Chương 51: Fusion and Reflection

Zoe Chu squatted on the ground, balancing her umbrella over her head. Fighting back her nausea, she meticulously dissected the corpse on the pavement. Meanwhile, Vince used this downtime to carefully observe his Health Bar. [95/370] When the [Feral Potion (Medium)] was active, his HP had regenerated at a rate of roughly one point every 20 seconds. Over its full ten-minute duration, it had restored nearly 30 HP. After equipping the [Revitalization Crystal], however, the rate was closer to one point per minute.

I'm not sure what the exact output of a [Feral Potion (Small)] is yet, so I can't make a direct comparison. As for the new energy bar, Vince had essentially figured out the mechanics. The "consumes the wearer's own energy" clause for equipping crystals referred directly to this blue gauge. Maintaining the [Revitalization Crystal] drained roughly one point per minute. Three minutes had passed, and the gauge currently sat at 97.

[97/100] This means a full energy bar can sustain this buffed state for an hour and a half. Total recovery: 100 HP. The only thing he didn't know yet was the regeneration rate for the energy bar itself. Since he didn't dare unequip the crystal right now, there was no way to test it.

"Found it!" Just as he was mentally calculating the parameters of his newfound system, a crisp, cheerful shout rang out near his feet. Vince looked down to see Zoe pulling her hand out of the corpse, clutching a blood-stained crystal. She adjusted the umbrella with one hand and held out the crystal with the other, letting the runoff rainwater wash the gore away before handing it to Vince. It was another multi-faceted crystal. [Revitalization Crystal] [Energy Level: Level 1] [Quality: Common (Fusible. Effective Channel Structure: 10%)] [Equippable] [Fusible]... Fusible? Vince reached out and took the crystal. The moment it touched his palm, several new lines of system prompts popped up: [Fusing crystals of the same level and same channel can upgrade the crystal's quality (scaling with the effective channel structure ratio).] [Confirm Fusion?] Based on the previous item descriptions, Vince had already suspected this. It really worked! Glancing at the anxious Zoe, Vince subtly slid his hand into his pocket.

With a thought, he confirmed the command. Fusion! He felt a faint vibration in his hand before the second crystal vanished completely. Simultaneously, the physical enhancement flowing through his body—so similar to the [Feral Potion]—surged, growing noticeably stronger! A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The currently equipped [Revitalization Crystal] pulsed with a faint blue light.

Vince checked its updated attributes: [Revitalization Crystal] [Energy Level: Level 1] [Quality: Superior (Fusible. Effective Channel Structure: 20%)] [Equippable]... The Effective Channel Structure had doubled to 20%, and the quality had upgraded to Superior! The physical feedback was undeniably stronger. Although it still didn't quite match the explosive output of the [Feral Potion (Medium)], having a passive buff of this magnitude that lasted for an hour and a half was incredibly powerful.

In short, Fusion combined the Effective Channel Structures of two identical crystals, resulting in a higher-quality item with amplified effects. It was just a pity that his other crystals lacked the fusion affix. But that was fine. As he accumulated more crystals, hunting mutated zombies would become easier, his Health Bar would grow, and he would become exponentially stronger.... Zoe Chu picked up the dagger from the ground and rinsed it in the rain.

Seeing the resolute look in Vince's eyes and the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, she couldn't help but feel a surge of absolute confidence. I don't know what Dage is grinning about, but it has to be something good!

"Let's go. We're heading back." Vince felt his path forward becoming increasingly clear, his heavy heart lightening slightly. The two returned to the gas station. Zoe bade him goodbye, grabbed some food and water, and went inside the breakroom to tend to Cody Chu and Seth Xu. Vince, however, still had no intention of entering their cramped room. Instead, he gathered some snacks, collected a few floor mats, and arranged them in a corner of the main hall.

He then dragged a heavy display shelf over, forming a barricaded triangle between the shelf and the walls. Even though the surrounding zombies had mostly been cleared out, he had to take precautions. If he fell asleep, any wandering zombie would hit the metal shelf first, acting as a noisy early-warning system. With his perimeter secured, he leaned back against the corner, slowly eating his snacks to replenish his calories. Discovering a secondary progression path beyond simply raising his HP cap was a massive win.

That [10, 000] Health Bar still loomed over his mind like an unshakeable nightmare. Furthermore, the HP yield from killing regular zombies and mutant hounds was visibly decreasing. Vince suspected this was directly tied to his own rising HP pool. He could reasonably deduce that once his stats reached a certain threshold, killing regular zombies would no longer grant any growth at all. Water doesn't flow uphill.

If he wanted to get stronger efficiently, he had to hunt mutated zombies and monsters with higher Health Bars than his own. He had to pursue both paths: the health cap and the crystals. Vince watched the curtain of rain outside the gas station through the gaps in the metal shelf. He resolved that once he recovered, he needed to find a way to farm zombies on a massive scale. Ever since waking up from his coma, he had been running non-stop just to survive.

He had cleared his building and, by sheer luck, smothered two mutating zombies in their cradles. He had even trained Claire to handle the domestic logistics so he could focus entirely on combat. But compared to those monsters boasting thousands—or tens of thousands—of HP, his progress was still too slow. Vince lifted his shredded shirt with his good hand. The mangled lacerations on his abdomen were already knitting back together.

While not completely healed, the tissue had meshed far better than the jagged mess the fangs had initially left. Although his left arm was still immobile, Vince gently palpated it. Under the passive recovery effect of the [Revitalization Crystal], the fractured bones had essentially realigned themselves. Just like his previously ruptured eardrums, a full recovery was merely a matter of time. This terrifying speed of muscular and skeletal regeneration felt alien even to him.

But at least he didn't have to worry about permanent disabilities. But if the wounds have already closed... what exactly was that sensation of my bone marrow being incinerated by hellfire when the potion expired? Unable to wrap his head around it, Vince abandoned the speculation and shifted his focus back to his Health Bar. [101/370] Despite looking like an absolute wreck—his midsection torn to ribbons and his left arm half-paralyzed—he currently possessed the equivalent health pool of a perfectly healthy human.

He had no idea what biological medium these Health Points were anchored to. An intrusive thought suddenly popped into his head. Was he like those zombies? If he was decapitated, would his severed head still have 30 HP left? The thought sent a violent chill down his spine. It made him feel as though he were no longer biologically human. In truth, he didn't even know if his current existence still classified as "human." At this thought, Vince let out a bitter, silent chuckle.

In Zoe's eyes, he had probably crossed that line a long time ago. The way she looked at him... it was like looking at some overpowered, cheat-code protagonist straight out of a web novel. Is that what I look like?