Apocalypse Gachapon

At this time, Cloud Peak had undergone some changes since Ye Zhongming left.

The most obvious one was that the defensive array had been deactivated.

The King of Cloud Peak noticed this immediately upon his return.

However, he said nothing.

Because aside from this, most other things remained the same, especially the familiar faces, which filled Ye Zhongming with warmth and reassurance.

Perhaps the deactivation of the defensive array was only temporary, just for maintenance or upgrades.

The cheers of Cloud Peak’s warriors, initially confined to certain areas, soon spread throughout the entire mountain villa. Unless one were deaf, even those deep underground in the laboratories would have heard it.

Ye Zhongming jumped down from Yellow Ball’s back and was the first to walk through the villa’s gates.

Facing him, Xia Lei led a group of core members forward, her eyes shimmering with emotion. She first looked her man up and down, then stepped forward and gave him a fierce hug.

A whisper so faint only he could hear it reached his ears, leaving Ye Zhongming both amused and exasperated.

After Xia Lei, Liang Chuyin, and Miya also threw themselves into his arms, seeking solace for their longing.

Then came the boisterous Little Tiger, Tong Hu, and others, all insisting on hugging Ye Zhongming. Even the usually composed Guang Yao and the rest joined in, leaving Ye Zhongming both delighted and helpless.

The excitement lasted for a while. When Le Dayuan, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, arrived, the clamor resumed.

Surrounded by everyone, Ye Zhongming glanced around, his eyes filled with questions, but he said nothing. After a while, as the initial excitement of the reunion settled, he and the core members returned to his villa.

Almost all of Cloud Peak’s leadership, except those away from home, had gathered here.

“Where’s Sister Hong?”

Almost as soon as everyone had taken their seats, Ye Zhongming asked the question weighing on his mind.

Some core members were indeed absent, but Liu Zhenghong and Le Dayuan absolutely should not have been among them! Unless Ye Zhongming had given permission, neither of them was allowed to leave the villa freely. Normally, if one of them went out, Ye Zhongming himself, along with a main combat team and the Female Guard, would personally accompany them. If Ye Zhongming were unavailable, their protection would consist of at least two main combat teams, two operational squads from Chameleon, and the strongest core members.

But now, while some core members were absent, the most powerful—Xia Lei, Liang Chuyin, Mo Ye, Little Tiger, Guang Yao, Sheng Yuan, and others—were all here. So, who was protecting Sister Hong?

Ye Zhongming was certain Liu Zhenghong had left—otherwise, she would have appeared.

The King of Cloud Peak grew serious because Le Dayuan and Liu Zhenghong were practically the foundation of this place, second only to himself.

Xia Lei sighed. “Sister Hong really isn’t here, but don’t worry—she’s fine… probably fine.”

The first part of her words eased Ye Zhongming’s tension slightly. He knew Xia Lei was reliable—if she said Sister Hong was fine, then she was. But the “probably fine” immediately darkened his expression.

“Let me explain.”

Le Dayuan took over, rubbing his receding hairline—which even becoming an eight-star evolved hadn’t stopped—before speaking. “Our Old Liu went out with the Death King Tree.”

“The Death King Tree woke up?” Ye Zhongming raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Le Dayuan nodded firmly. “Successfully evolved to level nine.”

Ye Zhongming rested his fingers on the chair, saying nothing.

He could see the current state of Cloud Peak. The Death King Tree’s awakening clearly hadn’t caused any disasters—Cloud Peak remained unharmed. That lifeform, so determined to become human, hadn’t resorted to extreme measures despite reaching the pinnacle of strength.

Of course, before leaving, Ye Zhongming had anticipated this scenario and discussed countermeasures with Liu Zhenghong and Xia Lei. He didn’t know if they had been used.

When it came to level-nine lifeforms, Ye Zhongming never assumed anything could fully restrain them. That was why he had brought the Talking Lady back this time, though for certain reasons, she hadn’t entered the villa. Still, at Ye Zhongming’s signal, she could arrive swiftly to counterbalance the Death King Tree.

“Before, its long slumber during evolution was partly due to our modifications.” Le Dayuan glanced at Ye Zhongming before continuing. “A while ago, the Death King Tree’s body suddenly underwent drastic changes, nullifying all the measures Old Liu had implanted.”

Ye Zhongming knew this had been part of the plan—if possible, they had hoped to delay the Death King Tree’s awakening until his return.

“The transformation didn’t last long—just over an hour—but during that time, nothing external could be introduced into its body. We could only watch as it completed its evolution.”

Many present had witnessed it firsthand, and their expressions grew complicated at Le Dayuan’s words.

It wasn’t hard to imagine—the evolution of a level-nine lifeform, if not earth-shattering, would at least involve violent energy fluctuations.

(The Talking Lady was an exception—she was special.)

“After evolving, its mood… was unstable.” Le Dayuan shook his head. “Thanks to Old Liu and your efforts, the Death King Tree’s evolution toward a human—or at least a humanoid—form was quite effective. But it wasn’t complete. Its head and torso were nearly perfect, indistinguishable from a human’s. Only the tree bark still clinging to its limbs couldn’t be removed.”

Ye Zhongming’s lips twitched. He could almost empathize with the Death King Tree’s frustration.

“At first, it wanted to vent its anger. But even if you weren’t here, did it really think Cloud Peak would be an easy target? Even for a level-nine lifeform!”

As he spoke, Le Dayuan’s earlier worry and helplessness gave way to pride, reflecting his absolute confidence in Cloud Peak.

“After a brief clash—and considering their past good relationship—the Death King Tree calmed down. It talked with Old Liu, and we don’t know what was said, but then it took Old Liu and a team of gene warriors out of the villa, refusing to let anyone follow. Five days later, they returned with the corpse of a level-nine lifeform.”

Xiao Min, Dai Zhi, Xia Bai, Red Hair, and others listened as if hearing a fantastical tale. The Youth Army’s young leader, Xiao Xuan—attending such a high-level meeting for the first time—looked utterly dumbfounded. He felt his six-plus years in the apocalypse were nothing compared to this.

Also, which gene warrior team was that?

“Old Liu told Xia Lei to send people to accompany her and the Death King Tree, saying they needed to hunt more level-nines to extract certain genes for the final modifications. After discussion, we sent Tang Tian, Young Master Yun, Ah Yang, and Gan Lan’s teams with them.”

“A few days later, they returned with another corpse, also level nine. They stayed in the lab for a while, doing who-knows-what, then left again about five days ago.”

Once Le Dayuan finished, Sister Rong, in charge of Cloud Peak’s defenses, added:

“We don’t know what’s up with the Death King Tree. After evolving to level nine, it basically has a human body, but when moving, root-like tendrils still extend from its feet into the ground. They look thin and soft, but their attack power is terrifying, and they trigger our defensive array’s counterattacks. After some damage, we had to deactivate the array temporarily. Otherwise, every time it comes back, it’d cause unnecessary losses. Some parts, we can’t even repair ourselves.”

After listening, Ye Zhongming fell into silent contemplation. No one dared disturb him.

A few minutes later, the King of Cloud Peak abruptly changed the subject.

“The Resistance Zone spun a level nine wheel and obtained a weapon that can be installed on a war fortress. They also attacked a secret surveillance post set up by Chameleon near their territory.”