Chapter 461: What Demons and Monsters!

"Yanluo Wang, Yanluo Wang!"

Voices calling out "Yanluo Wang" were carried by the biting wind farther and farther.

At this moment, on a hillside about five kilometers north of Tianma Yu, four vehicles were parked in the village; over ten people stood at the edge of a cliff, hearing the faint sound from the south, exchanging uneasy glances.

"Yanluo Wang… they're shouting that name, right?"

A man smoked as he gazed south from where he stood—nothing visible.

"That's the name, alright. Daring to call himself that—bold as hell. Hey, Monkey, what's going on?"

"At least a hundred people, drones, tanks, and that damn bomb we couldn't identify before!"

The man called Monkey crouched atop a bizarre rock over three meters tall, holding a telescope, his expression awkward.

"Hmm… they do have the right to be bold."

"The intel was way off. Even if this faction wiped out Liu Shijie and his crew, it's still a bone we can't chew."

"They wiped out that massive horde so easily—let's get out of here fast. If they spot us, we'll have to explain ourselves…"

"What about trying to establish trade? Maybe exchange for some of those bombs we just saw?"

"Whether to trade or not is up to the boss. Honestly, I think we should expand beyond the pass—vast lands, sparse people. Inside the pass? All kinds of demons and monsters have shown up… Let's go home. Our mission's done!"

The team leader mumbled as he trudged back toward the village. The strange explosion still haunted him—and he'd memorized one name: Yanluo Wang.

No amount of spiritual nourishment could fill an empty stomach. After his impassioned cry, Gao Shen's first priority was food. Zhang Su waved to the crowd and said, "The tense battle is over. I know you're all starving—stomachs pressed to backs. Many of you probably believed Liao Youzhi's lies and skipped breakfast. I've already sent the chef ahead—he should be slaughtering the pig right now. Today, everyone eats their fill. We celebrate a memorable day!"

After killing humans and zombies, Yanluo Wang decided to kill a pig—what a brilliant decision. The word "slaughter the pig" seemed to carry magic, instantly reviving the crowd's spirits, sparking another wave of cheers.

As combat personnel of a household faction, food and drink weren't scarce—but fresh pork? It ranked among the top three on every person's wish list. Seeing the joy on their faces, Zhang Su reflected: personal ambition causes unimaginable suffering for ordinary people. His decision was right—solve the problem by cutting off the root. The root could be Liao Youzhi, Gong Chengming, or even himself. The fewer ambitious people, the more peaceful the group…

After his generous speech, Zhang Su ordered the main force to return to Tianma Yu first, loading some zombie corpses onto the vehicles. He then called a few core members and headed toward a deep pit several hundred meters away, eager to inspect the grape bomb's handiwork.

"Holy shit, this pit's at least two stories deep. Brother Su, you're sure it was just one milliliter? Not ten?"

Zhang Su had already explained the details on the way. Qi Xiaoshuai, unaware of how much Shengtian Original Juice remained, voiced his soul-deep doubt.

Everyone stood at the pit's edge, peering down. It wasn't just a pit—it was a bowl carved into the earth, its walls unnaturally smooth, as if scooped away by an impossibly sharp spoon.

Zhang Su stared at the pit with a strange expression. The second grape used concentrated original fluid. Since he hadn't witnessed the explosion directly, he couldn't tell which bomb was stronger. But judging by the number of zombies eliminated, the difference seemed negligible—leaving him slightly disappointed.

Hearing Qi Xiaoshuai's question, he scratched his head. "You think I'm a wholesale dealer of Shengtian Original Juice? Ten milliliters? The dropper holds at most five. I'm certain I drew only one milliliter—probably even less, since residue clings to the dropper."

Yet he harbored a doubt: based on his earlier observation, the explosion's light sphere reached over twenty meters high. Logically, if the blast center touched the ground—or a Daomei zombie—it shouldn't matter. As long as it wasn't airborne, half the force should've been directed downward.

But up close, the ground damage was far less than expected. The pit's diameter was only about fifteen meters—roughly one-third of the theoretical explosion radius. Its depth of seven to eight meters was also one-third of the sphere's radius.

Zhang Su voiced his confusion.

"Brother Su, that's easy to explain—the soil density must've blocked the blast energy."

Liu Tianji rubbed his chin, testing a step toward the pit, but his companion held him back.

Zhang Su nodded. The explanation made sense. Then he raised the question of dosage versus power scaling—everyone fell silent.

"Hmm… I think this thing breaks science. It's definitely alien tech. We can't explain it with our current knowledge."

"Mutated zombies are already incomprehensible, right? Shengtian Original Juice is unexplainable—this thing is too. Who can explain it?"

Chen Hanzhou pointed behind them at the cargo truck.

Zhang Su hadn't let anyone drive the truck back to camp. He needed Fu Wei to figure out a solution—the simple password lock felt too flimsy. He'd prefer an extra layer of security. But then again, if this treasure fell into someone else's hands, even ten locks wouldn't matter…

The group stared at the giant warm-baby with varied expressions. Pang Kangkun laughed heartily: "Uncle, this thing's insane. With it, do we even need to burn firewood for heating anymore?"

Zhang Su walked to the cargo truck, cautiously touching its surface. Even at the farthest end, away from the fire zombie, he couldn't get close. He shook his head. "I talked to the Survivors' Alliance before. The shopping mall's heating came from this thing…"

"But our settlement's too scattered to rely on just this. Unless we rewire the pipes—use it to boil water and distribute heat to all houses. Wait… maybe not even that…"

As he spoke, Zhang Su grew puzzled: "You didn't see it, but I noticed—after the fire zombie killed Liao Youzhi and his crew, its color changed. It might need to replenish energy like regular zombies, just with far higher conversion efficiency."

"Either way, this thing's like a mini reactor. If we use it right, our energy problems are solved forever."

Liu Tianji felt excited. Humanity relied too heavily on energy. Even after four months in the apocalypse, they hadn't broken free. To fully adapt to energy scarcity would take years—maybe decades—unless you were born after the collapse.

"Put it in a giant tub—could we make a super steam engine? That's too dreamlike…"

"Your thinking's too narrow. We could model it after a nuclear plant. But the fire zombie needs sunlight to recharge."

"The Survivors' Alliance hoards this treasure and just fights for territory—shortsighted fools…"

Compared to the indescribable power of Shengtian Original Juice, the fire zombie's endurance drew greater interest. "Come on, stop yakking. Let's go back. The camp's full of outsiders—don't let them pull any shenanigans!"

Zhang Su didn't linger in the wilderness. He crouched, brushing his fingers over the smooth soil of the pit. A few grains rolled away. Then he walked toward the cargo truck's driver's seat, a faint chill of dread in his chest.

Originally, he hadn't planned to make a one-milliliter grape—he'd intended a three-milliliter onion.

From 0. milliliters to one, the blast power increased at least tenfold. What would happen if he went from one to three? Unimaginable. He'd have to wait for another chance to test it. He hoped he'd never need to use the onion.

(End of Chapter)