Chapter 30: The Veronica Virus?

Misty threw a Poké Ball, and a pure white light flashed as a Pokémon soared into the air, using its Psychic powers to catch the falling Daisy and Gyarados.

It was none other than Togekiss, who had returned to her side during the apocalyptic era.

At that moment, Oliver Doyle's Dragonite looked at Pikachu with sheer disbelief.

As one of the most powerful Dragon-type Pokémon with immense potential, the trusted partner of an Elite Four-level Trainer, Dragonite knew it could never take down a Mega Gyarados in a single hit, let alone so effortlessly.

Just how much power was hidden in that small body?

What Dragonite didn't know was that Pikachu, having endured the brutal trials of the apocalypse, had already reached King-level strength years ago. It could hold its own against Legendary Pokémon, and with a Light Ball in its possession, it had nearly touched the threshold of Mythical-tier power.

Seeing this unfold, Oliver's heart sank.

He had just notified the official personnel nearby to stand down and avoid any unnecessary conflict.

This young man, claiming to be from seven years in the future, had already demonstrated a level of power equivalent to a top-tier leader. Without an equally strong opponent present, even if everyone worked together, they likely wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Fortunately, from the way he had attacked Gyarados without critically injuring it, he didn't seem to harbor malice toward those present. Otherwise, a direct Thunder or Thunderbolt would have instantly killed Daisy, who was on Gyarados' back.

And judging by the commanding presence of Togekiss, this girl claiming to be Daisy's younger sister likely possessed Elite Four-level strength as well.

Two mysterious young powerhouses and the legendary time-traveling Pokémon, Celebi?

Could what they said really be true?

If so, then tonight marked the beginning of the apocalypse, which made things even worse...

"Daisy, I'm Misty," she stepped forward, her eyes welling with tears as she gazed at her sister, who had perished in the apocalypse, now standing before her alive and well.

"Misty?" Daisy looked at the girl in shock. She resembled her younger sister but with a more mature aura. Unable to believe it, she muttered, "Impossible. Misty is only 11 years old. Two months ago, she ran off to Johto with some country boy."

"..." Misty twitched at the comment. "Uh, technically speaking, I'm the Misty from the future."

"???"

Meanwhile, outside the building, a group of individuals, already equipped with gas masks, had rushed out, their expressions shaken by the towering dome of vegetation surrounding them.

"Inspector Peyton, what do we do now?" one of the officers asked.

"We've already tried," another officer reported urgently. "No signals can get through. This entire area is completely sealed off."

"Release all Pokémon and attack together. We need to break through this barrier," Peyton commanded.

Everyone exchanged glances.

The barrier did not look like something that could be broken, but at this point, they had no better options.

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower!"

"Golbat, use Air Cutter!"

"Pidgeotto, use Hurricane!"

A barrage of colorful attacks struck the massive, slowly rotating dome that stood over a hundred meters high. Yet, the impact was like pebbles falling into a vast lake, causing barely a ripple.

Seeing this, the group's spirits sank, much like the oppressive atmosphere around them.

"Maybe... this isn't necessarily a bad thing..."

Lucius floated behind the struggling officers, observing their helplessness against the barrier. He then turned his attention to his system interface. His total vitality had already reached 2,172, and his level had increased to Lv10.

Hmm... killing an infected being increased his total life force by 10. That meant that, so far, over a hundred humans and Pokémon had died from the Venomous Plague.

It seemed that Lv10 was the limit of the Progenitor Virus - Leech Form. Otherwise, considering the number of beings he had absorbed and the genetic data gained from analyzing Pokémon abilities, his level should be far higher.

At least this happened at night, when most employees had already left the building. Otherwise, the death toll would have been far worse.

Though he still didn't understand why this mysterious barrier had suddenly appeared, it was undeniably effective at containing the poisonous smoke.

Given that the Venomous Plague could kill a living being within seconds, if these toxic fumes had spread outside, even after being diluted by the air, the casualties would have been catastrophic.

Causing a large-scale disaster at this stage would be disadvantageous for Lucius.

He sighed. He had never intended to trigger such a massive death toll, but now that it had happened, there was no point in regretting it.

Besides, judging by how his system operated, a day like this was inevitable—perhaps even worse calamities awaited in the future.

Returning his focus to the system interface, he noted that some of the deceased were Pokémon, allowing him to analyze new abilities and gain a few extra skills.

But the most crucial part was that he had earned three Evolution Points and was presented with two evolution paths: Tyrant Virus and Progenitor Virus - Queen Ant Form.

Finally, it had arrived. Lucius wasn't sure how to describe his complex emotions.

The Tyrant Virus—the infamous bioweapon that had destroyed civilizations and warped species—was now an available path for him.

From the moment he first evolved into Leech Form, he had known this day would come.

Scanning the system logs he hadn't checked earlier, he noticed that the Tyrant Virus was offered as an evolution option at Lv5, while the Progenitor Virus - Queen Ant Form had appeared at Lv10.

Wait, something felt off...

Lucius suddenly sensed an inconsistency.

When he first saw the Queen Ant Form option, he assumed it was unlocked by analyzing an ant-like Pokémon's ability, but now he realized it was actually tied to his level progression.

Which meant that the Queen Ant Form wasn't a random mutation but an "official" evolution path, unlike the Toxic Spikes Form, which was an improvised adaptation.

That was worth thinking about...

If he hadn't checked the system notification earlier, he might have instinctively chosen the Tyrant Virus form instead.

'Hey system, explain the characteristics of the Progenitor Virus - Queen Ant Form.'

[Progenitor Virus - Queen Ant Form: A primitive mutational strain of the Veronica Virus. Capable of inducing biological mutations, restructuring ecosystems, and creating specialized hierarchical colonies.]

Though the system's description was vague, the mention of the "Veronica Virus" immediately clarified everything for Lucius.

So it wasn't just a random path after all...

The Veronica Virus was one of the most infamous bioweapons in the Resident Evil universe, a mutation derived from the Progenitor Virus, much like the T-Virus.

The key difference between the two was that the T-Virus would turn most hosts into mindless zombies unless they were genetically compatible.

However, because the T-Virus accelerated metabolism, infected individuals retained active organ function, attempting to repair damaged tissue and immune systems—hence their insatiable hunger and drive to bite living beings.

In contrast, the Veronica Virus allowed hosts to retain their intelligence, but it also established absolute dominance of higher-evolved organisms over lower-tier ones.

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