Before the rest period.
Qin Feng assigned Tang Xiaoying a mission.
Within a mere ten days, the base underwent earth-shattering changes.
He Dong, whose strength reached level 9, built over thirty sub-bases, encircling the main base in a manner akin to satellite cities.
Each sub-base could normally accommodate 3,000 people.
If squeezed, it could house 5,000.
During these ten days, aside from a few people returning to Blue Star for rest, Tang Xiaoying and other high-ranking officials worked tirelessly to recruit survivors.
They spread out in all directions from Yanshan Base as their center.
Searching for people.
Winning them over.
Bringing them back to the base.
Now, the base population had surged from over twenty thousand to more than 180,000!
Qin Feng had assigned two tasks.
First, Tang Xiaoying personally led teams to recruit as many people as possible.
Second, contact Shuk and Beta.
Have them also subdue as many zombies as possible.
Especially mutated ones.
Shuk and Beta did not reside in the base.
Wherever they went, they gathered followers.
Disobedient?
Beat them first.
Still unwilling to submit?
Kill them!
This situation had been ongoing for over a month, and even Tang Xiaoying was unsure of the exact number of zombies subdued.
In the conference room, Qin Feng’s expression was unusually grave.
“What are everyone’s thoughts on the last plotline?” he asked.
Thoughts?
Everyone was taken aback.
“Thoughts? I dare not think about it.”
Zhou Haiyang said with a wry smile, “It was manageable on land, but the sea creatures were too terrifying. Only you, Captain, could deal with them. We were completely outmatched—even the zombie legions were slaughtered.”
“That’s right,” Qin Feng nodded.
The previous plotline was perilous.
On land, there were various creatures that, while not exceptionally strong, could be fatal if one was careless.
For example, all sorts of insects and plants.
For these, after an initial training period, everyone had become cautious and avoided significant casualties.
But!
The sea was truly terrifying!
Mutated creatures of level 8 or 9 would appear frequently.
Among them, some possessed special talents or even awakened abilities.
For instance, the giant squid, which was almost unkillable.
Or the killer whales with echolocation and telepathy.
Especially the rare individuals, like Sea King and the two-headed crocodile.
They were unbelievably powerful!
What was their strength back then?
Only level 6 or 7.
In front of these sea creatures, they were completely crushed.
Not just them.
In previous plotlines, the zombie legions, capable of destroying everything, were also suppressed by the sea creatures.
There had been too many instances of seafood landing and massacring everything.
Killing humans.
And slaughtering zombies.
It seemed…
“In previous plotlines, the once invincible zombies ended up at the bottom,” Tang Xiaoying mused.
“Indeed.”
Qin Feng nodded. “Zombies only had physique-like abilities, and except for a very small percentage of mutated zombies, regular zombies were at most level 5.”
Regular zombies could not evolve further.
And mutated zombies were rare.
In contrast, humans and mutated creatures?
After reaching level 5, humans had a far greater chance of further advancement than zombies.
Mutated creatures were similar.
Didn’t they see a large number of level 5 and above creatures among the seafood?
This resulted in zombies becoming the underlings.
“The plotline will balance this.”
Qin Feng took a deep breath. “The upcoming ‘Resident Evil’ will see many zombies mutate.”
What?!
Everyone was shocked.
Qin Feng had told them before that the new plotline was ‘Resident Evil,’ but he hadn’t elaborated.
“What does mutate mean?”
“Captain! Didn’t you say regular zombies are at most level 5? Can they still become stronger?”
“Aren’t zombies evolving? Why is it called mutation?”
Discussions erupted among them.
Evolution and mutation were different concepts.
“No matter how the plot progresses, the limit for regular zombies is level 5,” Qin Feng affirmed. He then changed his tone, “But what if they are no longer zombies?”
What did he mean?
As he continued to explain, everyone was dumbfounded.
They finally understood the horror of the new plotline.
First, their strength.
Monsters exceeding level 10 abilities would appear for the first time, possessing powerful domains!
Second, their intelligence.
Previously, whether it was mutated zombies or high-level mutated creatures, as their levels increased, so did their intelligence.
It could even rival humans.
But intelligence comparable to humans was not enough.
Einstein had high intelligence, right?
If he had been thrown into a dog kennel from childhood and raised with dogs, no matter how intelligent he was, he would only bark like a dog.
High intelligence was innate.
But to utilize intelligence, environmental cultivation was also necessary.
Take Sea King, for example.
Its intelligence was no less than that of humans.
But had it undergone years of learning like humans?
Did it have the rich life experience of humans?
Therefore, Qin Feng could easily subdue it with just a few words.
People of Sakura Country eating killer whales?
No!
In reality, they were hunting whales.
Killer whales are not whales.
They are dolphins.
Yet Qin Feng easily deceived Sea King.
In short, having intelligence comparable to humans did not mean being as wise as humans.
Wisdom.
Required not only intelligence but also the learning of various knowledge and abundant life experience.
And in this new plotline, special monsters would appear.
Not only would their intelligence be comparable to humans, but in terms of knowledge and experience, they would be indistinguishable from humans.
Most importantly!
They would be rational, calm, and never act emotionally.
Intelligence.
Knowledge.
Experience.
Coupled with decisiveness and clear objectives.
Such opponents…
Were countless times more terrifying than before!
This was why Qin Feng was recruiting survivors on a massive scale starting from this plotline.
Because the enemies were not only powerful but also intelligent and purposeful.
If survivors were not united quickly enough, during the ensuing massacre…
Humanity would suffer a devastating blow.
The speed and proportion of deaths would far exceed previous plotlines!
The nuclear explosion reduced humanity to 3 billion.
‘The Day After Tomorrow’ reduced the population of Apocalypse Star from around 3 billion to 2 billion.
After ‘Day of the Dead Legion,’ the population dropped to over a billion.
After ‘2012,’ it fell to less than 700 million.
After the last dual plotline, the population was above 400 million.
This meant that in each of the previous four plotlines, the attrition rate ranged from 30% to 50%.
Qin Feng clearly remembered.
In his previous life, after the ‘Resident Evil’ plotline, the population of Apocalypse Star was less than 30 million.
What did that mean?
This single plotline.
Directly reduced the remaining population of Apocalypse Star by over 90%!
“Captain, what do we do next?” Tang Xiaoying’s expression was solemn.
“Five days for preparation.”
Qin Feng took a deep breath. “Recruit more survivors at an even faster pace.”
“He Dong! Take all Earth and Metal ability users and build as many sub-bases as possible.”
“In short, mobilize everyone who can be mobilized!”
Five days later.
The most terrifying disaster was imminent.
The world of Apocalypse Star would face an unprecedented cataclysm.
After the official plotline concluded in 100 days, without Qin Feng’s intervention, this world would be one step away from complete collapse.