Chapter 109: Boss, What Level of Enhancer Are You?

“Um… Sir, my name is Ye Wu, and this is my younger brother, Ye Du. Thank you for saving us.” Seeing the projection from the communication talisman disappear, Ye Wu cautiously tried to talk to Jiang Li. “I…”

Ye Wu wanted to say something about how she could repay Jiang Li’s kindness, but then remembered—she was just a lowly First-Level Enhancer. What could she possibly offer in return? She couldn’t even offer her body.

Even though she had a pretty face, after struggling to survive in this world for ten years, her body was already covered in scars. Without her enhancement suit and undergarments, all that was left was a body full of shocking scars and clearly defined abs.

She’d heard that big shots in the Five Major Zones preferred soft and sweet girls. With her kind of body? No one would want her.

“My name’s Jiang Li. I’m only about five hundred years older than you two. Just call me Brother Jiang,” Jiang Li said with a smile, completely free of the arrogance Ye Wu had seen from those powerful figures in the Five Major Zones.

“Where’s the most populated place in your world? And what’s the deal with these zombies?” Jiang Li wanted to know how this world had ended up in such a mess—was it the work of Outer World Demons?

He didn’t dare fully expand his divine sense. People in this world didn’t understand what divine sense was, so even if he scanned them, they wouldn’t feel anything. But the Brahma Tower was different—it was a sentient Immortal Artifact, and it would definitely detect him. If it tore through space and escaped, that could be a problem.

Plus, Jiang Li wasn’t familiar with this Brahma Tower guy. He didn’t know whether the tower had a way to evade his divine sense.

Most likely, it did. The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal had said the Brahma Tower had layered itself in multiple spatial folds like nesting dolls. His divine sense might not even be able to penetrate through all the layers to find it.

Jiang Li knew he couldn’t rush this. The ancient-modern sword and the Brahma Tower were both out there, one grasping the Dao of Time and the other the Dao of Space—neither of which were his strengths. Finding them would definitely take time.

Buddha Wuzhi had mentioned that the Brahma Tower might enjoy preaching where there were lots of people, so Jiang Li figured he’d go to the most crowded place and check it out.

Although they found it strange that Jiang Li kept using phrases like “this world,” as if he came from somewhere else, the Ye siblings knew they weren’t in any position to ask questions. They could only answer honestly.

“There are five major zones. About 80% of the world’s population is gathered there.” Ye Wu pointed in a direction. “The closest one to here is Zone 3. We’re from Zone 3.”

Jiang Li nodded and walked ahead. With each step, the rubble on the ground moved out of the way in advance, letting him walk on flat ground. The siblings were wide-eyed in amazement.

“As for how the zombies came to be… I can’t remember the exact time. I think it started about ten years ago.”

“A zombie virus suddenly broke out. It could infect both humans and animals. The ocean was hit first. The virus spread incredibly fast through the sea. In just a few days, the entire ocean had become a zombie paradise.”

“At first, we didn’t know sea creatures had become zombies. People were still fishing and shipping seafood all over the world. Anyone who ate that seafood… turned into a zombie.”

“Governments tried to respond. They deployed their armies to suppress the outbreak, but the zombies evolved too fast. High-level zombies emerged quickly and started infecting the military.”

“And once marine creatures turned into zombies, their bodies mutated too—they grew wings and flew out of the sea.”

Ye Wu shuddered at the memory of the day the sky darkened: “Our city was coastal. The sea monsters came ashore and hit us first. Blue whales flapped their fleshy wings and howled like demons from hell. Their mouths opened at impossible angles—ninety degrees—and countless fish flew out, swarming us. They bit and tore at everyone, and anyone bitten became a zombie.”

“Humanity suffered loss after loss against the zombies. Society collapsed. The world quickly fell into a zombie apocalypse.”

“Safe zones shrank, resources became scarce, and zombies kept showing up. Living in constant fear, people became selfish and only cared about their own survival.”

“Lies, betrayal, robbery… these things happened all the time. People occupied supermarkets, hospitals, police stations as bases, forming small teams to scavenge supplies and arm themselves.”

“Later, as we learned more about zombies, we found their weakness—the head. More precisely, the brain core.”

Ye Wu pulled out the Third-Level zombie brain core Jiang Li had tossed them. “The brains of zombies are gone. Replaced by this. When we absorb it, our bodies undergo major changes—strength, speed, reflexes—all increase by several times. We call people like that Enhancers.”

“We categorize zombies into five levels. Likewise, Enhancers are divided into five levels.”

“What level are you guys at? And what level of zombie did that brain core come from?” Jiang Li asked.

At that, Ye Du puffed up his chest a little. “We’re both First-Level Enhancers.”

Among humans, becoming an Enhancer was rare—it depended on talent. And even among First-Level Enhancers, the two of them were considered strong.

But then Ye Du remembered that none of that meant much in front of a big shot like this, and he quickly shrank back. “That brain core came from a Third-Level zombie. I heard there was only one Third-Level zombie in the whole city. It must’ve been that one.”

Jiang Li did a quick mental conversion. First-Level probably matched the Qi Refining Stage, Third-Level aligned with the Golden Core Stage. The zombie he stomped earlier felt like it had just reached the Foundation Establishment Stage—so that one was probably Second-Level.

Still, zombies and humans in this world only shared physical traits with cultivators. They couldn’t use Daoist spells or divine abilities.

There was a zombie nearby planning to ambush the three of them. Jiang Li casually snatched it over. Before the zombie even realized what was happening, he had already pulled out its brain core—it died instantly.

The spiritual energy density in a Second-Level zombie brain core was clearly lower than the Third-Level one. Jiang Li didn’t find it useful and just tossed it to the siblings.

“Go on.”

Ye Wu continued, “Later, the governments and major corporations built five major zones, numbered One through Five. Survivors could go there.”

“Have you ever seen a Fifth-Level zombie or Enhancer?” Jiang Li suddenly asked. He wanted to know if Fifth-Level matched the Soul Formation Stage.

Ye Du gave a bitter laugh. “Boss, are you kidding? If I’d ever seen a Fifth-Level zombie, I wouldn’t be alive right now. I only saw a Fourth-Level one from far away, and I ran for my life. As for Fifth-Level Enhancers, Zone 3 does have one… but someone like that is like a dragon—you only hear of them, never see them. I’ve only ever seen them on a giant screen.”

“Boss, what level of Enhancer are you?” Ye Du couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. His heart was pounding. Fourth-Level…? Fifth-Level?

Jiang Li smiled. “Mahayana Stage. Might be just a little bit stronger than the Fifth-Level zombies and Enhancers you mentioned.”