Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot-Chapter 1563 - 655: Berserk_2

"Let’s head back first..."

Wang Tao returned to the temporary tent, where the others still hadn’t gone to sleep. Wang Tao briefly outlined their gains this time and then indicated that he planned to go out and search for Fire-attribute zombies next.

This time, Wang Tao didn’t intend to take the others with him. After all, the recent influx of Sea Beasts and zombies was rather overwhelming. If all their top-tier combat forces were taken away, it would leave the base vulnerable should any danger arise.

The others naturally understood this. And besides, even without following Wang Tao, the sheer number of Sixth Rank Sea Beasts and zombies outside was already sufficient for them to hunt.

The next day.

The main force continued to hunt zombies.

Although many zombies were dealt with yesterday, the team was still large, and quite a few members hadn’t reached max HP yet.

For the time being, Wang Tao stayed with the corps instead of heading out on his own. These people represented the future of Changhe Base, and their safety had to be ensured.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

After eradicating several waves of zombie tides, the tens of thousands of people’s HP finally reached almost full capacity.

In their eyes, these past five days were a life-and-death harrowing trial; they’d pushed themselves to the absolute limit just to scrape by.

But in Wang Tao’s eyes, the five days had been relatively risk-free. He hadn’t needed to intervene often—in fact, there were moments where he deliberately refrained from interfering.

Of course, this was Wang Tao’s intentional plan to train them. If he kept acting as a "babysitter," their strength wouldn’t improve, which would ultimately be detrimental.

The main force did not disappoint Wang Tao; they’d substantially improved both their HP and actual combat strength, and many were now eligible for awakening.

When Wang Tao announced their forthcoming return to the city, some members of the squad felt slightly reluctant. Although the mission had been dangerous and exhausting, the tangible increase in their strength had been exhilarating. No one disliked the sense of growing stronger.

Moreover, they weren’t naive. A large-scale operation like this to hunt zombies was likely an indication that the base was planning to invest significantly in their potential. Hence, performing well now would increase their chances of receiving priority training from the base!

Unfortunately, though their spirits were high, their physical exhaustion was undeniable. Additionally, their supply of food—particularly fresh water—had nearly run out.

In such scorching heat, lacking water was no joke; it could lead to death. Hence, they had to return.

Earlier, Wang Tao collected some Awakening Fruits grown on the corpses of Giant Zombies and certain Octopus Monsters, handing them over to Qu Shilin.

"So many fruits again! These are all Awakening Potions!"

Qu Shilin cherished the Awakening Fruits and carefully placed them into the treasure chest Wang Tao had gifted her.

Alongside the Awakening Fruits, the treasure chest also contained over half of an Octopus Monster’s corpse. After verifying it, Qu Shilin confirmed that the Octopus Monster was edible and that consuming its meat could provide some enhancement for humans. Therefore, two-thirds of it was preserved, while the remaining one-third was used to cultivate Awakening Seeds.

Unlike the Big Fish Sea Beasts, which boosted physical attributes, the Octopus Monster enhanced spiritual power!

Though the enhancement wasn’t significant, increasing spiritual power was notoriously difficult. For most people, spiritual power only improved slightly during ascensions. Thus, the value of the Octopus Monster far exceeded that of the Big Fish Sea Beasts.

The team had cooked some Octopus Monster meat earlier and tried it. Most people experienced a slight increase in spiritual power, but for Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, the improvements were negligible—likely because their spiritual power was already too strong.

Regardless, apart from the Transparent Fish, both Big Fish Sea Beasts and Octopus Monsters were entirely valuable resources. They were now on Changhe Base’s hunting priority list; whenever encountered, these creatures should be killed whenever possible.

Of course, hunting them required the strength of Sixth Rank Awakeners or higher, working in teams. Anything below that was suicidal.

Wang Tao had actually considered fishing for more sea beasts to hunt, but he held back. Over the past few days, he hadn’t gone near the Rift, nor had he provoked any sea beasts.

