Apocalypse: Resources consumed by women will be returned ten thousandfold.

--Translated by likesnovel--

People began pouring out of the surrounding apartment buildings.

They raised their heads toward the sky, shouting excitedly as they vented the despair that had been weighing on them for days.

The government had finally taken action!

The government was really doing something!

A look of joy appeared on Tang Xuerou's face.

"The government has started its operation!"

Xu Mengqian and Hu Lili were equally excited.

The moment they heard news of government intervention, the hope that had nearly died within them reignited.

Perhaps...

They would be able to return to their old lives.

Shopping at malls.

Chatting with friends.

Dressing up beautifully.

Living peaceful and ordinary days once again.

"Herbicide..."

Jiang Fan frowned slightly.

He didn't believe this evolutionary disaster could be resolved so easily.

From his experiences with Enlightenment Fruits and supernatural abilities, he had long suspected that this apocalypse was not merely the result of natural evolution.

Even if every mutated plant on Earth were destroyed, so what?

What about the Blood Mist?

As long as the Blood Mist continued to cover the world...

As long as human vision remained limited to only 5 meters...

Transportation and communication would never fully recover.

Because of that, Jiang Fan wasn't particularly optimistic about the government's plan.

Still...

The fact that the authorities could launch an operation on such a massive scale meant that the upper levels of government were still functioning.

It also meant there was still a chance for civilization and social order to recover.

Of course, Jiang Fan had no desire to live like a primitive savage forever.

As for the fact that he had publicly killed Zhou Tianhao in front of countless witnesses...

He wasn't worried in the slightest.

How many people had died over the past few days?

At least 1/3 of the entire population.

And among the survivors who remained...

How many had blood on their hands?

At least hundreds of millions.

What could the government do?

Execute them all?

That would be complete madness.

Or were they not afraid that those people would unite and rebel?

The old saying—

"The law cannot punish the masses."

—perfectly described the current situation.

Moreover...

If civilization was truly rebuilt one day...

The strongest superpowered individuals would inevitably rise to the top.

They would become the ruling class of the new era.

Therefore...

No matter how things turned out, Jiang Fan would always be among the beneficiaries.

Standing by the window, he silently watched the sky.

His expression remained calm, as if he were simply watching clouds drift by.

Neither excitement nor anxiety could be seen on his face.

Then he spoke casually.

"Xu Mengqian, go cook."

"We're not going anywhere today."

Xu Mengqian obediently replied,

"Yes, Brother Jiang."

At the same time, the group chat that had been quiet for days suddenly exploded with activity.

"The government has finally acted!"

"They'll definitely deliver supplies to us soon!"

"Of course they will! The country would never abandon us!"

"Hmph! Some people refused to trade gold necklaces for instant noodles. I bet they're regretting it now!"

"Hahaha! Exactly!"

"A snake trying to swallow an elephant only ends up choking itself to death!"

"Did someone seriously think they could trade instant noodles for women?"

"What a joke!"

"Those stupid women who believed him will regret it sooner or later!"

"Director Tang definitely won't let someone like that get away with it!"

...

Jiang Fan scrolled through the messages.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"I hope you can keep laughing a little longer."

30 minutes later...

More than 10 military transport aircraft flew low across the city.

Massive clouds of white mist sprayed from the rear of each plane.

A pungent chemical odor quickly spread through the air.

Under normal circumstances, people would have flooded government hotlines with complaints.

But now...

The survivors inside Fortune Center erupted into cheers.

"Long live Longguo!"

"Destroy the apocalypse!"

"Wipe out those mutated plants!"

The end of the disaster suddenly felt within reach.

Jiang Fan silently watched the aircraft overhead.

"More than 10 transport planes deployed simultaneously."

"And this is only 1 city within Greater Mohai."

"It seems the government has preserved more strength than I expected."

But at that very moment—

Several enormous crimson shadows burst through the clouds.

They moved at unbelievable speed.

Like blood-red lightning tearing through the sky.

At first, they appeared as tiny red dots in the distance.

Yet in the blink of an eye, they had already reached the formation of transport planes.

Even from afar, their size was nearly equal to the aircraft themselves.

A gigantic crimson talon descended.

Crunch!

The thick metal fuselage was torn apart like paper.

It offered almost no resistance.

Whoosh!

A massive red bird flapped its wings.

Then, with terrifying strength, it lifted a transport aircraft weighing dozens of tons into the clouds.

