Chapter 43 Awakening of Mental Abilities

Having learned of her enemy's whereabouts, Ruan Ning worked even harder to improve her special abilities and combat skills. She still chose to go out and train alone.

On this day, Ruan Ning chose a small town 50 kilometers away from the base.

After arriving by car, Ruan Ning got out and walked into the town center. She deliberately made noise, which quickly attracted dozens of ordinary zombies. At first, she didn't pay attention and easily cleared them out with her level two water-based ability and increasingly skilled close combat techniques.

However, she soon noticed something amiss. These zombies were far more organized than ordinary zombies! They no longer charged in a chaotic swarm, but instead split into several small teams, attacking from different directions in alternating shifts. They even knew how to use abandoned vehicles and building debris as cover, carrying out simple flanking maneuvers and encirclements!

"There's a commander!" Ruan Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized that she had encountered a troublesome figure. While swinging her sword and slashing, she also condensed water arrows to kill the zombies that tried to approach, and at the same time, she focused her mental energy highly, sensing the energy fluctuations around her.

Found it!

At the end of the street, in the window of a half-collapsed two-story building, a thin zombie wearing a tattered researcher's white lab coat stood silently. Its eyes were not cloudy white, but shimmered with a ghostly blue light, like will-o'-the-wisps! An invisible spiritual force emanated from it, precisely controlling the horde of zombies below.

This is a level 2 psychic zombie!

Ruan Ning tried to capture the leader first, and a highly compressed spiral water arrow shot towards the mental zombie at the window!

However, when the water arrow was several meters away from the window, it seemed to hit an invisible wall, its speed decreased sharply, its trajectory deviated, and it finally flew past the window frame, leaving only a shallow dent in the wall.

Mental barrier!

At the same time, a sharp mental shock pierced Ruan Ning's mind like a drill!

"Ugh!" Ruan Ning groaned, feeling as if her brain had been struck by a heavy hammer. A sharp pain and dizziness washed over her, and she even experienced a momentary double vision. Her half-formed water shield nearly collapsed, and her movements faltered for a moment.

In that brief opening, several zombies broke through the defenses, their claws nearly striking her shoulder! Ruan Ning forcibly suppressed the throbbing pain in her mind and swung her knife to force the zombies back, but the situation had already taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Under the command of the psychic zombies, the zombie horde's attacks became more cunning and deadly. They even knew how to concentrate their firepower to interfere with her when she tried to gather her ultimate attack!

Ruan Ning's water-based abilities are strong in both area-of-effect attacks and defense, but faced with this invisible mental interference and precise tactical countermeasures, she felt constrained, her ability consumption increased rapidly, and small wounds began to appear on her body. Continuing to fight head-on would have unimaginable consequences!

Seeing the unfavorable situation, Ruan Ning no longer hesitated. She suddenly unleashed a ring of "Ice Ring Impact," temporarily repelling the zombies that were close at hand, and at the same time, a thought flashed through her mind—

In an instant, her figure vanished from the spot and entered the absolutely safe jade bracelet space.

Inside the space, the spring gurgled, tranquil and serene. Ruan Ning slumped beside the spring, panting heavily, her forehead covered in cold sweat. The stinging pain in her mind still lingered; her supernatural abilities and physical strength were severely depleted.

She immediately scooped up some spiritual spring water and drank it, then used the water to wash her wounds. The cool energy quickly flowed throughout her body, repairing the physical damage and soothing her wounded spirit. She sat cross-legged and regulated her breathing, focusing all her efforts on recovery.

Feeling that he had recovered most of his strength, Ruan Ning's eyes sharpened, and he reappeared on the battlefield!

The horde of zombies became somewhat disorganized due to losing their target, but the psychopathic zombies quickly locked onto her again and commanded the horde to attack. Taking advantage of her restored full strength, Ruan Ning launched a fierce attack, focusing on those zombies that tried to flank and interfere with her.

However, the mental shock persisted, her attacks were repeatedly thwarted, and her powers were rapidly depleted once again. Whenever she felt overwhelmed or in danger, she would immediately retreat into the spatial dimension to recover.

This was repeated three times!

This process is an extreme test of willpower.

