Ascension! The Strongest Warrior!

The exchange between the two commanders suddenly halted, and they both turned to look at Chen Dafeng in unison.

With a purposeful stride, Chen Dafeng walked into the inner room and stood silently behind Old Xu, watching intently as the old man ground the medicine.

Old Xu was deeply focused on his task, and Chen Dafeng mirrored that intensity. But Mike noticed something: Chen Dafeng's left sleeve had dropped, revealing a short black knife. His eyes narrowed as an ominous killing intent began to gather.

"Chen Dafeng, don't do anything rash!" Mike growled, but Chen Dafeng seemed not to hear, as if he was oblivious to the warning.

However, Old Xu sensed the shift in the atmosphere. He slowly turned, his cloudy eyes briefly meeting Chen Dafeng's gaze.

His eyes flicked to the short knife in Chen Dafeng's hand, but there was no surprise, no fear. He simply handed over the small medicine jar.

"Apply half to your severed hand, and swallow the rest," Old Xu said in his usual calm manner. "If it's too bitter, you can mix it with honey, but it may take longer to show results."

After placing the jar in Chen Dafeng's hand, Old Xu turned without another word and left the room.

Left standing alone in the room, it wasn't until some time passed that Chen Dafeng muttered, "Seems like... it really is impervious to all evil."

"Commander, I almost acted," he continued. "But... I didn't want to hurt him. It's a strange feeling."

Chen Dafeng frowned. This was the first time he had ever felt so reluctant to kill. No matter how hard he tried to focus, the killing intent wouldn't allow him to strike.

"So you were just experimenting?" Mike chided with a hint of annoyance. "Hurry up and take your medicine. You've taken someone else's gift and still thought about attacking? What were you thinking?!"

"In the apocalypse, offending such a formidable doctor—are you tired of living?"

Mike's scolding made Chen Dafeng a bit awkward, and he scratched his head. "I didn't really intend to kill him."

Mike sighed in exasperation. This guy was so stubborn, but fortunately, Old Xu didn't seem to mind.

From Chen Dafeng's behavior, Mike could now understand why Li Aiguo trusted Old Xu's safety so much. The effect of "impervious to all evil" acted like a mechanism of goodwill between survivors and exceptional talents, making it hard to harm Old Xu on a subconscious level.

"This effect is seriously invincible," Mike muttered to himself, not all that surprised, considering it was an SSS-grade talent.

When Chen Dafeng walked out of the room, he found Li Aiguo and Old Xu engaged in a cheerful conversation. The two had unknowingly picked up cups of fragrant tea, sharing a quiet laugh.

Li Aiguo even teased Mike, "It's too bad you're not here, Commander. You'd miss out on Old Xu's personally brewed medicinal tea. This is a specialty of Dantu."

Mike smiled and replied, "I'll definitely come to Dantu to try it sometime when I get the chance."

Chen Dafeng, sensing the blend of tea and medicinal aromas in the air, noticed that Old Xu had a communication device hanging near his ear.

The three big shots were talking happily, leaving Chen Dafeng to feel like a mere bystander.

After a while, Old Xu noticed Chen Dafeng's clumsy attempt at applying medicine and stood up, walking over to him. "Sit still, I'll do it."

Old Xu didn't say much, but his actions were gentle and precise, revealing no sign of the extraordinary powers he possessed as one of the apocalypse's top talent holders.

"Ah, thank you, Doctor," Chen Dafeng said, sitting obediently as Old Xu began to apply the medicine.

The black, mud-like substance inside the jar emitted a faint fragrance despite its unappealing appearance. As Old Xu smeared it onto his severed hand, Chen Dafeng felt a tingling sensation, a dull pain, but mostly an intense itching that made him want to pull away and scratch.

"Don't scratch. It's healing," Old Xu reminded him.

Chen Dafeng looked down in shock as he saw the severed hand slowly regenerate. Flesh and tendons twisted and writhed, rapidly knitting back together into a whole new hand. Within minutes, a perfectly formed hand was restored.

"Wow, this is incredible!" Chen Dafeng marveled, lifting the new hand to examine it closely. It was completely functional, with strength and flexibility restored. However, the skin was paler, with a distinct color change at the wrist.

"Old Xu, this is amazing!" Chen Dafeng exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "If I ever get injured again, I'll come straight to you. This is insane! I'll never be afraid of injury again!"

