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

"So that's why we didn't take down the target immediately! It's your fault!"

Upon seeing Murong Haiyi, Yan Ziming suddenly realized what was going on and asked, "Who's inside?"

"...Chen Ai, female, 25 years old, sixth-level ability user, participated in the Civilization Cup."

"It's her. I remember she was only at level five during the Civilization Cup. Her special ability was earth-based, I think."

Yan Ziming remembered that during the Civilization Cup, there was a superhuman from the general public. Although the final result was not worth mentioning compared to the national teams, he was quite popular in the early stages.

"So it was her inside. No wonder." Yan Ziming nodded.

She felt that the girl was very talented, but unfortunately, her skills were far behind those of the top contestants, and she couldn't even make it through the elimination rounds.

What Yan Ziming values ​​is nothing more than one thing—elemental affinity.

She was the second highest scorer Yan Ziming found in the Civilization Cup, around 88 points, surpassing 99.9% of the participants.

Above Chen Ai is Yan Ziming's final opponent—Mandala, whose affinity for the lightning element is around 90, which is also very impressive.

"Big sister, what exactly did you figure out~~"

Ye Qianxue snuggled against her hand and acted coquettishly. Yan Ziming had no choice but to reply, "She is undergoing another transformation."

"Tell me in detail," Luo Li pressed.

"They're... about the same as me, but it's impossible for them to reach the same level as me."

"Similar to you..." Luo Li looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments, and had already decided to reserve this Chen Ai for herself. In the days to come, she would be the one to accompany her.

Ninety-six.

Yan Ziming crossed her arms and looked around. Suddenly, she called out another number. After waiting for more than half an hour, there was still no new change. Her index finger tapped more and more rapidly on her fair wrist.

"Is it running out of steam?"

At the current rate, it will only reach a maximum of 97, but if it wants to be elementalized, 98 is the passing grade.

If you miss such a good opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to improve even a little bit later. Yan Zimo only reached this level when he reached the eighth rank.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Jumping from an earth element affinity of over 80 to the current 96 in one go is already an incredible thing, and the benefits gained are enough to benefit her for a lifetime.

It's impossible to reach the top in one step, and besides, she's only at the sixth level now, so there will be plenty of opportunities ahead.

However... Yan Ziming still couldn't understand the key to success. Was it really just a matter of perseverance?

If that's the case, then Yan Ziming thinks that quite a few people should be able to pull through, not just the current handful of two.

As she expected, the value remained between 96% and 97% before ending. The cocoon began to peel away, and a pretty girl emerged from it.

Clearly, she was also somewhat bewildered by her situation, just like Tian Tian had been back then, standing there dumbfounded.

"call......"

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, learning that it was just a false alarm. The army began to withdraw in an orderly manner, but some unauthorized personnel were still not allowed to approach.

Yan Ziming went to greet him.

"Hello, Chen Ai... right?" Yan Ziming asked hesitantly.

Yan Ziming had just checked her photos, and they were quite different from her current appearance; she looked much younger, which made her hesitate.

"Yes... Ah! You are!!!" She suddenly covered her mouth in surprise, as if she had met her idol.

Yan Zimo could only offer a wry smile in response.

As she began to shine and displayed her valiant fighting spirit, it was normal for her to have a bunch of female fans; I've encountered this many times since the Civilization Cup.

"Your situation is a bit... well, special. Please come back with us for an investigation. She will tell you the details."

Yan Ziming pointed to the little girl who had come to her side... oh no, Luo Li. It was predictable that this little girl wouldn't let go of such a good subject as Chen Ai.

Seeing such a large group around her, including not only her idol but also several other high-level ability users, Chen Ai couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

She said timidly, "I... I need to call my friend first..."

The officer standing nearby immediately objected; he was the captain of Murong Haiyi's squad.

"What happened today must be kept strictly confidential; no one else can know about it."

"But I just wanted to let my friend know I was safe—"

"That's not OK!"

"Let her make the call." Yan Ziming waved his hand and suggested, "We can't just let her become a 'missing person' in our friends' eyes without saying a word, can we? Let her make the call."

"......"

The officer was stunned. Of course he recognized Yan Ziming. He couldn't just ignore Yan Ziming's opinion. Like Mu Mu, Yan Ziming was not someone to be trifled with.

He eventually agreed, but was strictly forbidden from revealing the real reason, and the fight could only be held here.

