The next morning.
All the high-ranking members gathered.
Clatter!
Nine Level 7 crystals appeared on the tabletop.
"Level 7 crystals?!"
Such large Level 7 crystals!
Everyone was stunned.
They had seen Level 7 crystals before, all from Level 7 mutated zombies, but they were much smaller than these.
It was obvious that the contained energy was different.
"Team One, all members; Team Two, Zhang Heng, Han Xiao, Wang Shouli, immediately absorb and break through to Level 6."
"Attention! Control the absorption amount, no more than twenty percent at a time!"
"Exceeding twenty percent will cause your body to explode!"
As he spoke,
Qin Feng took out several more Level 6 crystals.
He distributed them to the other members of Team Two: "If you all comprehend like Zhang Heng, you will be able to absorb advanced crystals."
"Captain! Can I... join Team One now?!" Zhang Heng asked excitedly.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
Zhang Heng was dumbfounded.
He had always thought that the condition for joining Team One was to be able to comprehend new abilities independently.
Before,
He accepted not being able to join Team One.
His strength was indeed much weaker than Team One members.
But now...
Why was he still unable to join?
"You'll know if you can join Team One after you break through to Level 6," Qin Feng smiled.
"Oh..."
Zhang Heng didn't say anything more and picked up a crystal to absorb.
Xiao Ruoruo and Liu Pi were already Level 6 and didn't need to absorb any more for now.
"Caw caw!"
Bird Grandpa was dumbfounded.
How could this Grandpa absorb it?
He used to eat them directly.
These crystals were different; swallowing one whole would kill him instantly. This Grandpa didn't have hands to hold and absorb it!
"Roar..."
Tong Tong held a Level 7 crystal with its thick bear paws and absorbed it.
It even deliberately let out a few roars at Bird Grandpa.
Look!
I can absorb it.
"Caw caw!"
Bird Grandpa was immediately furious.
Was this Grandpa inferior to a panda?
"Don't worry!"
Qin Feng picked up a crystal and smiled, "You don't have to hold it with your hands. Here!"
He stuffed the crystal into Bird Grandpa's mouth.
"Absorbing it in your mouth is the same as holding it in your hand."
"Absolutely do not swallow it!"
Bird Grandpa: ...
Swallow?
It was so big, he couldn't swallow it even if he wanted to.
The Level 7 crystals were huge.
Bird Grandpa's mouth was bulging, which made everyone chuckle.
"Bird Grandpa, can you let out a few roars?"
"A rap would be fine too."
Someone deliberately teased it.
Bird Grandpa was furious.
How could he make a sound with a crystal in his mouth?
These bastards!
Were they teasing him?
Wait until this Grandpa finishes absorbing, and I'll beat you all to death.
About ten minutes later.
Everyone finished absorbing one after another.
"I..."
Zhou Haiyang, who had been silent, was the first to finish absorbing.
He was first stunned.
Then he was overjoyed.
"Cap... Captain! I've awakened a new ability!" He was extremely excited.
"That's right!"
Liu Pi suddenly remembered: "Captain! You asked Haiyang to bring me mutated crystals before, and I also awakened a new ability!"
He had forgotten to mention it last night.
It wasn't just him.
Xiao Ruoruo had also awakened a new ability.
Level 5 was a watershed.
It divided ability users into three categories.
Those with the worst aptitude would have their strength stagnate at Level 5; even if they absorbed advanced crystals, they couldn't reach Level 6.
Those with moderate aptitude could continue to improve by absorbing crystals.
As for the exceptionally gifted, who were one in a million.
Not only could they continue to improve, but after reaching Level 6, they would also awaken a second type of ability!
"I know," Qin Feng nodded and smiled.
He knew the names of the second abilities awakened by most of Team One.
Because.
He had memories from his past life.
"What new ability?"
Zhang Heng also finished absorbing and looked at everyone blankly: "Why don't I have one?"
As soon as he said that,
He remembered what Qin Feng had said.
Whether he could join Team One depended on his breakthrough to Level 6.
In other words.
There were two conditions for joining Team One!
Not only did one need to comprehend independently,
But they also had to awaken a new ability after breaking through to Level 6.
