Chapter 194 The Poor Kid in the Apocalypse 24
A perfectly healthy zombie was completely smashed into a bag of fragments, and an indescribable, pungent stench of decay instantly filled the air.
Da Bao, leaning on his axe, was panting heavily. He was so nervous that he was giving it his all, and now his face was flushed and he was covered in sweat. He had killed a zombie for the first time.
For a child, the psychological and physical exertion of independently and completely killing zombies for the first time is enormous.
Shen Ci watched nervously from the side, her finger always resting steadily on the trigger guard of the pistol, ready to protect her son at any moment.
Seeing her son successfully take down a zombie, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, her feelings a mix of heartache and relief. At this age, a normal child should be pampered by their parents and family. She put away her gun and quickly stepped forward.
"Well done, Da Bao."
Stay calm, observe, utilize your strengths, and attack your weaknesses—you did even better than Mom imagined!
Despite his tired face, Da Bao couldn't hide his excitement after receiving his mother's praise. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of a faint light coming from the zombie's head.
"Mom, look what's that?"
He carefully picked up the axe and used the tip to pry open the clump of sticky, filthy stuff. From the sludge, he pulled out a smooth crystal, only the size of a little fingernail, irregularly shaped and not easy to spot.
This thing is translucent, and there seems to be a very faint milky white halo flowing inside. If you don't look closely, you can't see it at all, especially when it's mixed in with this lump of brain matter.
Despite feeling nauseous, Da Bao picked up a clean leaf from the side, wiped the tiny thing clean, placed it in his palm, and excitedly handed it to Chen Ci.
"Mom! This? Is this the crystal core you were talking about?"
Shen Ci looked closely. She had never seen a real crystal core before, and she had only seen zombies here. However, this was the only possibility at the moment.
Surely this thing isn't some kind of gallstone from a zombie? A brain stone? She nodded, her tone certain.
"That's right, this is the crystal core."
It seems our hypothesis was correct; such a thing could indeed be produced inside mutated zombies.
However, it's likely that not every zombie has a crystal core.
Even among the current second-stage mutated zombies, the appearance of crystal cores seems to be random. You're lucky; you got a crystal core on your first solo kill.
Once driven by profit, humans will be much more motivated to kill zombies, and there will be a shortage of zombies in the future.
Da Bao curiously picked up the tiny crystal core with his fingers. It felt hard and cold to the touch, and it really did look like a small shard of glass.
"Mom, is it because it's so small that this zombie is ordinary?"
"Very likely."
Based on our previous observations and data analysis, the strength of zombies seems to be related to their physical condition before death, mainly to the degree of mutation.
This zombie is slow-moving and relatively weak in aggression; the energy it generates from its crystal cores is likely also limited.
Da Bao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
"Mom, what should I do to absorb it?"
This will stump your mom.
In novels, you can usually hold it in your hand or squeeze it to absorb the energy inside, but Da Bao kept the crystal core tightly in his hand, and nothing happened.
The crystal core remained rock hard, and Da Bao seemed to feel nothing at all, as if he were holding a shiny stone.
The novel only mentions absorption, but doesn't explain how it's absorbed. Something this hard can't just be put directly into your mouth and eaten; it's too tough to chew anyway.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Ci thought of the supernatural space within Da Bao's body, which was connected to his spiritual power. Perhaps he could try that approach.
"Dabao, try to see if you can put this crystal core into your space. Don't place it like an object; try to feel it and see if you can integrate it into your space."
Although Da Bao didn't quite understand how to integrate in detail, he always believed that his mother was right.
He focused his mind and tried to store the crystal core into his space as usual, but this time, his intention was not simply to store it, but to merge with it and accept the crystal core.
The moment the crystal core disappeared from his palm, Da Bao's brows furrowed sharply, and he let out an uncomfortable groan from his nose.
"What's wrong?" Shen Ci asked quickly. If it really didn't work, they would go back and do some more research. The child's health was the most important thing.
Her ultimate mission was to protect the children and survive the apocalypse, not to make the children do anything else.
Da Bao shook his head, his expression strange.
"It's nothing. Just a moment ago, I felt like something stabbed my head, and it felt a little swollen, but it was fine quickly."
He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the changes in his own space. A few seconds later, he suddenly opened his eyes and smiled excitedly!
"Mom! It worked! I can feel it! The crystal core is gone, it seems to have melted away! It's merged into my space!"
"Any specific changes? Try to feel them," Shen Ci asked, her heart pounding with tension and excitement.
After experiencing it for a while, Da Bao excitedly gestured.
"Space! It's space!"
The space has increased slightly, though not by much, maybe just the size of an extra cabinet.
Also, I feel very comfortable, my mind is clear, and I feel great, like I just woke up after a really good night's sleep; my whole body feels wonderful!
It really works! The crystal core can enhance superpowers, and not only enhance them, but it can also directly affect the source of spiritual power.
This is good news for them; zombies are no longer just a threat and a source of fear, but have now become a source of power.
"Mom! I want to go kill more zombies! I want to collect more crystal cores!"
Da Bao clenched his fists. His previous fatigue had vanished, and he was now full of energy and eager to try.
Seeing that his son's eyes burned with fighting spirit rather than fear, Shen Ci nodded.
Okay, let's continue.
However, remember that safety comes first, and you should act within your capabilities.
This time, the child overcame fear, gained confidence, and dared to live in this world.
They got back into the car, and Shen Ci drove the modified SUV slowly toward the shantytown on the edge of the city.
The zombies in the suburbs are sparsely distributed; it often takes a long time to search by car before you can find one or two lone zombies.
Da Bao killed two more zombies on his own, while Shen Ci dealt with a zombie that tried to sneak up from behind the car in another location. However, unfortunately, there was nothing inside the heads of these three zombies, and they did not find the second crystal core.
As expected, the yield of crystal cores was not very high, which was also related to the fact that there were fewer zombies in the suburbs.
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