Chapter 55: Evolutionary Information

Lin Xian wore a calm expression and replied, "That's not necessarily true; we'll have to see it to know."

Jiang Yun gave him an appraising look before nodding and saying, "That shouldn't be a problem. Actually, there are fairly standard versions of this in some of the Federal Phoenix Society's rescue outposts. However, due to the polar night, all the rescue outposts are constantly on the move, or perhaps some of the permanent underground cities might have them. But similarly, once you're caught in the polar night coverage, it's very difficult for supplies to get in or for people to get out."

"As for the information you mentioned regarding ability evolution..." Jiang Yun offered a strained smile, his gaze sweeping across the circle. "I can only tell you that the methods and pathways for every ability's evolution are completely different. You have to specify what exact ability it is. If it's one of the types publicized by the Phoenix Society, I can tell you directly. But if not, then I'm not sure if anyone here would know, and even if they did..."

"What, can this secret even be used for trade?" KIKI chimed in at this point.

Jiang Yun nodded meaningfully. "Yes, but not necessarily. After all, there are far too many types of abilities now. Even for the simplest and most common abilities like limb mimicry or aberrant proliferation, the evolutionary pathway isn't as simple as just consuming blood and flesh. Some people succeed, while others fail. This might be related to one's own ability growth progress, or perhaps to mental strength or the type of flesh consumed—many factors are unpredictable. Therefore, even if someone unselfishly shares their method of evolution, it might not necessarily be correct, since it varies from person to person."

"And furthermore," Jiang Yun added with deep significance, "even if someone tells you, how do you know if it's true or false?"

Jiang Yun's words caused Lin Xian's expression to shift slightly.

It seemed that abilities were far more complex than he had imagined.

Everyone's evolutionary pathway was different. Even for the exact same ability, someone might stumble into success, but they might not even be able to explain what lucky break they triggered themselves.

Unless a certain organization had the capability to conduct massive amounts of data collection, testing, and experimentation, relying on hearsay made it difficult to even distinguish between truth and falsehood, let alone achieve success.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The upgrade path for his own Mechanical Heart was extremely clear; the only issue was that his combat capability was somewhat lacking.

Therefore, his goal was self-armorization. If given the opportunity, turning himself into Iron Man was entirely possible.

After all, the Dragon Country Space Military itself possessed the technology for full-coverage powered combat armor, except that he currently had no way to touch such things, knowing of them only from past media information and KIKI's accounts.

Not to mention AI systems and the like—if he could reach a stage where he could manufacture a combat mecha-girl, wouldn't that be...

He was getting ahead of himself.

"I have a team member who likely has a physical enhancement-type ability with immense strength. If anyone has information regarding this, you can trade it with me."

Lin Xian used Building's ability to probe the waters. As for discerning truth from falsehood, he would simply have to rely on his own intuition. If he could help Building or KIKI evolve their abilities, it would undoubtedly greatly boost the survival rate of their small team.

As for KIKI's telekinesis-type ability, Lin Xian chose not to reveal it directly, lest it draw another wave of astonished gazes.

Although everyone present appeared friendly on the surface, one always had to keep a card up their sleeve.

"A physical enhancement-type ability?"

"I've seen it and heard of it," spoke up the woman named Shu Qin. "But I don't know if it's true or useful. I heard that this kind of ability might require absorbing extremely heavy blood qi, and it might only be possible to evolve while in a near-death state."

She shrugged after finishing.

"I'm just mentioning it casually; I don't want to trade for anything. You'll have to judge for yourself whether it's useful."

This matter concerned life and death, so she couldn't be certain of anything, and she didn't seem willing to use it as a bargaining chip.

Upon hearing this, both Lin Xian and KIKI wore changing expressions.

"A near-death state?"

"Actually, this information is also worth referencing," said a man in his fifties in the crowd, his expression growing solemn. "Whether publicized by the Phoenix Society or passed among the wanderer communities, almost all abilities cannot escape three things: first, a certain item; second, a certain change concerning the body and mindset; and finally, a certain specific condition."

"Indeed," Jiang Yun chimed in. "From most of the information I currently know, there is no ability that evolves easily."

"I understand," Lin Xian nodded, casting a grateful look toward the group.

He thought of Tang Hai from that night. Although it sounded simple, if one had to be bitten to death by a zombie to possibly achieve evolution, and the early stages of the ability showed no special manifestations, who would deliberately bleed themselves to let zombies devour them?

"Alright, let's continue then."

Seeing that Lin Xian was lost in thought, Jiang Yun signaled for the others to resume taking turns speaking.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian and KIKI whispered to each other in the corner.