Old Xu chuckled quietly, but before he could respond, Chen Dafeng joked, "What do you think, Old Xu? If we teamed up, would we be invincible?"

Chen Dafeng laughed, but Mike, hearing this, raised an eyebrow, and Li Aiguo spoke up, "If Commander Chen doesn't mind, perhaps you could come to Dantu often and spend more time with Old Xu."

What's this? Mike thought, slightly irritated. First, you're trying to poach my senior doctor, and now you want to steal my top officer?

Chen Dafeng shook his head. "I'm quite busy, to be honest. I think it would be better to have Old Xu come stay in Xinchang for a few days. It's a lot better there than here—this place still has fog, and the city environment is terrible."

Mike couldn't help but smirk. Chen Dafeng wasn't dumb—he simply preferred being straightforward instead of playing games.

Li Aiguo was left speechless, simply smiling without responding.

Old Xu, rising from his seat, said, "Finish the rest of the medicine. You don't have much time left."

"Right, right!" Chen Dafeng nodded hastily, looking down at the jar of black paste. It didn't look appetizing at all, and it smelled faintly unpleasant. But he pinched his nose and quickly scooped a large portion into his mouth.

"Hm? Hm!" Chen Dafeng's eyes brightened, and he nodded repeatedly as he chewed. "It tastes... kind of like sesame paste? But better!"

He didn't stop there. Taking the jar, he scraped out every last bit of the paste, licking the walls clean.

Just as the last spoonful disappeared into his mouth, something strange happened. Chen Dafeng froze, holding the jar in his lap, not moving an inch.

"Mike, what's happening to him?" Mike asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

"He must have gotten lucky," Li Aiguo said with a glance, sounding slightly envious. "He's hit the jackpot with his first dose—he's experiencing a boost effect."

"Really?" Mike's eyes widened as he quickly activated his observation skill.

[Slaughterer]–SS-grade shelter talent: For every shelter destroyed, gain a stat boost equal to the shelter's level x10 (minimum 10 points). After destroying every 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, and 1,000,000 shelters, additional effects will trigger: [Despair Counterattack], [No One Shall Approach], [Rampage], [Physical Transcendence], and [Killing Metamorphosis]. Current shelters destroyed: 17,855.

[Despair Counterattack]: When seriously injured, all stats temporarily increase by 20x, and all physical attacks have a 10% instant death effect for lower-tier creatures.

[No One Shall Approach]: Gain 1% resistance to all damage for every 100 shelters destroyed, reducing incoming damage by 50%. This effect restores daily. Current daily resistance: 78 uses.

[Rampage]: After fighting for 12 hours, enter a berserk state. All stats double, with a 1% chance of instant healing when injured.

[Physical Transcendence]: Your body has reached its limit, allowing you to ignore most physical damage and reduce non-physical damage by 30%.

[Killing Metamorphosis]: You've surpassed your limits. Your talent will upgrade once.

[Hidden Talent Effect]: Shelters destroyed no longer require a 30-minute cooldown; only other conditions must be met.

...

Mike's jaw dropped. He could hardly believe his eyes.

Chen Dafeng's talent had advanced, and the results were insane! Mike had known Chen Dafeng's talent was special, but he hadn't expected this level of power after the upgrade.

Old Xu's medicine had triggered Chen Dafeng's SS-grade talent prematurely, unlocking the absurd benefits.

"This... this is ridiculous!" Mike muttered, in awe.

Then, Chen Dafeng, now fully aware, suddenly grinned and clenched his fist. His arm retracted, preparing to throw a punch.

The room seemed to tremble as the space around his fist filled with a strange, ominous sound.

"Boom!" A powerful gust of wind swept through the room, knocking over jars and shaking the walls. Li Aiguo could hardly hold his seat.

"Chen Dafeng, don't..." he warned, but before he could finish, Chen Dafeng unleashed his punch.

"Boom!!"

The deafening explosion echoed as the air in front of Chen Dafeng's fist seemed to split apart, warping and distorting like it was being burned by fire.

The shockwave hit the wall behind them, and when Li Aiguo turned to look, the wall had been pulverized—completely obliterated by a single punch. The force of the strike shot into the foggy distance, leaving a clear path through the mist, visible for miles.

Mike just stared, unable to process what he was seeing. "I... I have an SSS-grade potential subordinate?" he muttered in disbelief.