And he...
Could only break through to Level 6.
He didn't awaken any new abilities at all!
"Alright."
He smiled helplessly and looked at Qin Feng: "I accept my fate and will continue to stay in Team Two."
"Actually, you are stronger than most people," Qin Feng said in a deep voice.
"Captain, you don't need to comfort me, I'm not that fragile."
"It's not comfort."
Qin Feng shook his head and said seriously, "More than eighty percent of ability users will never reach Level 6 in their lives – even with crystals!"
Those eighty percent were mostly of the worst aptitude.
And more than ten percent had moderate aptitude and could continue to improve.
As for those with the highest aptitude.
Less than one in ten thousand!
"Alright!"
Qin Feng stood up and handed two Level 7 crystals to Han Xiao and Wang Shouli: "Zhang Heng, come with me!"
Among Team One and Team Two, those qualified to absorb Level 7 crystals were more numerous than the total number of Level 7 crystals.
The excess would have to be absorbed later.
He threw the other few crystals, which had eighty percent energy remaining, into his dimensional space.
Zhang Heng followed.
He led Qin Feng to find honey fungus.
...
Northwest of the base.
About 30 kilometers away.
Qin Feng and Zhang Heng stood on the back of a Tiger Head Sea Eagle.
"Captain!"
Zhang Heng pointed to a certain spot: "Yesterday, we weren't attacked again from there!"
Yesterday.
Of a combat group of up to 40 people, only a dozen or so returned alive, with a death rate of over sixty percent.
He remembered it vividly!
The area where the mycelium spread yesterday was exactly where he was pointing.
"Oyster omelet, wait for me up here!"
"Caw caw!"
Whoosh!
Qin Feng jumped directly from the air.
He landed in the safe zone Zhang Heng had indicated.
The moment his feet touched the ground,
Clusters of mushrooms, about half a meter tall, instantly separated their caps from their stems.
The mushroom caps actually flew up!
They all floated towards him.
"Be careful!"
Above.
Zhang Heng was shocked: "The mushroom caps will explode, and after the explosion..."
Spatial shield!
Spatial shields appeared.
They formed an impenetrable barrier all around Qin Feng and above his head.
As expected!
When the mushroom caps touched the spatial shields, they immediately exploded violently.
The mushroom caps were about half a meter in diameter.
Their power was comparable to an anti-tank mine!
It was a pity.
They couldn't break through the spatial shields.
"As expected."
Qin Feng narrowed his eyes.
The explosion was just the first wave of attack.
After the explosion, a large number of spores were released from the mushroom caps. Ordinary ability users couldn't see them at all.
The spores were too small!
Fortunately, physical abilities enhanced all aspects of the body's functions.
His eyesight was hundreds of times stronger than ordinary people!
He could both see far and see details like a magnifying glass.
He could see the tiny spores at a glance.
These spores could directly enter the human body through the respiratory tract, eyes, and ear canals.
Once the spores entered the body...
Even the strongest abilities would be useless.
After being parasitized,
The body would become nourishment for the spores, and it would be completely decomposed after being consumed!
Qin Feng was completely unaffected.
He walked towards the base.
After walking for several hundred meters, no more mushrooms appeared.
This meant...
Overnight.
The mycelium had expanded by several hundred meters!
Not only did he need to calculate the spread distance of the mycelium,
But he also needed to measure the specific area occupied by the honey fungus hidden underground.
It was very simple.
He just had to walk along the edge.
Where there were mushrooms, that was the boundary of the honey fungus.
The Tiger Head Sea Eagle carried Zhang Heng in the sky.
Qin Feng walked.
"Captain!"
Zhang Heng's expression changed dramatically: "Over there... there are people! So many people!"
He stood on the back of the Tiger Head Sea Eagle.
From a high vantage point.
He could see everything within a dozen kilometers around.
People?
Qin Feng's heart tightened.
Spatial displacement!
He instantly appeared high in the sky, landing on the back of the Tiger Head Sea Eagle: "Oyster omelet, fly higher!"
Caw!
Accompanied by the bird's cry, the Tiger Head Sea Eagle soared into the sky, rapidly ascending.