Among high-tier supernatural characteristics, the most common was Chaotic Evolution, full of unknowns — what Li Xuan considered a side effect.

Who knew what Chaotic Evolution would ultimately turn someone into?

Li Xuan had skimmed four intelligence reports about Chaotic Evolution;

in each case the bearer evolved into a malformed monster, incredibly powerful. But Li Xuan did not want that kind of power;

it would interfere with the Giant Beast’s proper evolution.

Humans siphoned Chaotic Evolution through transforming abilities. Even if they became malformed monsters, they could revert to human form. Ordinary survivors did not possess the Prehistoric Colossus–level transformation, so absorbing Chaotic Evolution traits was a very decent option.

Li Xuan had obtained two Chaotic Evolution traits in total and had traded both away.

Full-body enhancement traits were high-tier traits assembled from parts — not exactly rare, just hard to fully collect. Wisdom-type supernatural traits and Fusion Characteristic were extremely rare;

only one or two mutated zombies per province might be born with such rare supernatural traits!

Keep in mind that even animal zombies had started mutating now, and their numbers were staggering!

There were also exceptionally rare traits among the common traits, like Endurance Characteristic and Splitting Characteristic.

Li Xuan guessed the Splitting Characteristic could be combined with some other trait to assemble a high-tier trait.

"Where did she get the Fusion Characteristic?" Li Xuan asked, surprised.

"Huo Shuangshuang is so generous!" Yun Xiuzhi said excitedly.

Huo Lingling reached out and gripped the other two supernatural traits.

One trait was Expansion;

the other was a Berserk-type trait.

"A high-tier supernatural trait and two rare common supernatural traits. The Berserk trait is an explosive-type supernatural trait," Huo Lingling said.

She couldn’t figure out why Huo Shuangshuang would give such precious gifts. Clearly Huo Shuangshuang didn’t accept her — the way Huo Shuangshuang looked at her was betraying inner rejection.

Huo Lingling thought for a while but couldn’t understand it. She picked up the Fusion Characteristic and handed it to Li Xuan. "For you."

Li Xuan didn’t refuse and took the Fusion Characteristic. "If you absorb another Expansion trait, you’ll complete the full-body enhancement puzzle. You take the other two."

Huo Lingling looked toward Yun Xiuzhi. "Do you want the Berserk trait?"

"No thanks. Even if I had it I wouldn’t explode with much power. It’s much more suited to you — you’re basically a little bipedal tyrannosaur now," Yun Xiuzhi declined.

So Huo Lingling absorbed the Expansion Characteristic and the Berserk Characteristic, and her physique surged in strength.

Huo Lingling stepped outside, glanced left and right, found her target, and hurried forward.

Someone saw her walk up to a stone lion just over a meter tall and felt puzzled.

That stone lion had somehow been moved into the underground garage;

after the base residents relocated underground, they had spent enormous effort to shove the statue into a corner.

"She’s not going to lift that stone lion, is she?" a survivor said, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What? Lift the stone lion? That statue’s at least four thousand jin! Even if Huo Lingling is stronger than a normal person, she couldn’t possibly lift it!"

"But she already lifted it!"

What!

The survivors gaped in shock. They watched Huo Lingling find a good grip, then effortlessly lift the stone lion and even heft it.

"It’s pretty heavy," Huo Lingling said, then gently set the stone lion back down and turned to head inside.

After a while, a survivor walked up, knocked on the stone lion, and the dull thud echoed.

"It’s real — she actually lifted it!"

The survivor crouched, hugged the stone lion, braced himself and strained with red-faced effort, but the stone lion didn’t budge.

......

R City base high command meeting room

Huo Shuangshuang had already revealed to them all the intelligence she’d extracted from Li Xuan.

"Do you think Li Xuan’s intelligence is credible? Will there be more extreme weather in the future?" a middle-aged man asked, arms crossed, voice grave.

"I think it’s credible. The fact he has the Prehistoric Colossus transformation shows he’s not ordinary — maybe he even came back from the future."

"Time travel? You believe that? I think he just accidentally got the Prehistoric Colossus transformation. Novels need logic, reality doesn’t."

"What about the second piece of intelligence? He thinks darkness won’t return."

"I know you’ve collected lots of dinosaur bones, but stop dreaming. It’s been a year since the darkness descended — you should accept reality. Transformation ability is a gift from heaven to the lucky;

how could it be granted twice?"

