The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First
Chapter 40: Absorbing the Crystal Core

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Absorbing the Crystal Core

The others were just as confused, and they all looked toward Luna Dawson.

For some reason, everyone just felt that she would definitely know the answer.

Luna Dawson spoke slowly, "My guess is you hold it in your palm, circulate your own superpower, and absorb the energy into your body through your hand. You can all give it a try. If I’m right, every Superpower User should be able to absorb a Crystal Core that matches their own superpower’s attribute."

"Also, looking at these Crystal Cores, their colors should represent their attributes. Hector impulsively tried to stuff one in his mouth just now, which might have been a primal instinct for advancement. That one was probably a wood-attribute Crystal Core, and it was attracting him, which is why he wanted to eat it."

Evan Olson’s eyes lit up. "No wonder. Holding this Crystal Core, I felt an inexplicable sense of joy."

Luna Dawson encouraged him, "Brother Evan, you should give it a try."

Evan Olson looked at the others and nodded. "Perfect. I just used my superpower for a while practicing on zombie heads, so I’ve used up a fair bit. I’ll test it out and see how it works."

Everyone nodded, watching Evan Olson with curiosity.

Evan Olson slowly closed his eyes, focused his Spirit, and felt the superpower in his body, which was more than halfway depleted. He then channeled his energy toward his palm, trying to make contact with the Crystal Core...

Suddenly, threads of pure energy slowly broke through his skin from the Crystal Core and seeped into his power channels!

The power was gentle, entering thread by thread as if afraid of damaging his own Power Pool.

Slowly, a stream of energy flowed into his somewhat depleted power channels, and he felt an incredible sense of comfort wash over his entire body.

A moment later, Evan Olson slowly opened his eyes, which were now full of vigor.

He opened his hand. The Crystal Core in his palm had turned to a transparent dust that slowly drifted down and vanished...

Kevin Keane spoke up, "Evan? How was it?"

Lynn Shelby stopped his timer. "Exactly two minutes. It takes a full two minutes to absorb just one Crystal Core."

After speaking, he placed a hand on Evan Olson’s forehead and continued, "Your temperature is up, and your face is flushed. Do you feel unwell?"

Evan Olson was slightly taken aback, then explained, "Two minutes? That’s actually pretty long! I don’t feel unwell at all; the energy felt very comfortable. By my estimate, it would take about three Crystal Cores to completely restore my superpower."

"That’s six minutes, then. No good. The absorption efficiency is too low," Lynn Shelby said with a frown.

’Lynn Shelby was right. In my past life, whenever Superpower Users absorbed Crystal Cores to advance their superpowers, they had to return to a base or find a hidden, safe place. The higher the rank of the Crystal Core, the more energy it contained, and the slower it was to absorb.’

’Many High-level Superpower Users died in the jaws of zombies because their superpowers were depleted mid-battle and they didn’t have time to replenish them. In a fight against zombies, a second or two can be the difference between life and death.’

’That’s why, in my past life, it wasn’t until the second year of the apocalypse that a base finally developed the Superpower Supplement Liquid, and it sold for an exorbitant price.’

’It took thirty Crystal Cores of the same rank to trade for a single vial of Superpower Supplement Liquid, which could only restore thirty percent of one’s superpower. But its efficiency was incredible—it could restore that thirty percent in under ten seconds.’

’Many squads would spend a fortune to buy one when they went out on missions, saving it to use in a life-or-death situation.’

Luna Dawson continued, "The higher the rank, the more energy a Crystal Core contains, which means it also takes longer to absorb."

Kevin Keane frowned. "So, unless it’s a last resort, we must not exhaust our superpowers."

Luna Dawson hummed in agreement. "Firearms are very effective against low-level zombies, but zombies have an exceptionally keen sense of smell and hearing. In some situations, using firearms can actually hasten your own death."

"Most importantly, low-level zombies are easy to deal with, but what about Third Rank or Fourth Rank ones? The effectiveness of firearms against High-level zombies and mutated plants and animals is still unclear."

