Supreme Evolution

Ryan sat in the corner of the utility room like a dead dog. His withered cheeks, lifeless eyes, and bloody scars on his arms from the zombies' scratches and bites made him look extremely miserable.

"Grrrrgh." He leaned weakly against the wall and let out a deep growl. He never expected that because of his momentary kindness, he would be betrayed by the people he trusted in the process of saving them and eventually end up being seriously injured by zombies.

The severe pain from the wounds was rapidly devouring his nerves, making him shake with pain. He tried to stand up several times, but failed in the end.

Looking at the wounds that had turned pitch black due to infection, Ryan's vision gradually blurred and his thoughts went back to three months ago.

Three months ago, New York was still a prosperous city full of bubbling people. There were no disasters, no catastrophic deaths or diseases.

Ryan remembered very clearly that it was on a sunny and calm morning when everything started. Thick rain clouds, reddish in color, suddenly floated over New York, making the sky above the city gray.

No one knew where the clouds came from, since the weather forecast never indicated that it would rain that day.

At first, people in the city did not take these rain clouds seriously since weather forecast showed it would be sunny. But soon, the strange clouds developed into the heavy rain, covering every corner of the city, and the world in general.

After the rainstorm ended, people returned to their normal lives, thinking that the impression of the rainstorm would gradually be forgotten with the passage of time.

But soon, the number of emergency feverish cases caused by the heavy rain began to increase rapidly throughout the city. Almost one-third of people who had been caught in the rain experienced obvious discomfort the next day.

All hospitals became overcrowded with cases seeking treatment with thousands dying in the second day alone.

Some people said that it was a punishment from heaven caused by human beings' unrestrained exploitation and destruction of nature.

Others said that it might be the increasing greenhouse effect that has caused the melting of Antarctic glaciers, releasing many ancient pathogens hidden under the glaciers.

Some even suspected that the rainstorm was a germ warfare launched by a hostile country...

Ryan was undoubtedly one of the lucky ones. Although he had been caught in the rain, he neither turned into a zombie nor evolved. He had been enduring the past three months of hardship in the apocalypse in a miserable way.

Past events flashed through his mind one by one. He struggled to support his body, then reached into his pocket weakly and took out a light gray crystal the size of a thumb.

This gray crystal fell out from a zombie's brain when he accidentally smashed it while fighting with the zombies just now.

People in the end times named it the Zombie Crystal or ZC. They were formed inside the brain cores of zombies. They were the energy sources of these horrific creatures. However, not every zombie may have these gray crystals.

Only a very small number of zombies that have mutated more comprehensively had a very small probability of forming such crystals.

Ryan had to take a big gamble on the crystal. If he swallowed it, there was high possibility that he would turn into a zombie. Ninety percent chance, to be precise. But if he was lucky enough, he could evolve and acquire a potential ability.

Either way, he had no choice. The wounds were rapidly degenerating, causing his consciousness to gradually blur and he was on the verge of death.

With great determination, he put the crystal in his mouth and swallowed it. Unlike what he had imagined, the crystal melted in his mouth, giving him a strange, cool feeling.

But the next second, the excruciating pain as if his whole body was burned by fire quickly overwhelmed Ryan's mind like a tide, causing him to fall to the ground and roll over, letting out a series of shrill howls. “Aaaaargh.”

The powerful energy impacted every inch of his muscles. He felt as if his body was about to be melted into liquid.

The indescribable pain and intense burning sensation made every inch of his skin turn red, and even bursts of white smoke oozed out of him.

This kind of pain was almost fatal. Ryan rolled over on the ground, wailing in agony, feeling his veins and internal organs being torn apart in pain, and his heart seemed to be about to burst.

Was he going to die? Before he completely lost consciousness, Ryan let out a weak howl. It seems that he was destined to be an incompetent loser even in apocalyptic world.

Ryan closed his eyes in pain, waiting agonizingly for death to come.

After a long while, his brain had become completely numb and he lost consciousness.