Epoch of Twilight

Luo Yuan spent about 15 minutes trying to drag the skull back to the house. The skull was too big to fit through the entrance of the chamber, so he had to leave it in the living room. Apparently, the Zhanmadao was not suitable for skull dissecting. It was not a heavy weapon and its blade was too thin and weak for strong, hard objects like bones. Of course, it could use its power to do that, but it was too dangerous. It could burn out at any time under such dangerous circumstances.

He found an ax inside the house, put it on the neck bone of the gorilla, and started to cast a spell. The brightness on the bone immediately faded and became a dull white. It looked like it had just been oxidized. Several tiny pores appeared on its surface. At the same time, the temperature of the ax started to increase and it began to burn his hand.

Although the ax was covered by a layer of red paint, underneath that layer it had become very smooth and shiny. No one would believe it was an ax unless they had seen it evolve themselves. Most people would think that it was jade carved into the shape of an ax. Luo Yuan picked up the ax and realized it had gotten heavier. The weight was just perfect for him.

‘Strong Skeleton Axe.’

‘Material: Alloy, Gorilla Bone.’

‘Rarity: Dark Blue. ‘

‘Weight: 5.3kg.’

‘Power: 32-35’

‘Complementary property 1: Attack Speed -1’

‘Complementary property 2: Explosive Attack. The strongest attack power. Cooldown time: 24 hours.’

‘Equipment Requirements: 11-point Power’

‘Comments: This is a very powerful ax!’

The characteristics of the ax had become scarier after it had evolved. It had even surpassed in power the Zhanmadao. Although its first complementary property was a bit disappointing, Luo Yuan was amazed by the second one. The key was that it didn’t have many restrictions. For example, the Zhanmadao required knife expertise for someone to use it. Of course, the only downside was that he could only rely on his fate for the ax to attack explosively. However, the ax had already been a very powerful weapon even before it had reached this optimum stage.

The diameter of the skull was about 1.2 or 1.3 meters, which was sufficient to produce 4-5 strong weapons. However, that was not the first time he had thought about that. He lifted the ax and chopped down the skull, producing a strong, high-pitch sound as flesh and blood spilled all over the place.

When Luo Yuan had hit it about ten times, a light flashed across. His face suddenly turned red as the image of a roaring mad gorilla crept into his mind. He suddenly felt extremely mad and furious. He opened his mouth involuntarily and roared like a gorilla.

His body shook a little as a strong energy was released from it. Suddenly, his muscles began to expand, and so did his veins and arteries. He instantly became tall and huge, and his eyes turned red. The soul of the gorilla seemed to be possessing his body. He felt extremely furious as he lifted the ax with both his hands and chopped down the skull once again. There was a big crack on its surface and after that second hit, it broke.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The living room filled with noise as he seemed to have no other way to release his madness. After a while, he slowly became more rational and his anger subsided. He thought there would be some side effects from the evolution, but fortunately, he was not exhausted. He felt relaxed and comfortable, just like he did after taking a hot shower. The depression and frustration he had felt previously were all gone as well. The explosive attack did not seem to rely on his own power but on the ax itself.

Luo Yuan picked up the ax and checked it out. He noticed two big cracks on it, which meant its power had been almost fully consumed. Luo Yuan had expected this. However, the axe was not broken, even though it had collided with a similar object several times. The entire skull of the gorilla was destroyed. Luo Yuan found some sealable bags in the kitchen and poured the cerebral fluids and the mashed brain into one of them. He realized there were more than 10 bags on the floor when he was done.

He brought all the bags to the underground chamber. He noticed the women look at him curiously as he was about to close the door. He hesitated, and then shook his head with a sad expression. He remained silent as he opened up the bag with the mashed brain. He put the mashed brain into a pot and its awful smell immediately took over the entire chamber. Huang Jiahui got up from the ground with a pained expression. She was going to use mineral water to wash a few empty cans left over from their last dinner.

“No, don’t use the mineral water! There is no water supply anymore, try not to use our drinking water,” Luo Yuan stopped her.

He had checked on the water and gas supply when he had gone to the kitchen earlier, and realized there was no water and gas anymore. The two cartons of mineral water in the underground chamber were their only source of drinking water. Her hand that was about to twist the bottle cap stopped immediately. She slowly put down the bottle and said, “Luo Yuan, don’t lie to us. How bad is the situation outside?”

Luo Yuan shook his head and said, “It’s terrible. The beasts are entering the city and they do not seem to be slowing down. I think the battle will go on tomorrow, maybe even the day after tomorrow. The only question now is whether humans have enough bullets to kill all the beasts.”

Everyone turned even paler than before. Luo Yuan grabbed the bag with the mashed brain and poured it into four cans. He then took one of the cans and slowly drank it. The awful smell of the mashed brain formed a strange combination with the leftover food from the can, but he did not register it at all. Huang Jiahui also took one. She closed her eyes and held her breath before she swallowed it quickly. Then she poured some more into her can.

Wang Shishi hesitated. She had a suffering expression on her face, but she drank it quickly as well. Huang Yuying felt extremely uncomfortable watching the three of them drink that awful red liquid. It certainly did not look like food. She asked curiously, “What’s this?”

Luo Yuan looked at her for a second before he said, “Fresh mashed brain of a mutated beast. It’s good for you if you drink it.”