Every time I went out, I faced a life-or-death crisis and endured mental torment; every time I returned, I seized the time to recover and analyze the mistakes of the previous time.

She gradually adapted to the intensity of the mental shock, learning to spare a sliver of her mind to protect her own consciousness during the confrontation, and her attacks and dodges became more efficient and precise. She no longer tried to kill the mental zombie with a single blow, but instead prioritized eliminating its "minions" and weakening its command capabilities.

When Ruan Ning emerged from the space for the fourth time, her eyes had become incredibly calm and sharp. She had cleared out most of the ordinary zombies below, leaving only a few scattered individuals.

The psychic zombie also seemed to have expended a lot of energy, as the blue light in its eyes was no longer as intense as it had been at the beginning.

Now!

Ruan Ning did not give it another chance to launch an attack, and staked most of its remaining supernatural abilities and mental power on it!

"Water Dragon Roar!" A gigantic water dragon materialized, letting out a silent roar, and charged towards the small building with immense energy!

At the same time, she transformed the mental power she had just learned for self-defense into an invisible spike, which followed closely behind the water dragon and stabbed fiercely at the head of the mental zombie—this was her initial application of her own mental power, which she had been forced to activate under countless mental attacks!

The psychic zombies are working together to build a mental barrier to block the water dragon.

boom!

The water dragon and the spiritual barrier perished together, and the windows of the small building were shattered.

Just as its old strength was waning and new strength was beginning to emerge, Ruan Ning's faint yet concentrated spiritual spike precisely pierced its unsuspecting core of consciousness!

"Hah..." The psychic zombie's body suddenly stiffened, the blue light in its eyes flickered a few times like a candle in the wind, and then went out completely. It fell straight down from the window.

Ruan Ning knelt on one knee, supporting herself with a machete, panting heavily, almost collapsing. She struggled to the corpse of the psychic zombie and dug open its head.

Inside was a unique crystal core. It was no longer a simple milky white or light blue, but rather a translucent, pale purple color with what appeared to be swirling mist inside, radiating an energy fluctuation that was both calming and unfathomable.

Holding the level-two mental crystal core, Ruan Ning could clearly feel the mental energy contained within it, which was of the same origin as the power she had just fought against.

Back in the space, with the help of the spiritual spring, she quickly recovered her strength. Then, without hesitation, she began to absorb the special crystal core.

The process was far more dangerous than absorbing ordinary crystal cores! A surge of immense spiritual energy flooded her consciousness, seemingly trying to tear it apart and assimilate it. Ruan Ning held fast to her mind, guiding this energy with unwavering willpower.

After an unknown amount of time, when the last bit of energy in the crystal core was completely absorbed, Ruan Ning suddenly opened her eyes!

A faint purple light seemed to flash briefly in the depths of her eyes. She felt as if a new door had opened in her mind!

A completely new perception emerged—she could not only sense the water element around her, but also vaguely "perceive" the emotional fluctuations of some life forms further away, such as the fear of a frightened mouse in a corner. She could also more clearly introspect her own energy flow, and even her control over her own water-based abilities seemed to have become more effortless and intuitive! With a single thought, the water flow could change accordingly, requiring almost no intermediate calculation process.

This is no longer the crude application used when passively defending against mental attacks; it now truly possesses a brand new power—psychic ability!

A surge of immense joy welled up within Ruan Ning. She hadn't expected that absorbing a high-level crystal core of the corresponding attribute would actually give her a chance to awaken a new superpower! This was undoubtedly an unexpected delight and a qualitative leap in her strength!

"Psychic abilities...no wonder they were so difficult to deal with." She recalled the battle just now, still shaken but also filled with anticipation. Possessing psychic abilities not only meant having another means of attack and defense, but also that her perception, control, and learning abilities would be comprehensively enhanced!

Although this near-death experience was extremely difficult, the rewards far exceeded her expectations.

Not only did her practical experience increase significantly and her use of water-based abilities become more proficient, but she also unexpectedly awakened the mental abilities she had always dreamed of!

She gazed at the shattered crystal core fragments in her hand, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. The road ahead remained fraught with unknowns and dangers, but she had now added another powerful trump card to her deck.

Hunting high-level, special-ability zombies and absorbing their crystal cores will become an important way for her to quickly improve her strength!