The discussion began civilized but gradually soured;

tension rose, people slapped the table and spat curses.

Huo Shuangshuang didn’t bat an eye. "He also reminded me to collect more Xia Country Currency — it might be useful."

"Useful? How could it be useful? I think Li Xuan is just money-hungry pre-apocalypse. He likes money, so he collected it. Money is worthless after the apocalypse! Do you think other survivor bases will trade food for currency?" a dark-skinned man scoffed.

His words drew nods from the other high command. Ever since Li Xuan’s identity was exposed, they’d learned he’d brought a whole travel bag stuffed with Xia Country Currency when he entered the base — bundled notes that looked like he’d robbed a bank. They didn’t understand why Li Xuan would collect and carry so much cash. Everyone loved money pre-apocalypse, but after it, money was useless;

they couldn’t think of any purpose for cash.

After much debate, their think tank concluded Li Xuan’s money-collecting was a quirky hobby — like collecting cars or stickers. Before the apocalypse he was just a wage earner who couldn’t afford much;

now he indulged the odd habit since no one wanted money anymore. Of course, even as they analyzed, they privately stashed some cash themselves — just in case.

Huo Shuangshuang was tired of arguing with these old foxes and turned to leave. The high command watched her go but paid it little mind and continued their discussion.

"Huo Shuangshuang hid a few supernatural traits;

maybe she gave them to Huo Lingling."

"Doesn’t matter. Huo Shuangshuang doesn’t have great combat power herself;

she can’t kill very strong mutated zombies."

Time passed;

snow fell in sheets, temperatures plummeted below zero, and the snowdrifts piled up over two meters deep.

Li Xuan sat indoors in a padded jacket warming himself by the fire. In human form he looked like an ordinary person;

at most, frequent exercise and abundant food had given him a slightly better physique and higher resistance.

Huo Lingling was different — wearing thin clothes, her super-strong body unbothered by the cold. Yun Xiuzhi no longer huddled in Huo Lingling’s arms and crawled into Li Xuan’s padded jacket to warm up.

Knock knock knock~

A knock sounded at the door.

Huo Lingling was surprised. "Who would come at a time like this?"

As the snow deepened and temperatures dropped, base survivors feared snow would heap up like floodwaters during heavy rain, piling tens of meters high;

many rushed out of the underground garage to live in high-rise buildings. Only a handful of households remained in the underground parking — fewer than twenty people in total.

Huo Lingling opened the door and was surprised to see the visitors. "It’s you. What brings you here?"

The visitors were the Vulture squad;

the one knocking was Brother Liu, who could transform into a Black Horse.

The Vulture squad members, seeing Huo Lingling’s thin clothing, were secretly alarmed and amazed — no wonder she could lift a four-thousand-jin stone lion.

"We just came back from an exploration outside and caught a few small fish. We brought them for you to try," Brother Liu said, holding out a rope with five small fish threaded on it.

"The snow is already two meters thick outside, and you still went exploring? Are you trying to die?" Huo Lingling said.

"When we left, the snow wasn’t that deep yet. We had to go — everyone’s trying to gather food, otherwise we can’t survive the snow season," Brother Liu explained.

"Come in."

The seven Vulture members stepped inside and were immediately hit by warmth.

The round-faced girl couldn’t help saying, "So warm."

Huo Lingling took the fish and walked over to Li Xuan, explained in a few words why the Vulture squad had come.

The five fish together weighed under one jin each, totaling about four jin — exceptionally precious food in the apocalypse. Their value was high.

"Roast them," Li Xuan said.

"Got it!" Huo Lingling cheerfully went to find sticks and prepare the fish.

Soon the smell of roasted fish filled the room. Little Crocodile stared hungrily at the fish;

whenever he tried to get close, Huo Lingling pulled him back.

Brother Liu suppressed his strong appetite and asked quietly, "Brother Li Xuan, why don’t you leave the high-rise? The underground parking entrance is nearly snowed over now. If you don’t move soon, it’ll be difficult later."

"No need to call me ‘Brother Li Xuan.’ Just call me Li Xuan. We aren’t leaving for no reason. You came at the perfect time — you can choose to come with us," Li Xuan said casually.

Brother Liu froze and probed, "Xuan-ge, are you going to another base?"

