingling raised her head, her large eyes reflecting Li Xuan's face. "Comfortable?"

"Very comfortable."

Huo Lingling smiled, her smile very sweet as if she had eaten candy.

Yun Xiuzhi said irritably, "I taught you so much knowledge, and you forget me now?"

Only then did Huo Lingling remember Yun Xiuzhi. She hurriedly carried Yun Xiuzhi to the window to enjoy the sunlight. "Sorry, my brain doesn't work well."

Yun Xiuzhi flapped her wings. "Forget it, since you admit your brain doesn't work well, I forgive you."

Hehe~

Huo Lingling laughed, rubbing her cheek against Yun Xiuzhi. "Thank you."