Chapter 88: This Is How Dominant a Necromancer Is in the Early Stages

“Are they that strong?”

Sheryl frowned. “I’ve run into undead in my own world too. I admit they’re very good at destruction and slaughter, but after they’ve torn everything apart, their rate of growth isn’t something that can’t be matched. After all, they can’t even control the zombies they create!”

Guo Lang lifted his eyelids. “That’s for ordinary classes. Necromancers can control the living dead.”

Sheryl was still unconvinced. “Even if they can, their own level is what it is. I’m a mage too, so I know exactly where our mental limits lie. Even if he’s stronger than me, he can’t be that much stronger, can he? Even with secret arts, how many could he control? A thousand? Ten thousand? I don’t see how that makes him invincible.”

Guo Lang looked at the others, who were also staring at him in confusion, and sighed. “You’re all very lucky, you know. You’ve never run into a mage of the undead race, have you? Their power has never come from themselves. The foundation of a necromancer is the undead race’s special construction: the Terror Factory. The bioengineered killing forms made inside it are far beyond your imagination. Take control of the living dead, for example. Their corpse mothers, by virtue of their own genes and secret arts, can command millions of living dead. And if they do it more finely, using level-three living dead to control the ordinary living dead beneath them, then the count may have to be measured in tens of millions!”

“Seriously?” Jiang Liuying was stunned by the number. Tens of millions of living dead? That was almost impossible to deal with.

“Then you didn’t need to rush like that...” Sheryl still found it strange. He shook his head. “This world’s technology isn’t lower than Planet D’s, is it?”

“It’s at least thirty years ahead,” Guo Lang said, already knowing what he was about to ask. “You’re thinking we can use the native military factions to drag this out, right?”

Sheryl said, “Is there something wrong with that? With technology at this level, it’s impossible to simply pile up those living dead and grind everything to death. Even if, in the initial outbreak, all the senior politicians died and no nuclear weapons could be launched, there should still be large-scale missile systems, right? The senior officers should have that authorization. With technology as it is now, if you rely only on those living dead, honestly, even if you can control a hundred million, I don’t see what use it would be.”

Guo Lang fixed Sheryl with a long, slow gaze and said, “That’s why I said you’re lucky. You’ve never faced this kind of enemy. The perversity of the undead Terror Factory is far beyond your imagination. Just watch. As long as they aren’t stupid, three months.” He held up three fingers, his expression utterly grave. “At most three months, and they’ll be able to wipe out all the remaining military forces in this world with ease!”

At those words, Sheryl and the other three all looked shocked. Three months—that wasn’t even enough time for them to stabilize a single town, and yet the enemy could annihilate every military power on top of a civilization this advanced?

It sounded almost fantastical, but they knew Guo Lang had no reason to exaggerate and deceive them. It would serve no purpose. If what Guo Lang said was true, then this time they would have to witness it for themselves. After all, this game did not evolve in just one world. Sooner or later, they would encounter such an opponent.

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At the heart of Emperor Tower in New Newton City:

Compared with the time when Guo Lang first arrived, this place had been utterly transformed. The entire Emperor Square was wrapped in a bright-red, flesh-like membrane that rose and fell with a breathing rhythm, like a living organism. Inside the enclosed square, vine-like, vein-like structures spread everywhere, giving it the unmistakable feel of a bioengineered complex.

If one looked down from the air, one would discover that the city center’s most densely populated district had become a vacuum for the living dead. There was not a single one in Emperor Square, and with Emperor Square at the center, there were almost no living dead within a radius of five hundred kilometers. Look closely, and you would even find that outside the flesh membrane, tiny blood-thread-like substances crawled across the ground, writhing in time with its breathing.

Though the scene within the square was ghastly, it was bustling with life. Nearly a thousand living people moved about inside, busy with all manner of tasks. On their faces there was no numbness or fear; instead, there was hope and vitality.

Although the square was sealed off so tightly by the flesh membrane that not a breath seemed able to leak through, the air quality inside was astonishingly good. It seemed the massive membrane had an automatic oxygen-supply function, and the balance of the other elements in the air was excellent as well. If analyzed by instruments, one would discover that the air was highly suited to life and immensely beneficial to the human body—surpassing even the finest forest parks.

