I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

……

A secret underground base

"We're all going to die anyway, so just say what you have to say and don't waste my time." Li Hao closed his eyes, waiting for the person in front of him to answer.

In front of him was a man whose skin was torn and bleeding from being beaten. One of his arms and one of his legs were missing, and judging from the blood seeping from the bandages, they must have been amputated not long ago.

"You've already said I'm a dying man, so why should I tell you? Wouldn't it be better to take the truth to my grave?"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with venom as he glared at Li Haoyi. If looks could kill, Li Haoyi would already be riddled with holes.

However, Li Haoyi's eyes were even more ruthless than his; he was the one who inflicted all the horrific wounds on that man's body.

"You really think we can't handle you? You'd be lucky to die before you tell us what you know."

Li Hao lifted the cloth covering the table next to him, revealing several syringes filled with liquid. He picked one up and plunged it into the side of the man's neck, pressing it in forcefully. The intense pain from the neck caused the man to scream in agony.

"This needle can restore your mental state to its best, and it works much better than those special drugs sold on the market. It can also increase your pain perception several times over. I hope you can bear it."

Li Haoyi continued:

"I can give you another chance. Just explain how you infiltrated the military to switch the nuclear warheads, and I can give you a quick death. I also guarantee that your family will not be persecuted."

The man simply spat blood onto Li Haoyi's military boots, refusing Li Haoyi's offer of help.

"Sigh...it's really frustrating." Li Hao grabbed a burlap sack next to him and poured all the contents—salt—on over the man.

The intense pain caused his body to writhe uncontrollably. The pain amplification effect of the medication increased the sensation of pain several times over. However, the effects vary from person to person.

"You're going to tell me or not?"

"If you have the guts, kill me... The great gods will not let you go...!" The man's voice was hoarse like a tattered rag, and even his soul trembled with that hoarse voice, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

God?

A glint flashed in Li Hao's eyes. From the start of the interrogation until now, this guy, in his delirious state, had finally revealed some information.

Who are your gods?

“Our god is Sa… no, you damned devil, I will never betray my god—!”

"Since you don't want to talk, then die in your so-called piety and suffering! Guards!"

A soldier brought over a basin of hot oil mixed with Huaguang No. 1, which could both torture him and repair his body, preventing him from dying from unbearable pain.

Li Hao lifted the basin with one hand, held it above the person's head, and poured the water evenly over it.

"what--"

In the dark and sunless dungeon, screams echoed continuously, like the wails of vengeful ghosts, sending chills down one's spine.

……

In Yan Ziming's living room, a black slit suddenly appeared, lengthened, and opened, from which stepped out a stunningly beautiful figure embracing two women, one on each side. Two identical, stunningly beautiful sisters also appeared.

"Finally back! Is the food plentiful?"

Yan Ziming, who had just landed, was startled by the sudden sound and jumped up, only then noticing that there was still someone sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"Uncle, why do you always make your entrance like this? It's scary!"

Yan Shan glanced at her:

"If it weren't for you, you brat, causing me so much trouble, would I need to come all this way here?"

Yan Zimo was disgruntled.

"Uncle Yanshan, how did your match with Grandpa Tianhai go?" Mu Mu asked anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ziming and Ye Qianxue's eyes lit up. A contest between two ninth-level experts was sure to be interesting, and they both wanted to know the outcome.

"You can guess, and there will be a surprise if you guess right."

Yan Ziming's face contorted in a grimace as he forced a bitter smile:

"Uncle, stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me the result!"

"Yes, Qianxue also wants to know."

As soon as Ye Qianxue appeared, Yan Shan immediately beamed with joy, much to Yan Zimo's dismay.

I'm your own niece, can you please stop treating me so differently? Mu Mu is watching!

"What other outcome could there be besides me winning?"

Yan Shan took a sip of tea, and "inadvertently" revealed a hint of imposing power.

For a moment, the entire room was so quiet you could hear a mosquito's wings flutter. Yan Ziming and the others, including Mu Mu, were all frozen in place, unable to move, as if...

It felt just like the first time I faced the oppressive force of death!

The oppressive aura vanished in the next instant. The first thing Yan Ziming did was electrocute the buzzing mosquito into ashes before asking in shock:

"Uncle, could it be that you—?!?"

The three women were inwardly shocked. Judging from the slight pressure they had just felt, Yan Shan's combat strength had likely reached the Sequence level!

"Not yet, just one step away from the finish line."

Yan Shan was quite frustrated, not expecting that it would be so difficult to absorb a sequence-level crystal core, resulting in the leakage of some of its life essence.

He thought it wouldn't be a big problem, but little did he know that this small part would become an insurmountable barrier for Yan Shan to take his final step, standing in his way.

