Enhancing Attributes

The wide highway was now cracked and full of potholes, the result of an intense battle. A giant dog, nearly two meters tall, growled viciously in the midst of the chaos. Its black fur was coarse and stiff like steel wires, and its body trembled with rage. Thick drool dripped from its muzzle, filled with razor-sharp teeth, releasing a rancid stench that stung the nose. Each time the creature lunged, the sheer weight of its body slammed against the asphalt, creating new fractures on the already battered road. 

Its glowing red eyes scanned the people around it—not with fear, but with an overwhelming lust for blood. 

BAM! BAM! 

Several bullets flew through the air, striking the mutant dog's body. Yet, they did little more than scrape off its outer skin, leaving no real damage. 

"I told you that wouldn't work! Stop wasting bullets! Distract it instead!" someone shouted urgently. 

A large shadow stepped forward. 

A towering man, nearly as tall as the mutant dog itself, stood firm. Despite his muscular build, he could feel the monstrous pressure emanating from the beast in front of him. But instead of backing down, a small smirk crossed his face. 

Under his skin, something began to stir. 

His already massive arms trembled violently as coarse brown fur erupted from his pores. His palms expanded, and jet-black claws extended from his fingers. In mere seconds, his arms had transformed—turning into the powerful claws of a giant bear. 

His gaze locked onto the mutant dog, brimming with pure challenge. 

"Come on... You'll be the perfect test subject for my new ability." 

With a fierce roar, he charged forward. 

The mutant dog wasn't about to back down either. With a savage growl, it lunged, jaws wide open, ready to tear through flesh. 

BRAKKK! 

A devastating impact shook the already ruined street. Giant claws and razor-sharp fangs collided in a brutal clash, sending a spray of blood into the air. 

The mutant dog's body staggered sideways, howling in pain. Deep gashes marred its head, and thick black blood dripped from its coarse fur. 

"Did we get it?!" someone exclaimed, eyes widening as the beast finally stumbled. 

"Incredible! Captain Beard is unbeatable!" another voice shouted in awe. 

Amidst the cheers, a man carrying a large medical bag stepped forward. His expression wasn't one of fear—but of eager anticipation. 

"Don't waste time celebrating," he said as he unzipped his bag. "We need to extract its corpse immediately!" 

Captain Beard remained standing, his breath heavy from the battle. He looked down at his hands—or rather, his massive claws—with deep fascination. 

The coarse brown fur covering his arms felt undeniably real, and the immense power coursing through his body was intoxicating. He flexed his fingers, his sharp claws slicing through the air. 

"Hahaha! Amazing… I'm the first to evolve!" he laughed, pride swelling in his chest. 

But his excitement was abruptly cut short when a sudden shout echoed from near the mutant dog's corpse. 

"Captain Beard!" the bespectacled man with the surgical tools called out. "We found it again! The same parasite!" 

Beard's eyes widened. 

For a moment, silence hung in the air before his lips curled into a wide grin. 

"...Incredible," he whispered, barely believing it. 

Adrenaline surged through his veins once more. Without hesitation, he took long strides toward the mutant dog's corpse. 

"How am I this lucky?!" he thought, excitement surging. 

***

On an asphalt road littered with zombie corpses, Adam moved lightly, swinging his machete without mercy. 

SRETT! 

A swift slash—and a zombie's head flew off, rolling across the pavement. 

Adam exhaled. "That's the 84th one," he muttered casually. 

He kicked the fallen corpse aside before crouching down, reaching into its skull. 

From within the shattered remains, he pulled out a small, yellow crystal. A faint glow radiated from its surface. 

"A physical attribute crystal? Nice." 

A pleased smile spread across his face as he slipped the crystal into a plastic bag tied to his waist. It wasn't some high-tech combat gear—just an ordinary plastic bag he had picked up from a destroyed roadside store. 

However, as he tried to drop another crystal inside, he paused. 

"Full?" 

Adam lifted the now-stuffed bag, crammed with crystals of various colors. With a small sigh, he walked toward the sidewalk and sat down. 

"Alright, time to absorb these." 

Setting his machete aside, he opened the plastic bag. The crystals inside pulsed softly in different colors—red, yellow, and blue. 

His gaze landed on the red ones, the most abundant. 

Before absorbing them, he decided to check his status panel. 

[STATUS PANEL] 

Name: Adam 

Attack: 5 

Defense: 2 

Speed: 3 

Evolution: Microbe King 

Skills: (Necrolysis), (Cell Regeneration) 

"Not bad," he murmured, satisfied. 

He had already experimented with absorbing different crystal colors. Strangely enough, no matter what type they were, the absorption always took the same amount of time—around one minute. 

It puzzled him. 

When he first absorbed a red crystal, from the first zombie he had ever killed, the process had felt agonizingly slow. But now, everything happened much faster. 

"Maybe it's because I evolved into the Microbe King?" he pondered, furrowing his brow. 

He wasn't sure. But he didn't have time to overanalyze it. 

The sky was getting darker. 

"I need to hurry." 

With that thought, Adam picked up the first crystal and began absorbing its power.