"No. I’m going to a very pleasant place where there’s no apocalypse and no zombies. You can’t stay long there, but you can hide from the storm and avoid freezing to death."

A place with no apocalypse!

Brother Liu shivered with a thrill, swallowed, and his eyes shone with hope. "Is there really such a place?"

"There is, but it costs money," Li Xuan said.

Money?

Brother Liu hesitated. After a year of apocalypse hardships, he’d almost forgotten money existed.

"Xia Country Currency?"

"Yes. Go find it — find more as soon as you can."

The Vulture squad brought fish to Li Xuan, and Li Xuan didn’t mind giving them a hint. The Clown Train was barely an opportunity, a way to avoid the storm and get early exposure to Martial Arts, but it had many pitfalls — make a wrong choice and you fell into an endless abyss.

Brother Liu wasn’t a fool;

he should be able to grasp the key points.

The Vulture squad left the underground garage. The round-faced girl couldn’t help speaking up: "Brother Liu, are you really going to find money? It’s snowing hard. What if we find money that’s useless — won’t that waste our energy? Our food is scarce."

Brother Liu snapped and glared at the round-faced girl, voice stern: "Shut up! Someone as important as Li Xuan wouldn’t lie to us, and the last trade proved he keeps his word."

The round-faced girl lowered her head, feeling wronged — she simply couldn’t understand how finding money would help. None of the major survivor bases used money anymore. With snow everywhere, where would you spend it? Buying food from other base survivors? She’d laugh at that idea.

Brother Liu scratched his head. "I’m not blaming you. Here’s the deal: if you’re willing, come with us on this mission;

if not, head back and rest at the base."

After discussion, four of the seven returned to rest, while Brother Liu led three into the snow to search for Xia Country Currency.

A few hours later, Brother Liu and his two companions discovered that the shops near the base were out of money;

the ground showed traces — someone had taken it earlier. This discovery brightened Brother Liu’s eyes;

they sensed something and grew more excited in their hunt.

Boom!

The roar of a train shook the world.

All the R City base survivors were jolted awake. People living in high-rises pressed against windows, staring toward the source of the sound.

"What is that? Did someone use a nuclear weapon?"

"It’s smoking and moving! Looks like a train! A train traveling on the snow!" someone shouted. Family members leaned to the window in disbelief.

"A train! Where could a train come from? Could it be official?"

A pitch-black train emerged from the snow. Its front was covered in spikes, and two large horns protruded from the top like an enraged demonic bull. The train traveled on the snow as if weightless, not crushing the snow layer, with no tracks beneath its wheels.

Boom!

The train stopped in the center of R City and a massive horn on its roof bellowed a loud voice.

"The Clown Train is about to depart! Passengers who wish to board, please come aboard quickly! The train offers warm beds, hot water, and fresh food! We will do our best to protect passenger safety!"

Those words ignited the survivors’ emotions instantly.

In an instant, countless survivors surged toward the train. What mattered most in the apocalypse? Ten survivors would give ten answers — a safe shelter, food, water! The train’s advertisement matched their deepest desires.

In one shop, Brother Liu clenched the money in his hand and murmured calmly, "Is this how Li Xuan said to leave?"

"Brother Liu, is it true? Is the train ad real?" a teammate asked, eyes full of hope.

"Go! Hurry and find them! The Vulture squad won’t abandon its teammates! Pack all the money and don’t lose it!" Brother Liu ordered.

The two teammates weren’t fools and quickly stuffed the money deep into their packs to avoid losing it.

"Brother, we’ll wait on the main road — they’ll definitely look for the train."

R City official base high command were awakened as well. Seeing the train, they immediately thought of money. Boarding required money! It had to be so! Everyone in high command regretted not preparing more cash.

"Hold a meeting! Hurry! Notify everyone!" one high-level officer shouted.

After a while, soldiers hadn’t returned. The high command went out and found other high-level officers’ doors open and rooms empty — they’d left in a rush toward the train. The soldiers sent to fetch them had also taken the opportunity to run!

Only a few cautious high-level officers remained, worried the Clown Train might be dangerous.

"Damn it! They’re reckless!" one high-level officer scowled.

"Go check! See if Li Xuan has left!" another officer ordered a soldier.

The soldier ran out but returned immediately. "He’s gone! Sir, look outside!"

The high-level officer turned and, through the glass, saw a massive Giant Beast appearing in the snowy field.