The Evolution of Power: Joining the Apocalypse Team

Li Xuan's combat experience was growing rapidly, and his speed in killing zombies was increasing. After two hours of intense fighting, he had already killed thirty-five zombies and collected five zombie crystal cores. The rice-like aroma from these crystal cores was very enticing, easily attracting more zombies. However, as long as the cores were stored in his space, they were perfectly isolated, so there was no risk of attracting a zombie horde.

"Hey, bro, you're impressive! We've been watching you for a while. You managed to kill 35 zombies on your own. You must be a seasoned level-one evolver. How about joining our team?"

Just after Li Xuan finished off the last zombie, a group of five people approached, walking calmly from a distance. Among them was a massive man, standing nearly two meters tall, with a presence that radiated power. The other four, three men and two women, were all agile and had sharp eyes—clearly not ordinary survivors. In this apocalyptic world, anyone walking down the street so confidently wasn't just any regular person.

"Let me introduce myself," said the tall man. "I'm Zhang Qiang, a level-two strength evolver. The guy with the sunglasses is Eagle; he's an excellent marksman, a former special forces champion. The red-haired guy is Hongmao, a level-one fire-element evolver."

As Hongmao spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a blue flame materialized in his palm. It burned intensely, but he controlled it effortlessly.

Li Xuan's eyes widened in surprise. He was shocked to find that, aside from himself, others had also awakened their powers.

"Didn't expect that," Li Xuan thought, "I knew I could evolve by consuming zombie crystal cores, but I didn't think there would be others with powers too."

Zhang Qiang continued, "The two ladies are Xiao Qian, a level-one water-element evolver, and Shadow, a level-two evolver like me. She's incredibly fast and very dangerous."

Zhang Qiang smiled, though his smile was more of a calculated one. "Brother, in this world, only strong teams survive. No matter how powerful an individual is, they're no match for a team. Would you be interested in joining us? If you do, you'll have access to clean water, and we can gather more supplies together."

Li Xuan stood silently, considering the offer. His mind was racing, processing the new information. Was this team really offering him a chance, or was this just a way for them to use his strength? He couldn't be sure.

One of the other members, a man who had been observing, suddenly burst into tears. "Big Brother, I've finally found a team!" he sobbed. "You don't know how hard it's been. I've been living alone, starving, freezing... I felt like I was already a walking dead man. But now, I have a team to protect me!"

Li Xuan nodded sympathetically as the man continued crying. He could tell the man had been through hardships, but something about the whole scene felt exaggerated.

Zhang Qiang patted Li Xuan on the back, offering his understanding. "In this world, it's tough to survive alone. Even if you're a level-one evolver, your metabolism speeds up, and you need more food. It's hard to find enough food, even for us, let alone you."

Li Xuan was still considering when Zhang Qiang took out a half-eaten sausage. "Take this as a token of our friendship," he said. "You've joined the team, and now we'll share what we have."

Li Xuan could barely hide his distaste. The sausage was half-eaten, with visible bite marks. But despite his disgust, the others in the team, including Hongmao, Eagle, and Xiao Qian, eagerly eyed the sausage. Food was so scarce in the apocalypse that anything not rotten was considered a luxury.

Li Xuan reluctantly took the sausage, making sure to act grateful, and handed it to Shadow. "Here, Shadow, you're the senior here. I can't take such a precious item right now."

Shadow carefully took the sausage, but her hesitation showed how scarce food was in this world. It was clear how desperate everyone had become.

"Alright, let's head out and gather supplies," Zhang Qiang said. "We'll meet here again in two hours and distribute what we find. As always, thirty percent of the supplies go to the team, and the rest is up for personal trade."

The team split up. Li Xuan was about to set off when he saw Hongmao casting a fireball at a group of zombies. The fireball exploded like a grenade, instantly destroying three zombies in a burst of flames. The power was impressive, but the cooldown was long—Hongmao could only throw one fireball every few minutes.

Zhang Qiang, however, showed his strength in a different way. He wielded a large mace, and with a single blow, he smashed through zombies like they were paper. His power was immense—no zombie could withstand his strikes.

Li Xuan watched in awe. The strength of this team was undeniable, and with his own evolving abilities, he felt like he could be part of something much larger than just surviving on his own.