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

Compared to the sixth rank, the seventh rank is not only purer and more powerful, but the most important difference is that the seventh rank has something that the sixth rank does not have—a domain.

Within the realm, the combat power of a superhuman can increase by nearly double, even without taking into account the fact that the enemy is under tremendous suppression within the realm.

Therefore, three or four fifth-tier ability users might be able to defeat a sixth-tier ability user by joining forces, but even ten sixth-tier ability users would definitely not be able to defeat a seventh-tier powerhouse. This is not only a difference in quantity, but also a difference in quality.

Ye Qianxue knew that if she had faced that attack, she would not have been able to withstand it at all. The violent lightning and the extremely high temperature distorted the surrounding space like a piece of waste paper, and she probably wouldn't have been able to escape.

However, Ye Qianxue didn't care, because she knew that Yan Zimo's knife would never be pointed at her, never.

This is truly her older sister! Mighty and beautiful, Yan Ziming is not just a simple older sister to her, but also a pillar of support.

"Hey... at least say something, you guys are making me very embarrassed." Yan Ziming scratched her head, as if she wasn't the one who caused all this.

"Big sister, you're amazing! Qianxue wants to have your baby!"

"You bastard... Hmph! I'll reluctantly acknowledge you."

"Sister Zimo, you are Shuyao's idol!"

Once everyone realized what was happening, a barrage of praise followed, making Yan Ziming feel quite flattered, provided, of course, that he ignored anything strange.

"Hehe~ I'll feel embarrassed if you guys praise me like that."

Yan Ziming said this, but the expression on her face betrayed her true thoughts—this young lady is so powerful and awe-inspiring, come and worship me to your heart's content!

"Come on, don't try to do something crazy just because you've been given a few paints." Lin Shuqi extinguished her fantasy and went to clean up the crystal cores on the ground.

Watching Lin Shuqi pick up the crystal cores one by one from the ground, Yan Ziming's thoughts were like this: "Hmph! You weak ant, you're only fit to do this kind of menial work!"

Only the little girl and Ye Qianxue were still praising her, but something felt off. Especially Ye Qianxue, whose words turned into a declaration of love, and then the two of them started arguing.

Yan Ziming was at a loss for words, wondering whether he should be happy or sad.

She didn't want to get involved in this chaotic situation, so she immediately withdrew to help Lin Shuqi with the menial tasks that only servants were supposed to do.

------Dividing line------

Rewind to before Yan Ziming's outburst. Yan Shan, far away on the front lines, had just arrived at his designated position. Standing atop a tall building, he gazed at the enormous white figure in the distance—"The Grim Reaper."

The "Grim Reaper" remained quietly curled up in place, motionless, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep, allowing Yan Shan to directly understand its power.

Even from a distance of ten kilometers from "Death," he could feel the astonishing pressure emanating from "Death."

Unlike the Reaper's crystalline white, the Reaper's bone blades have become semi-transparent, and even just staring at them can cause a stinging sensation in the eyes.

Within several kilometers of "Death," no mutated species dared to intrude; whether S-class or SS-class, they could only detour around it from a distance.

In fact, the mutated species that have reached this level of strength are not fools. They know that the behemoth in front of them is one they cannot afford to provoke under any circumstances. This is no longer a matter of strength, but a huge gap in the level of life.

If what was before was just speculation, then after seeing it with his own eyes, Yan Shan is now almost certain.

This monster is definitely a Sequence-level being.

Chapter 44 Yan Shan's Worries

Although it has been confirmed that "Death" is a Sequence-class monster, it is not among the eight Sequence-class monsters currently recorded in the world.

Could it be that it has never been born yet, or that it has just been promoted from the ninth rank?

Judging from the strength of the "Grim Reaper", Yan Shan is more inclined to believe the latter possibility.

Five years ago, when three ninth-level experts were fighting the "Sea Serpent," Yan Shan was also present, but he did not participate. It wasn't that he was afraid, but that he simply couldn't get close.

He knew that at that time, he was only at the eighth level, and if he got too close, he would be torn to shreds by the aftershocks of the battle!

As everyone knows, of the three ninth-tier powerhouses, two died on the spot, and one succumbed to his injuries. Yan Shan truly and completely experienced the power of a sequence-level mutated species.

Regardless of his strength, the "Grim Reaper" in front of him exerted far less pressure than the "Sea Serpent."

Of course, this is also because "Death" is still asleep. If it were to awaken, its power would not be much weaker than that of "Sea Serpent".

Yan Shan kept a close eye on "Death," ready to strike swiftly if it made any unusual move, even at the cost of his life!

Suddenly, he saw a ball of light appear behind him, a pale blue light, and upon closer inspection, he could see endless lightning flashing within it.

Although it is dozens of kilometers away from Yanshan, it is incredibly dazzling under the night sky, making the thousands of lights in the city pale in comparison.

This is...

Yan Shan vaguely guessed whose the azure lightning belonged to. Among the superhumans who participated in the decapitation operation, who else could possess lightning powers besides Yan Zimo?

"Ring ring—" Yan Shan's phone rang.

The call connected, and Huang Tao's voice came through: "Did you see that?"