"Hey, Xiaobai? Yeah, I might be leaving for a while, maybe about two weeks? Don't worry about me, I'll be back in a bit. Okay, okay... Bye-bye."

The call was very brief, and no information was revealed. The matter was over, and nothing unexpected happened.

What makes Yan Ziming happy is that Tiantian is no longer the only one. As more and more people succeed in the future, she will be one step closer to complete freedom.

"son......"

"Sister Zimo—"

Amidst the commotion, Yan Ziming vaguely heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she saw a small figure trying to cross the cordon but being stopped by two soldiers who were shouting at her.

"Little Seven?"

Yan Ziming was surprised and quickly stepped forward. The two soldiers saw that Xiao Qi was someone Yan Ziming knew, so they did not make things difficult for him and let him pass.

"What are you doing here? You're not allowed to come to such dangerous places again, understand?" Yan Ziming immediately gave her a stern scolding.

"Waaah... Xiao Qi was here from the very beginning..."

Xiao Qi was trying to explain, surrounded by military personnel. Chen Ai, who was passing by them, heard Xiao Qi's voice and looked over with a strange expression before being taken to the car.

Before leaving, she had only one thought in her mind.

Her voice... sounds like...

Chapter Sixty-Two: An Outburst from Silence

Seven days have passed since the government announced the situation.

In just seven days, the whole world has undergone dramatic changes.

A day ago, in the capital of India, China's neighbor, an eighth-level superhuman mutated into an SSS-level mutant. Moreover, that person was a high-ranking military officer. What's more, this military officer was in a parliamentary meeting at the time!

More than 80 percent of the government officials were in that conference room, and this completely stunned them. Almost all the personnel in the country's central institutions were wiped out!

A catastrophe!

If a country loses its highest central authority, even if the country can continue to exist, it will inevitably fall into endless internal strife, and its demise is only a matter of time.

That's secondary. At that time, their only ninth-tier expert went to the United States to discuss some matters, leaving the country weak and vulnerable. After destroying the central government of an entire country, that SSS-level mutated species directly wiped out the entire city!

That's one of only three cities in neighboring India!

The remaining 20% ​​of officials who were not in parliament at the time, after this incident, knew that things were hopeless and the whole country was in turmoil and could collapse at any moment. So they used all their power and resources to flee to China with their families.

I learned from them that only one or two people survived the congressional elections, and the country was practically ruined.

As for their people, China can't manage that much; it has a lot of problems of its own, so it doesn't have time to deal with these things.

If they can cross the Himalayas to get here, then accepting them is fine; otherwise...

Perhaps, this is fate!

After this incident, there was an uproar internationally. No matter how ridiculous India is, it is still a major country, and it just disappeared like that. This made people's antipathy towards people with superpowers even more intense.

During this time, Russia also sent a distress signal to China. One of their eighth-tier powerhouses guarding the city wall had mutated into an SSS-level mutant species, and the situation was critical. China immediately sent Mu Mu to assist the local military in killing the SSS-level mutant species before returning exhausted.

Fortunately, the eighth-level ability user was mutated at the edge of the city wall, so the loss was not significant, but this further intensified people's fear of ability users.

So far, there have been three cases of SSS-level mutant species. Overall, the results have been good. Apart from the neighboring magical country, the other two cases did not cause any major consequences.

However, a lingering shadow still loomed over everyone.

— Sequence level.

No ninth-tier humans have yet undergone mutation. If such a mutation were to occur, it would be a tragedy that no country could bear!

However, people have not forgotten that the world's biggest threat right now is mutated species.

Satellite images have already captured sequence-level mutated species, and they have begun to become active. However, they are still relatively far from human cities, and no conflicts have occurred yet.

The intelligence of sequence-level beings is no less than that of humans, and may even be higher than the average level. They won't attack human cities for no reason; that would only invite that being's relentless pursuit. It's clearly not worth risking everything just to crush a bunch of ants.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, humanity's territory was still too vast, so battles ensued. In today's world, where humanity is confined to a small corner of the world, the likelihood of attracting a Sequence-level attack is extremely small.

But this situation is only temporary. The all-out battle between humanity and the Sequence-class will one day erupt in full force.

That day is not far off.

.......

The frequency of mutations has been increasing recently; in one city, more than five cases can occur in a single day.

These are just the alienated individuals who have been overlooked; those who showed signs of aggression early on but were detained by local governments haven't even been included in the statistics yet.