Luo Yuan did not think very highly of her. She was making an effort and being nice to all of them though, so he tolerated her existence. Anyway, she had joined them now, so it would not be nice to just boycott her. Plus, it was no longer a secret that the flesh and blood of mutants were the key to evolution. Those smart enough had already known about it. However, even though many knew the secret, there were only a few people who had managed to evolve. It had nothing to do with the wealth or status, it was just pure luck. Huang Yuying looked shocked and her face became very pale when she realised that this was the brain of a beast. She immediately covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting.

Huang Jihui looked at poor Huang Yuying and recalled eating that awful thing for the first time. She put down her can and said, “It’s okay. Don’t smell or don’t taste it. Just swallow it when you put it into your mouth.”

Regardless of how kind she had used to be, going through a horrible experience had made her stronger. Luo Yuan and Huang Jiahui’s advice reminded her of the rumors. She knew the importance of power and strength, especially when justice could not protect her. She did not hesitate any longer. She just took a can of mashed brain and drank it. When she was done, she looked really sick and she remained silent. Luo Yuan looked at her and thought she was a brave one. Only brave people would be able to survive through this chaos. Then he looked at Wang Shishi, who was puking, and shook his head in disappointment.

Luo Yuan was the only one who didn’t feel like his body was burning. The rest of them felt dizzy and had a terrible headache. Luckily, Luo Yuan had explained to them the side effects of eating the mashed brain. Otherwise, they would have been in a lot more pain. In fact, it felt a lot worse compared to the time Luo Yuan had eaten the brain of the mutated Rat King. Except Huang Jia Hui, the two other girls were crying and screaming like nobody was watching. About 30 minutes later, they started to feel better.

Luo Yuan sighed. He could not see any sign of evolution on them or himself. It had not worked. The probability of evolution was too low. However, they did not seem to be depressed. They actually looked quite excited. Wang Shishi kept jumping up and down. Luo Yuan suddenly said, “Shishi, let’s try your power!”

Wang Shishi nodded excitedly. Several cans of food flew into the air when she pointed her finger at them. They kept moving faster and faster until she closed her eyes and a strong wind appeared in the chamber. The other two girls could not resist its force and stood aside. Wang Shishi attempted to move something heavier. She aimed at a box of wine and began to chant. The box began to move and then flew into the air. She knew she could do better. She moved a box of Coca-Colas, and then a box of Sprites. Last but not least, she lifted a box of mineral water bottles. There was a total of four boxes of wine and drinks spinning around her. Unfortunately, her speed got a lot slower. She began to sweat after a few rounds of spinning and quickly put down the stuff. Huang Jiahui and Huang Yuying were amazed. They sighed instantly when Wang Shishi could not continue. Half of their excitement was gone.

"These things exceed the limit of the weight she had been able handle, so at least she has upgraded her power. Now I know that concentration and sensory perception are related, maybe even the evolution of sensory perception. Even if they are not, sensory perception has to be a factor.” He instantly felt inspired.

“Are you alright?” Luo Yuan asked when he noticed Wang Shishi holding her head.

"Oh, I overused my strength and feel a little bit of a headache now," Wang Shishi replied as she smiled sweetly at Luo Yuan. She did not look like she was having a headache.

“Pass me your shuttle, I’ll help you modify it,” Luo Yuan said as he remembered the giant skull outside.

“Brother Luo, could you make a nicer one? The last one was really ugly,” Wang Shishi said excitedly.

“Looks don’t matter, what matters is functionality. Even if I make it nicer, it will just be a toy in your hands,” Luo Yuan lectured her.

Wang Shishi quickly lowered her chin and stopped talking.

“Huang Jiahui, could you pass me the bullets you have?”

Huang Jiahui nodded excitedly. She took out a few boxes of bullets from her pocket together with the Desert Eagle. She removed all the bullets and passed them to Luo Yuan. There were many materials, including dark blue rank bullets, which could easily kill mutants lower than dark blue rank. They could be killed with one shot if the killer aimed at their weakest point. However, an experiment was necessary in order to prove it. If it worked, Luo Yuan planned on upgrading all the bullets to dark blue rank for Huang Jiahui. That way, she might be able to perform better at the critical moment.

It was overwhelming for him to fight alone and it would be extremely dangerous if they bumped into a group of mutants. Initially, he had wanted to modify some clothes, but in the end he gave up that thought. He knew the gorilla’s skull would not be suitable for that. Using identification, he discovered that the gorilla did not have any specific properties. Although it could be used to make clothes, its protection was relatively low. His speed would be lowered if he lost the wind properties, which meant that his power would be diminished. They only needed enough protection to prevent the bullets from penetrating their bodies.

In fact, there was no way to avoid an attack by a dark blue rank mutated beast. Even though the powerful clothes would not break, the human body would not be able to withstand such an attack. Thus, why not modify the bullets and the weapons? Luo Yuan walked out from the underground chamber and realized the temperature outside was even higher than before. He felt depressed and proceeded to check it out. He looked out through the big hole in the wall and was stunned for a while.

The sky had become red and barrage rose from the ground. The whole area looked like a sea of fire. Huge flames were swallowing everything in sight, and towers were burning and collapsing under the high temperature. Everything in the vicinity had been destroyed.

“A thermobaric bomb?” Luo Yuan said slowly as he shivered.