"Red Bean, the Soul-Sweeping Detector—we should be able to get both. Ability evolution doesn't seem all that simple..."

"I think you don't need to worry about this at all," KIKI said with a curl of her lips. "As long as we can maintain external information transmission, through the survival of the fittest, these secrets will sooner or later appear in the survivors' field of view. Didn't I tell you? The Genesis Project has always been conducting research in this area. Just give me another chance to hack into—heehee."

Watching the clever young lady with her mischievous look, Lin Xian smiled. "How would you hack in? Using a broadcast?"

"Hey!" KIKI's eyes lit up. "That's right, the Dawn Project used to be part of the Federal Government's assets as well. There must be devices connected to orbital satellites inside, and perhaps a lot of information. Besides, isn't that Underground City No. 9 located right near Daluo Mountain? Don't you think we should hatch a scheme?"

Hatch a scheme...

Why did that phrase sound so strange?

Yet, KIKI's words stirred a thought within Lin Xian. KIKI still held the status of a Tier-2 investor in the Dawn Project, and before entering Yubei City, they happened to need to traverse the northern foothills of Daluo Mountain across the Congshan mountain range. Although there was some distance, this sounded like a promising opportunity.

An underground city built by the authorities—if nothing else, high-end precision electronic equipment and communication devices would certainly be in abundance!

"Want to go?" KIKI asked with an eager expression. "I have the status of a Tier-2 investor; that's worth even more than a first-class citizen~"

"I'm considering it," Lin Xian took a deep breath. "Though there's one problem."

"What problem?"

"Did you forget what they just said? The Daluo Mountain area might have some kind of anomalous zone, a major anomaly, and right behind us is the polar night tide, plus some terrifying corpse-herder. Do we have the time to go?"

At these words, the smile on KIKI's face froze, her expression shifting as she shrank her neck in fear.

"Uh... well..."

"What I'm a bit curious about, though, is that ever since Doomsday began, I've never heard any official announcements regarding the Dawn Project, and the people here don't seem to know about such a massive underground city project nearby either. Don't you find that strange?"

Hearing this, KIKI pursed her lips and replied, "It's very simple. Because resources were limited and the construction period was extremely tight, the project never considered the life or death of ordinary people from its inception. Everyone selected for an underground city quota obtained it through targeted invitation, and they also had to pay a certain price. How could a project like this ever be publicly announced?"

Hearing this, Lin Xian gave a helpless smile.

So that was how it was...

The so-called Dawn Project was actually an emergency shelter for the privileged. No wonder all the construction projects were carried out in secret; when the Abyssal Rift first formed before the polar night, news regarding the Dawn Project basically originated from vague leaked documents.

"The world has ended, and they've even dug all the way to Underground City No. 9, yet they could still keep the confidentiality work this tight. They really are damn efficient..."

"That's why the Federal Government collapsed after the polar night," KIKI said. "But since my dad brought me along, it means Underground City No. 9 must already be operational and ready for occupancy."

Lin Xian nodded and said in a deep voice, "Put that way, Underground City No. 9 can no longer be considered official; it's just a former government project, and it's not open to civilians. Aside from you being able to enter, the rest of us probably won't get in."

"Who cares? Maybe the people inside are all dead already, and even if there are people left, our purpose isn't to go in and become underground citizens," KIKI said with a cunning smile, putting her hands on her hips. "The people in there don't treat civilians as human beings, so why should we be polite to them?"

Lin Xian frowned, looking at her with a half-smile.

"You mean the few of us are going to loot a massive underground city?"

"Hehe, there's no harm in going."

KIKI excitedly raised her eyebrows at him, a meaningful smile hanging on her face. "There must be all kinds of cutting-edge technology equipment inside, heavy mechs for defense, and to maintain a massive underground city, there has to be a nuclear power plant. Who knows, they might even have interstellar propulsion systems. Didn't you want to launch your train up into the clouds? This is a prime opportunity."

Watching her eager and enthusiastic expression, Lin Xian was momentarily stunned. He had to admit that what this young lady said had genuinely moved him.

For his Mechanical Heart, this truly was a prime opportunity to upgrade the train before entering the circumstellar orbit.

"Alright, let's discuss the details after we get back. Let's handle the matters here first."

Lin Xian took a calming breath.

KIKI cheered excitedly, "Yay!"

In front of the bonfire, leaders of more than a dozen motorcades were communicating with each other about necessary supplies and issues. As part of their trade, they brought out items each other needed, and two motorcades even reached a temporary consensus to merge together, fleeing eastward as a collective.