Chapter 605 - 517: The Price of Power

"Something feels off? I felt it too. You were different when dealing with the Gasoline Zombie earlier. What’s going on? Tell me the details!"

Zhang Su sat up straight, seriously inquiring.

Chen Hanzhou scratched his head in frustration, and leaning against the wall under the dim light, he slowly said, "I think there are indeed some zombie viruses left in my body, what Dr. Fu calls the Zombie Robot. The last snowfall, and today’s snow, have both affected me to some extent!"

"Now that you mention it... if I remember correctly, you told me that you discovered your self-healing ability shortly after the first snowfall, right?"

Seeing that Chen Hanzhou was willing to talk, Zhang Su guided him further, hoping to get to the bottom of the matter.

Chen Hanzhou nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, it was after that snow. But it took some time; it was during that operation when we went to capture the Petrified Skin Zombie. I accidentally injured myself and discovered it by chance—otherwise, it would’ve taken much longer to realize!

But today... today was different. Weren’t we at the West Second Ring Road when it started snowing? I felt an unusual sensation then. Shortly after the snow began, I felt a kind of... how to say, a warm energy inside me!"

As Chen Hanzhou spoke, he tilted his head, pondering. It seemed difficult to describe.

Zhang Su nodded thoughtfully, slowly furrowing his brow, "This sudden surge of energy, did you feel anything special?"

"It didn’t negatively impact me; wherever the energy flowed, I felt that part of my body got stronger. When it flowed to my waist, my core strength and flexibility improved. When it reached my organs, my cardio and lung capacity strengthened. But the sensation in my brain was the weakest; I didn’t feel any smarter, hehe..."

Chen Hanzhou couldn’t help but laugh at the end.

"So you mean, you’re able to guide that energy through your body?" Zhang Su asked.

Chen Hanzhou nodded, "I couldn’t initially, but I gradually learned to guide it."

Zhang Su had an odd expression, "Hey, did you ever guide that energy to somewhere else? Pei Lan would probably thank you for that!"

"Oh, Brother Su, you’re saying such things..."

Chen Hanzhou clearly felt a bit embarrassed, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, "I hadn’t finished. When the energy surged to my head, although I didn’t become smarter, I realized I could have a kind of... consciousness exchange with it that I can’t explain."

Even Chen Hanzhou himself felt this was unbelievable; it was an extremely mystical feeling.

Zhang Su changed his sitting posture, getting to what he genuinely wanted to know. He asked calmly, "Then what happened?"

"At first, it wasn’t me communicating with it, but it with me. Not using language, just a very elusive sensation. It conveyed a series of thoughts to me. It wasn’t in words or images, but I understood...

Its message was that it could make me stronger and could be nurtured by some substances to grow, then in return, it would enhance me. However, what it needed to grow was quite unique..."

"This... is a lot of information. Just tell me, what does that energy need to grow?"

Zhang Su already had a rough idea but needed to confirm with Chen Hanzhou.

"It needs me to absorb the abilities of Mutated Zombies!" Chen Hanzhou whispered mysteriously, his cigarette pinched so hard that it was dented.

"Oh, it’s got quite the appetite..."

Zhang Su quipped, then slapped his thigh, "I knew it — that’s why you were so brave before, insisting on fighting. So it was this thing stirring the pot all along?"

Having his guess confirmed brought him some relief but also raised more questions, leading him to inquire directly.

"Xiaochen, what you said is so fantastical. I understand Mutated Zombies and grasp absorption, but how do you absorb their abilities? For example, the Fire-breathing Zombie—how do you absorb its abilities without being burned to ashes?"

Chen Hanzhou gave a strange smile, a feeling of being beyond his control, and said lightly, "I’ve grasped some methods of absorption. The basic idea is that every Mutated Zombie has a unique energy device in its body, I..."

Pausing, Chen Hanzhou licked his lips and continued in a deep voice, "I can sense where the special energy device is!"

"Oh?" Zhang Su was genuinely surprised and probed, "Then tell me, where is the Fire-breathing Zombie’s special energy device?"

Chen Hanzhou pointed at his chest, "Here, the Fire-breathing Zombie’s heart contains extremely violent flame energy, which is the source of its power."

"A flaming heart, how cool! This ability of yours is impressive; it can save Dr. Fu a lot of research time in the future..."

Zhang Su didn’t mention Chen Hanzhou’s absorption, instead diverting attention, acting as if Chen Hanzhou’s changes weren’t a big deal.

This seemingly indifferent chat made Chen Hanzhou feel much better. At least Zhang Su didn’t treat him as an outsider and even saw him as having a more significant role within the base, which felt nice.

"No, there’s a flaw in this."

Touching his chin, Zhang Su frowned, "You said the Fire-breathing Zombie’s heart contains violent flame energy, so it’s definitely scorching hot. How do you absorb it? Like a street performer eating fire—it’s fake, isn’t it!"