"So, when we’re fighting zombies, we should always prioritize melee weapons, with firearms as a secondary option. Superpowers should always be every Superpower User’s ace in the hole."

Lynn Shelby and Kevin Keane glanced at Luna Dawson. ’Her understanding of various apocalyptic situations and her level of preparation are just too thorough.’

’She must have experienced something, or maybe she has a special precognitive ability. That’s the only way she could know so much.’

’But since Luna Dawson wasn’t talking about it, they couldn’t press her for answers.’

’Everything she does benefits the group as a whole. If she’s hiding something, she must have her own reasons.’

Kevin Keane’s expression grew serious. He nodded and said to everyone, "Alright. In that case, let’s spend the next few days clearing out this villa district as quickly as possible. We need to take advantage of the early days of the apocalypse and gather the Crystal Cores everyone needs to rank up."

’In the future, the Crystal Cores from Aberrant Zombies will probably be something everyone fights over. They have to seize this early advantage.’

’Based on the current situation, there probably aren’t too many of these mutated zombies. Killing even one would be a huge gain.’

Lynn Shelby crossed his arms and looked at the group. "Alright, now that we know how to use these goodies, let’s get back to chopping off heads."

Evan Olson readily agreed. "Yeah! Once we’re done clearing this area, let’s fight our way back and try our luck. We need to get more Crystal Cores to boost everyone’s strength!"

Everyone nodded. Luna Dawson then put away her Ravager, and the group, armed with submachine guns, started heading back toward their home.

Luna Dawson’s group passed by several houses in a row but didn’t find a single zombie. Evan Olson was carrying a large megaphone, blasting a song the whole way.

"Good luck is coming~ Wishing you good luck~ Good luck is coming~ Bringing joy and love~"

The sound was deafening, yet it didn’t attract many zombies. In this entire area, they had only managed to kill about thirty, and they hadn’t found a single Crystal Core.

Just as everyone was finding it strange, they spotted a villa in the distance with its garden gate wide open. A thick stench of blood, mixed with the biting cold wind, wafted out from inside. Even though they were all wearing masks, it was hard to stop the reek of blood from seeping through the gaps.

Leaning against the gate by the villa’s wall was a thin man with slightly sunken cheeks and unnaturally pale skin, watching their every move.

"Hello there."

He was breathing heavily as he stepped out from beside the gate, greeting them with a smile.

Everyone jumped in surprise. No one had noticed there was someone by the gate. All their attention had been focused on the zombie corpses littering the garden floor—it looked like there were seventy or eighty of them, including several who had been medical personnel.

"Uh... hello."

Luna Dawson paused for a moment before snapping out of it and replying.

When the man saw Luna Dawson, a glint flashed in his eyes but was quickly hidden. His gaze then fell directly on the megaphone.

After a moment’s hesitation, Evan Olson hurriedly turned off the megaphone. The thin man watched his action and gave him a slight, smiling nod.

"My nerves are a bit frayed, so I’m rather sensitive to noise."

He gestured toward the megaphone, explaining to the group while still holding his smile.

Luna Dawson stared blankly at the man before her and apologized sheepishly, "Oh... oh... I’m sorry, that was thoughtless of us."

He was wearing a dark gray, calf-length overcoat with peaked lapels over a pair of thick, black suit trousers. Underneath, he had layered a black mock-neck sweater and a gray collared sweater.

A black beanie was pulled down over his eyebrows, and a pair of sunglasses hid his eyes. His frame was so thin that the clothes seemed to hang off him, yet it created a strange, beautiful aesthetic.

"It’s no trouble. I’m very happy to have met you."

The man said in a soft voice, extending a long, slender hand with well-defined knuckles toward Luna Dawson.

Luna Dawson stared quietly at the large hand, so pale that the bluish-purple veins were clearly visible, before politely and somewhat awkwardly shaking it.

The man’s hand was surprisingly warm. She had no choice but to continue with the socially awkward small talk.