Yan Shan said irritably, "I'm not blind, am I? It's so conspicuous, who wouldn't see it?"

Huang Tao sighed on the other end of the phone: "The younger generation is truly formidable! If I hadn't been paying close attention to that area just now, I'm afraid the commotion there would have been unstoppable."

"What? Is there something there that you need to pay special attention to?" Yan Shan asked, somewhat puzzled. He hadn't told Huang Tao where Yan Ziming and his group were.

“You’ve just arrived and don’t know yet, but the gorilla was already there when the operation began.”

"A gorilla? Could it be 'King Kong'?"

Yan Shan paused for a moment, then thought of the SS-level mutated species that he had emphasized at the meeting.

"Yeah, that's the guy. He went over there not long ago."

"Do Zimo and the others know about this?"

Yan Shan was somewhat worried. That was a monster equivalent to the eighth level of a human, and in some aspects, it was even superior. Even though Yan Zimo was already at the seventh level and had a rather powerful lightning ability, it was still an opponent she could not defeat.

"Don't worry, after finding out that 'King Kong' was there, Wang Haoran led three other teams over. One is at the eighth rank, and with Yan Ziming, there are four seventh-rank members in total. Even if they can't win, they can always escape, right?"

Yan Shan remained uneasy: "It's best to be cautious. Who knows if 'King Kong' might have some unknown innate abilities?"

After much hesitation, Huang Tao made a decision:

"Well then, the advance force from the Sanqin Military Administrative Region has just arrived, led by Li Haoyi. I'll have him head over there too. If we can kill 'King Kong' then, that would be even better."

Li Haoyi? Yan Shan knew this person. Unlike Yan Ziming, he belonged to the military's superhuman unit and was a junior whom Yan Shan appreciated. He was also an eighth-level expert and was a fierce general among China's superhumans before the apocalypse.

Two Rank 8 members and four Rank 7 members... Considering there are also Rank 6 members, their combat strength should be sufficient. This lineup can hold its own against even SSS-rank mutated species for a while.

"Okay, that puts my mind at ease."

. . . . . .

After a moment of silence, Huang Tao's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding somewhat uneasy.

"So, has the Grim Reaper's strength been confirmed?"

"It's confirmed, it's sequence-level."

"Heh... Looks like we're in for a tough battle."

Huang Tao gave a bitter laugh, his voice tinged with a hint of bitterness.

"Do you have any countermeasures? The two of us probably can't handle it, right?"

Yan Shan thought for a while and then said a plan he had been working on: "If possible, I will wait a few more days until the typhoon comes before I take action against it."

"You want me to use the typhoon to deal with 'Death'? That doesn't seem quite enough!"

Chapter 45 The Role of Crystal Nuclei

As mentioned earlier, some of the top ninth-tier experts can greatly increase their combat power by taking advantage of celestial phenomena, and Huang Tao is one of them.

Huang Tao knew that although he was in a powerful state, it couldn't last long; he would be exhausted and unable to hold on for at most half an hour.

"This is just one of the countermeasures. If that Soul Heaven Realm expert could take action, that would be even better."

That's right, this was Yan Shan's plan. Although they didn't even know who that Soul Heaven Realm expert was, they were still human, so they shouldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Lao Shan, you can't do this! Giving the initiative to someone of unknown origin isn't your style." Huang Tao's voice carried a hint of reproach.

Yan Shan thought of the auspicious beast Qilin that Yan Ziming and the others had found, and said somewhat vaguely:

"Perhaps there's another trump card..."

------Dividing line-------

"Shuqi, don't bother picking up those low-level zombie cores, it's a waste of time!"

Yan Ziming picked up an A-grade energy core and shouted at Lin Shuqi.

Among the mutated species that Yan Ziming just killed, there were quite a few B-grade ones, and even some A-grade ones. So some high-quality crystal cores would drop, such as the one in Yan Ziming's hand, which contained a faint purple light, like a diamond, and stored a huge amount of energy inside.

Crystal nuclei have many uses. They can be used as an energy source, absorbed to increase one's strength, or used as currency. In short, they have many applications.

However, it is worth mentioning that using crystal cores to enhance one's strength is not recommended, because these energies contain a lot of impurities. Some strong individuals who have only relied on crystal cores to reach the sixth rank are unable to defeat even some strong C-rank mutated species, which is a disgrace to sixth-rank ability users.

As for the seventh rank, forget about it. The seventh rank is a stage of sublimation. You can never get past it in your entire life by just absorbing low-level things like crystal cores.

"If only I had an S-grade crystal core," Yan Ziming thought greedily.

However, that was really wishful thinking. Although A-grade crystal cores are very precious on the market, they are not unavailable. As long as you have money, you can still buy them.

But S-grade crystal cores are different. An S-grade crystal core represents all the essence of an S-grade, which is equivalent to a seventh-order human level mutant species.

These crystal cores not only contain no energy impurities when absorbed, but can also be used to improve one's physical fitness. Some special S-grade crystal cores can even be used to enhance the quality of one's superpowers, making them absolute treasures.

Because the difference between crystal nuclei below grade S and those above grade S is too great, crystal nuclei above grade S are also called obsidian.