Chapter Fifty-Two: A Bountiful Harvest

What had just transpired within those fleeting seconds left Ye Hai utterly bewildered.

The sheer magnitude of information was so overwhelming that Ye Hai stood rooted to the spot, unable to recover his composure for quite some time.

He had been listening to Tang Jie recount a story, gradually unraveling a fragment of the truth from the irradiated lands twenty years prior. Their amicable conversation had only just begun to touch upon the issue of psychic mutants when Tang Jie suddenly erupted into a violent frenzy.

Judging from the entries Ye Hai had read in Tang Jie's diary, Tang Jie was a timid, easily frightened, and weak-willed man. After his earlier defeat, he should have been too cowed to resist further—especially with his head still clutched in Ye Hai’s grasp.

Tang Jie’s abrupt transformation into a highly aggressive state left only one possibility: Erita had intervened.

For years, Tang Jie had deluded himself into believing his designs had lulled Erita into slumber. Now, it was clear that had been pure wishful thinking. In the end, it was Tang Jie, the scientist, who had been toyed with by a mere bee—how bitterly ironic.

Yet, once Tang Jie had been reduced to an egg, the queen’s guard, who had been locked in battle with the eighth-stage mutant, withdrew. Erita herself made no further move, which allowed Ye Hai a sigh of relief.

But then, while Tang Jie was under Erita’s control, he blurted out the words “Psionic Federation!”

Ye Hai had never heard of such an organization before, but from the name alone, it was likely a collective of psychic beings.

That, in itself, was terrifying.

The entire notion of psychic power was something Ye Hai had not encountered among humans thus far. Delving deeper into his thoughts, the Psionic Federation might well be an organization comprised of intelligent mutants.

The very idea sent a chill down Ye Hai’s spine.

Moreover, Ye Hai had always assumed Tang Jie to be a ninth-stage mutant, yet he turned out to be only at the seventh stage.

During their clash, Ye Hai had indeed noticed that these bee mutants, compared to others, were not particularly outstanding in defense, but their offensive capabilities far surpassed the norm.

This evolutionary trait was not typical of the zombie virus, and Ye Hai couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the story.

And the fact that Tang Jie, after only seven evolutions, had already developed psychic powers—was this a rare anomaly, or a common trait among intelligent mutants? If it was the latter, it was truly frightening.

Furthermore, the evolution rate of intelligent mutants like Tang Jie seemed even slower than that of ordinary mutants.

After injecting himself with the G-virus, Ye Hai gained some insight. If a species possessed the ability to control its evolutionary direction, it might choose to forgo risky or undesirable paths and instead retain its current state, resulting in relatively slow evolution.

This explained why the bees, aside from their increased size, did not display any outlandish physical changes. Though their evolutionary frequency was low, their combat prowess far exceeded that of their more chaotically evolved counterparts.

After Tang Jie was brought under Erita’s control and she extracted the G-virus from his body, something bizarre occurred.

The Zerg module—activated?

But what on earth did it mean for the essence collection progress to be one-millionth of a percent?

What was with the essence collector’s hatching time being 156 years?

Ye Hai was baffled, but deeply shaken.

He consulted the system, but it coldly replied that feeding the collector’s egg with various high-level mutants would shorten the incubation time.

Faced with this, Ye Hai could only accept his fate—after all, his system had a mind of its own.

Even so, putting aside the currently useless Zerg module, this expedition had yielded a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

In fact, what he had gained in this journey might well exceed his cumulative achievements over the past decade.

Wealth and fortune indeed favor the bold!

From triggering the battle between Javier and the mutants, to obtaining the NE-α parasite—right up to this period in the irradiated zone—despite numerous setbacks, the final results were outstanding.

Qiao had successfully mastered the T-virus and evolved, becoming a formidable force. Now, with both Liana and Javier having completed their own evolutions, the strength of the Corpse Collector Organization had soared.

Although Javier had yet to agree to join them, Ye Hai was determined not to let such a valuable asset slip away.

With his own successful activation of the G-virus, most advanced virus modules within the Biochemical Crisis system were now unlocked.

The primary objective of this trip—Dr. Avel Schmidt’s identity card—was in hand!

He had even begun cultivating the second generation of NE-α parasites, and with the unexpected acquisition of the Zerg evolutionary collector’s egg, he could only call this a resounding success.

Yet, the appearance of intelligent mutants had also brought Ye Hai a host of new troubles.

After Ye Hai shed his G2 form, Javier was momentarily stunned.

“It’s you?”

“Weren’t you supposed to be dead?”

Once all was settled, Ye Hai’s entire demeanor seemed to collapse. He sauntered up to Javier with a cheeky grin, extending his hand.

“Hello, Seventh Corpse Collector…”

“From now on, we’re comrades!”

Javier, his hand tightly gripped by Ye Hai, looked utterly at a loss. “Corpse Collector? Comrades?”

Seeing Javier’s confusion, Qiao had already hefted Zera and the T-103 Tyrant to the side. Along with Liana and Ye Hai, they formed a triangle around Javier, surrounding him completely.

Ye Hai flashed a wicked smile.

“The Corpse Collector Organization’s viral technology is not for outsiders!”

“If you refuse to join, right here and now, the three of us can send you on your way…”

“Of course, if we fail…”

“If you so much as dare return to Arboris, I won’t hesitate to detonate the G-virus inside you and turn your planet into the next zombie world!”

“So… welcome to the team!”

Javier was dumbfounded.

He had never before witnessed such a bizarre invitation.

Spreading his hands in protest, Javier pleaded, “Come on, everyone…”

“Just moments ago, we fought side by side, surviving a dire crisis together!”

“Isn’t it a bit soon to turn on me like this?”

“Besides, my wives back on Arboris are waiting for me to come home…”

Qiao grinned, “Home? Wives?”

“Tsk tsk! Have you considered what might happen if you try to get close to your wives now?”

Ye Hai chuckled darkly, picking up the cue, “See this big egg here?”

“Perhaps one morning, you’ll wake up to find you’ve spent a passionate night with a grotesque meat egg…”

Hearing Ye Hai and Qiao’s banter, Javier was left utterly speechless.

Damn it! Why hadn’t he thought of that? Now that he carried the G-virus, if that thing were injected into his wives…

The mere thought was too horrific to contemplate.

“The Corpse Collector Organization can solve your ‘manly’ troubles!”

“Join us, and becoming the perfect man will no longer be a dream…”

Ye Hai and Qiao both watched Javier with radiant smiles.

Javier stared blankly at the pair.

“…Damn it, I’m not suffering from any male problems…”

“But… I guess it’s not much different now…”