After all, Wang Tao’s Basic Law Force had already reached 80%. If he encountered another creature like the Octopus Monster, he’d face a dilemma—killing it would raise his Primary Law strength further. If it reached 100% and he accidentally acquired Fire-attribute Primary Law Force, the Seventh Level would no longer be attainable for him; not killing it would simply waste the opportunity, as others couldn’t generate Loot Packs.

So he simply avoided any provocation and focused on helping the corps improve their combat skills.

During those days, there were no Giant Zombies, but five ordinary Disaster-level zombies appeared, without Primary Law Force—an average of one per day.

Though none of those Disaster-level zombies were a match for Wang Tao, the frequency of their appearances was alarming. Previously, Disaster-level zombies were rare; now, encountering them daily suggested that the overall strength of zombies was steadily increasing—a worrying trend for humanity.

But this was not something Wang Tao could halt. He could only strive to grow stronger as quickly as possible, aiming for Seventh Level ascension.

Upon safely returning to the base with the corps, Gu Yun immediately summoned Wang Tao to City Hall to discuss the allocation of Awakening Potions.

Normally, Wang Tao wouldn’t involve himself in such matters, but since he had procured these resources himself, excluding him would seem inappropriate. Additionally, they wanted his input on whether he’d encountered any promising candidates worth prioritizing in training during the recent expedition.

After some deliberation, the list of names for the first group receiving Awakening Potions was swiftly finalized.

Once confirmed, Gu Yun directly announced it.

Meanwhile, the returning members of the main force eagerly shared their experiences with friends and family. Within mere hours, nearly everyone in the base was talking about the outside world.

From the extreme, sky-high temperatures to the innumerable zombies and terrifying Sea Beasts, the accounts left ordinary citizens shocked.

Although they knew the external environment was deteriorating, they hadn’t anticipated it had grown so dire. Even Ability Users and Awakeners would struggle to survive outside.

Inevitably, this stirred unease—while the base had been stable, the increasingly hostile environment meant the base couldn’t remain insulated forever. If an unexpected crisis occurred, who could say whether the base could hold?

Amidst their concerns, City Hall announced its list.

Upon seeing the list, the base exploded into excitement.

"What? Am I seeing this right? The base is gifting free Awakening Potions to these outstanding individuals?"

"Holy hell, I thought City Hall was going to release a limited purchase program for Awakening Potions, giving us a one-shot chance at awakening. But they’re outright gifting them? Incredible!"

"Haha! My name’s on the list! I’m getting an Awakening Potion!"

"Congrats, congrats—hey, don’t forget me once you awaken—wait, what the hell? My name’s here too! This list is huge! Must be over a thousand people, right?"

"..."

Everyone was stunned by City Hall’s grand gesture.

The Awakening Potions that sold for insanely high prices on the black market were now being distributed for free? Unbelievable!

Moreover, the announcement specified that this was just the first batch. Additional lists were planned!

People immediately recalled the previous talk of "Universal Awakening." No way—are they actually doing it?

The residents of the base went into a frenzy.

According to the hints from City Hall, the combined lists might encompass around 20,000 individuals!

The entire Changhe Base had fewer than a million people, yet they intended to create tens of thousands of awakened individuals? Terrifying!

The lingering concerns over the base’s future dissipated entirely, replaced by a bubbling sense of optimism—even a slight air of arrogance. After all, the speed at which the base’s population was improving seemed on par with the zombies outside!

...

The Changhe Base buzzed with excitement, but Wang Tao remained detached. He was about to set out again.

At that moment, word arrived from Hongfeng Base, reporting that a powerful Mutated Plant had targeted their base, worsening their already precarious situation. They urgently requested Changhe Base’s assistance, seeking skilled fighters to clear the threat.

Wang Tao found the news intriguing. Since he was already planning to depart, he took the Golden Eagle and Lightning, leaving Changhe Base and heading toward Hongfeng Base.