Chapter 87: Tier 5
Yang Bin dug the crystal out of the zombie's skull, then turned to the others.
"Back to the stairwell!"
No one needed to be told twice. They pulled back and were inside within moments.
Chen Hao and Zhao Kun, whose injuries were the lightest, took up position at the stairwell entrance to hold off the pursuing zombies. Everyone else collapsed where they stood.
They'd burned everything they had to buy Yang Bin enough time. Every single one of them was covered in wounds.
Hu Wenliang started healing immediately.
Yang Bin's shoulder was bad-the axe had bitten clean into the scapula.
Without Hu Wenliang, that kind of wound wouldn't heal for ten days at minimum.
Fortunately, a Tier-4 healer worked fast on conventional injuries.
Before long, Yang Bin, Old Hei, and Skinny Monkey were patched up well enough.
Old Hei and Skinny Monkey swapped in to relieve Chen Hao and Zhao Kun, and Hu Wenliang continued treating the pair.
By the time everyone's wounds were closed, Hu Wenliang was spent.
The stairwell was thoroughly clogged with corpses by then. No more zombies were pushing through. Old Hei and Skinny Monkey wandered back and dropped to the floor.
"Boss, let's see what a Tier-5 Crystal looks like!" Chen Hao stared at Yang Bin, eyes bright with curiosity.
Everyone else leaned in expectantly.
Yang Bin smiled and held it up. Red, same as the others, but noticeably larger than a Tier-4 Crystal-roughly marble-sized.
The energy radiating from it was palpable. Excitement lit up every face in the room.
"So that's a Tier-5 Crystal. Even just looking at it feels badass."
"Boss, eat it! I guarantee you'll be the first person to hit Tier 5-probably before anyone in the military, even." Chen Hao was practically vibrating.
"Not necessarily. The military has too many advantages."
"But given how tough a Tier-5 Zombie's body is, standard submachine guns and assault rifles probably can't do shit to them. Only heavy-caliber machine guns or high-powered sniper rifles could manage the kill. So even if the military has Tier-5 Evolvers, it's one or two at most." Yang Bin grinned.
He gave the crystal a quick wipe, then swallowed it whole.
Almost instantly, a staggering flood of energy surged through him. The final point on the first star in his mind blazed to life.
Then came an even greater wave, pouring into his body, pushing his physical capabilities higher and higher.
It took a while before Yang Bin finished absorbing it all.
"How is it, Boss? Big improvement?" They watched him eagerly.
"Decent. About four hundred kilograms. A standard Tier-5 Evolver should sit around two thousand kilograms of force. With my cultivation gains on top of that, I'm at roughly twenty-four hundred kilograms now." Yang Bin said.
"Twenty-four hundred kilograms..." Old Hei let out a low whistle. "I'm not even at thirteen hundred. You could probably crush me like a beer can."
"So Boss, is the first star in your mind fully lit now?" Chen Hao asked.
"Not yet. Five points are lit, but the center's still dark."
"I have a feeling that once a star is completely illuminated, there'll be a qualitative shift. Our abilities might evolve too."
"Seriously?" Everyone's eyes went wide.
"Just a gut feeling. Can't confirm it yet. We'll know when we get there."
"Ha! Maybe once we break through, we'll get Special Abilities too!" Zhao Kun said, unable to contain his excitement.
He'd never been able to hide how envious he was of Yang Bin and the others' powers.
"Calling the next stage 'Tier 6' doesn't feel right. The first star corresponds to Yaoguang in the Big Dipper. I think 'Yaoguang Realm' fits better."
"Yeah, that does sound more appropriate."
"Haha, now the power system actually makes sense. Clean hierarchy."
"Yaoguang-Kaiyang-Yuheng-Tianquan-Tianji-Tianxuan-Tianshu. What about the last two?"
"We'll worry about those later. Whether we can even reach them is a question mark. If humanity keeps relying solely on crystals to advance, we'll always be one tier behind zombies."
"Early on, firearms bridge the gap. But as things escalate, guns are going to matter less and less. If we can't figure out autonomous cultivation, we're in real trouble."
"Right now, humans can still leverage intelligence and weaponry to fight zombies a full order above them. But as zombies grow stronger and smarter, they'll start using weapons too. That advantage is shrinking every day."
"That Tier-5 Zombie just now-if I hadn't gained so much strength through cultivation, there's no way I could've taken it." Yang Bin's tone was grave.
"Mm. So Boss, does our nightly stargazing count as autonomous cultivation?" Zhao Kun asked.
"Technically, yes. But I don't think we've found the key yet. When zombies cultivate, the Spiritual Energy around them is far denser than what we get. That's why they can improve so much in a single night while we barely move the needle."
"To actually advance through cultivation, we probably need to crack the method. Some kind of technique or breathing art."
"I saw the Yijin Jing chants online once. Boss, think we should give it a shot?" Hu Wenliang offered suddenly.
"I think the Sunflower Manual suits you better." Chen Hao grinned.
"......"
"Alright, knock it off. Priority right now is getting stronger, fast. Rest up, then we go back down and keep killing. Goal is to clear this entire batch today."
"I counted earlier-there are over a dozen Tier-4 Zombies in this group. Wipe them all out, and at least two of you hit Tier-4 peak."
"Let's do it!"
Everyone nodded, then pulled water and rations from their packs.
After eating and resting for half an hour, they shoved enough corpses aside to clear a path and charged straight down.
Sure, fighting from the stairwell was safer-but it was slow as hell. They needed efficiency now.
Their boss was Tier 5. Hiding in a stairwell to pick off zombies? Please. That was beneath them.
Yang Bin led the charge, plowing through the horde with the team in his wake.
Without the Tier-5 Zombie directing them, the remaining zombies had lost all coordination. Easy pickings.
Every swing of Yang Bin's Barbell Rod sent zombie skulls bursting like watermelons. Nothing survived a single hit.
Chen Hao and the others trailed behind him, only needing to handle the occasional zombie lunging from the flanks. It was almost relaxing.
Two hours later, the entire batch-over two thousand zombies-lay dead.
Then came the tedious part: harvesting crystals.
"Boss, when are we recruiting more people? All these extra crystals are going to waste otherwise." Chen Hao grumbled.
"For real. I vote we find some women. Hanging out with nothing but dudes every day is depressing." Old Hei said.
"You looking for teammates or a wife? Women are generally weaker physically. Recruiting them could just mean dead weight-unless they're like Liang Zi's girl." Yang Bin said.
"Who's Liang Zi's girl?" Old Hei asked, curious.
"Tang Weiwei! From the university!" Chen Hao said.
"Oh right, you guys mentioned her before. Liang Ge, what are you waiting for? Get her over here already. If we'd had a few more people earlier, would we have gotten our asses kicked that bad?"
"......"
Hu Wenliang stared at them, utterly speechless. These people were never going to let this go.