Chapter Twelve Decision

Generally speaking, S-grade obsidian can be considered a national strategic resource; each piece is extremely precious and a rare treasure.

SS-grade obsidian goes without saying; its quantity is less than one-tenth of that of S-grade obsidian. Its scientific research value is unimaginable. Only those who have made great contributions to the country can be awarded one; otherwise, not even one will be circulated.

As for the SSS level, which is even higher, although the number of mutated species at this level is not as high as the five ninth-tier powerhouses in China, the number is definitely not much more.

Since the apocalypse began, SSS-level mutated species have only appeared a dozen or so times within China. Each appearance has been a severe test for a military administrative region.

When the Yongjing Military Administrative Region was in dire need of help, a few SS-level mutated species led by the Reaper wiped out an entire organized legion. If they had encountered an SSS-level one, Yongjing would have been destroyed without even the Grim Reaper needing to intervene.

Of course, if an SSS-level mutated species had been discovered earlier, the Yongjing military would not have hesitated and would have immediately sent out a request for assistance.

At that time, a ninth-tier expert from China will immediately rush over alone. With the speed of modern aircraft, arriving within a few hours will be no problem.

In short, the number of SSS-level mutated species is very small, and the probability of finding a crystal core is incredibly low. China only has one, just one, which is kept in the most important place in the country. No more than five people know its location.

In this battle to recapture the Yongjing Military Administrative Region, a crystal core actually fell after the Grim Reaper's fall, nearly causing an uproar among the national leadership!

This is an unparalleled treasure.

How many are there at the sequence level?

Even including the newly emerged and fallen Grim Reapers, there are only nine of them, not even enough to count on two fingers.

Of these nine, one actually dropped its crystal core. This was an event that no one could have imagined. Foreign intelligence agencies subconsciously overlooked this possibility. Otherwise, China would have faced unprecedented pressure on the international stage!

Of course, the possibility that a crystal nucleus will inevitably fall after a sequence-level death cannot be ruled out.

This sequence-level crystal nucleus was originally intended for research, but after numerous meetings among high-level officials, a conclusion was reached.

The existence of Qilin is the root cause of the appearance of the Sequence-level Grim Reaper. This means that as long as Qilin is still in China, the threat of the Sequence-level will hang over China like the Sword of Damocles.

They were just lucky this time. Death God had only recently entered the Sequence level and his strength was still relatively weak. Otherwise, Yan Shan and the others might not have been a match for him.

Moreover, according to Yan Shan's description, even the Tyrant came at that time. He was a super ferocious beast. Although he did not appear in the end due to some special reasons, it was obvious that he came for the Qilin.

Therefore, in order to meet the new challenges and avoid a repeat of the tragedy of Yongjing when the sequence level appears again, the national high-level meeting finally made a decision.

—Give the crystal core dropped by Death to Yan Shan, currently the strongest person in China, in the hope that a "sequence-level" powerhouse belonging to the human race will appear in the world.

In fact, if this crystal core were given to Huang Tao or another ninth-tier expert to absorb, it would only be a waste of a priceless treasure and a terrible loss.

Because if we really want to categorize it carefully, the human race does not have any hierarchical levels or sequences.

The term "sequence level" is a designation specifically given to mutated species. It refers to mutated species whose physical qualities and vitality exceed those of the SSS level, but which cannot break through to a higher level in certain aspects.

In short, the reason why the Sequence-class is called Sequence-class is mainly because of its physical strength, which is powerful enough to crush everything and render most human weapons of mass destruction ineffective.

Humans are different. Their physical abilities are far inferior to those of mutant species of the same level, making them incomparable and thus unable to reach the sequence level.

Ke Yanshan is an anomaly. As the only beast-type ability user in the country to reach the ninth rank, and also a beast-type ability user with the bloodline of the ancient auspicious beast Qilin, his physique is stronger than anyone else's. All of this provides him with the foundation to break through to the sequence level.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. A mishap occurred while absorbing the crystal core, causing a portion of the life essence to leak out, preventing Yan Shan from taking that final step.

It's just a hair's breadth apart, yet the difference is like heaven and earth, worlds apart.

Let's turn our attention back to Yan Ziming.

"Since you're just one step away from success, it means you'll be close too, Uncle!"

"Get lost! What do you mean 'I'm almost there'? You just want me to die, don't you?"

Yan Shan gave Yan Zimo a sharp rap on the head.

"Oh, Uncle, you just need to know what I mean, don't keep nitpicking my grammatical errors."

Yan Ziming covered his head and said with dissatisfaction.

"Hmph!" Yan Shan ignored her and got down to business:

"Let's leave it at that for now. I've thought about what Qin Tianhai said. You should go see his grandson tomorrow."