By noon, everyone could still receive a decent lunch: a portion of meat, a serving of vegetables, and fruit. The appearance was nothing special, but the portions were generous. The undead’s biological technology was formidable. Once its early tech tree was unlocked, it could use genes directly to cultivate meat and vegetables, skipping even the slaughtering step. Before implementing the Cataclysm Plan, Ian had already used the scientists he had recruited to produce the relevant equipment, so he was not worried in the slightest about logistics.

Over the past half year, he had prepared dozens of such large-scale machines, enough to feed a normal diet for no fewer than one hundred thousand people. As for construction, the undead could also be made organic. In truth, undead builders mostly still used metal materials, and noble architecture generally took the form of stylized castles. But if speed was of the essence, they could also use organic structures. Compared with the plant-based architecture of the elves, however, theirs was indeed far more nauseating to look at.

Faced with such a horrifying mode of construction, the residents had not been able to adapt at first. But after a month of stable surroundings, ample food, and reasonable allocation of labor, they gradually came to accept this place. Many people now greeted Ian with respectful bows whenever they saw him, having already come to respect in their hearts the leader who had given them shelter in the apocalypse.

That was why Guo Lang had been wary of this race from the very beginning. Their rate of construction was no slower than the elves’, and they were not hindered by the living dead; they could even make use of them. In terms of foundational capability, they were stronger than Guo Lang’s side, and as for combat power, Guo Lang still had some confidence if it were an ordinary undead player. But if it were a necromancer, he had not the slightest certainty. The only option would be a dangerous decapitation strike.

On the upper level of the factory, Ian led the way out, followed by several scientists in white robes. Anyone who paid close attention to science and technology would recognize them: these were all famous biologists from their own country, each with research achievements to their name. At that moment, every one of them had a green light in their eyes, clearly already bound by contract to Ian.

The undead race had always treated scientific personnel extremely well, because in essence the undead were still a race leaning toward the mage system. Their greatest weapon was still their unrivaled cosmic biological technology.

“Is that test subject still asleep?” Ian’s expression was not very good. He was dissatisfied with the current progress, because the system had informed him that this world had already connected with Planet D and the balance of space and time had been established. Since he had not chosen to return, it was highly likely that the two players he had met that day were involved. Though he did not know why they had rushed back so desperately, Ian had been haunted by an uneasy sense of impending danger, and that feeling had driven him to accelerate many things.

“We’ve tried many environmental simulations,” said the white-haired old man with glasses who stood at the front. He was the head of the country’s Biological Technology Association and held an extremely high position in the field. “From pure oxygen to the air conditions of every region on this planet—we’ve tested them all, but the test subject remains completely unresponsive.”

Ian frowned. “Increase the proportion of carbon dioxide. If that still doesn’t work, try a mild electric shock.”

“Electric shock?” the other man said with a furrowed brow. “Wouldn’t that be a little risky? It’s very fragile in its current embryonic state.”

“It’s not as fragile as you think,” Ian said, shaking his head. “The information from the fortress tendrils shows that military units have been penetrating deeper into this city over these past few days. They’ll discover us sooner or later. We have to complete the experiment as quickly as possible. We can’t fight an army with living dead alone, and we certainly can’t fight missiles.”

“All right.” Having received his leader’s affirmation, the old expert did not hesitate. After so long with no progress, he too had grown somewhat anxious.

After parting with the scientists, Ian returned alone to the top floor of Emperor Tower One, the place where the three of them had once often lingered. It had the best view, and it was also the highest floor of the three towers. It was here that he had first made a mistake, watching helplessly as his two teammates were slaughtered to death in the building opposite.

“So he went back so early—was he planning some conspiracy, or did he just run away?” A deep green light spread through Ian’s eyes, lending him a noble beauty, bright and shimmering, with green strands floating within it like imperial jade.

“Whatever the case, I will catch you. Then I will turn the people beside you into the ugliest living dead one by one, and every day I’ll make you watch them chew on your flesh, your sinews and bones, even your brain... Rest assured, you won’t die in the process of being eaten. Even with only half a brain left, you’ll still be able to feel the pain very clearly.”