Humanity's proud technological creation...

Was utterly powerless.

One transport plane after another was dragged into the sky and vanished.

Among the flock was one giant bird that stood out from all the others.

It was several times larger than the rest.

Its crimson feathers resembled blazing flames.

Its wings burned like twin infernos stretching across the heavens.

It was clearly the leader of the flock.

The flaming giant bird raised its head.

Then released a piercing cry.

SKREEEEEEEE—!!!

The sound wave exploded outward in all directions.

Crash!

Crash!

Crash!

Countless windows throughout the city shattered instantly.

The entire city fell silent.

The hope that had only just begun to bloom inside people's hearts...

Was crushed into pieces in a single moment.

Upon hearing the cry of their leader, all of the crimson giant birds beat their wings and soared back into the sky.

In mere moments, they disappeared into the sea of clouds.

The cheers that had filled the city only moments ago vanished completely.

Countless survivors stood frozen in place.

They stared blankly at the sky, mouths hanging open.

Like ducks with their throats squeezed shut, they couldn't utter a single word.

Birds...

Had just carried transport aircraft weighing dozens of tons into the air.

Was that really something a carbon-based lifeform could do?

How powerful would the bones, muscles, and flesh of such monsters have to be?

Even if missiles were used against them...

Could they actually be killed?

A chill ran down Jiang Fan's spine.

As his physical attributes continued to evolve, his eyesight had improved dramatically as well.

Just moments ago, he had vaguely noticed something.

When the flaming giant bird released that piercing screech...

The air around it visibly distorted.

"That wasn't an ordinary cry..."

"It was more likely some kind of supernatural ability."

These blood-red giant birds were far more terrifying than the mutated frog lurking below.

And this was only Mohai City.

Yet creatures of this level had already appeared.

More importantly...

Mohai was a densely populated metropolis with relatively little wildlife.

There were countless places on Earth that humanity had barely explored.

The ancient forests of Shennongjia.

The Amazon Rainforest.

The endless oceans.

And now...

How many creatures in those places had already evolved beyond human imagination?

Could humanity truly reclaim its position at the top of the food chain?

At least for now...

Jiang Fan had no confidence in that whatsoever.

However...

No matter how the world changed, making himself stronger would always be the correct choice.

Jiang Fan pulled out a large pile of Enlightenment Fruits.

Then he began eating them one after another.

Fruit after fruit.

Until finally...

The familiar notification sounded inside his mind.

Ding!

[Perception Talent has advanced to 5-Star Rank.]

[You can now perceive non-living objects.]

[Perception range increased to 100 meters.]

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.

At last!

The upgrade was complete.

Now, the entire building lay within his surveillance range.

No movement could escape his perception anymore.

Moreover...

A radius of 100 meters extended beyond Building C and covered portions of Buildings A and B as well.

But the most important improvement was his ability to perceive non-living objects.

Previously...

He could only detect humans, animals, and plants.

Now...

Furniture.

Walls.

Concrete floors.

Steel support beams.

And virtually every object around him...

All appeared within his perception.

Although the colors were slightly dimmer than what he could see with his own eyes...

The overall image was nearly identical to reality.

Most importantly...

It provided a complete 360-degree view.

Without a single blind spot.

...

The next morning.

Jiang Fan got out of bed and walked to the window.

The Blood Mist still blanketed the city.

Its level had now risen high enough to swallow the entire 21st floor.

But soon, he noticed something different.

A huge number of plants had died.

The gigantic pine trees that once towered into the sky had lost every needle overnight.

Only bare trunks remained.

Their life force glowed faintly.

Like candles that could be extinguished at any moment.

The vines that once covered the buildings had withered away, revealing the aging walls beneath them.

"It actually worked?"

Jiang Fan was genuinely surprised.

"Intangibility."

His body instantly sank into the floor.

A short while later, he emerged inside an empty room on the 1st floor.

Then he carefully expanded his perception outward.

This time...

He finally found the mutated frog.

The creature was resting at the bottom of the community swimming pool.

Almost as if it were hibernating.

The pool was more than 80 meters away from Building C's entrance.

Without his upgraded perception, he might never have discovered it.

At the same time, he noticed that the outside environment had changed dramatically.

Weeds.

Vines.

And countless woody plants.

Lay scattered across the ground.

For the first time in a long while, he could actually see the earth beneath them.

Instead of the endless sea of green that had previously covered everything.

Not only plants suffered.

Large numbers of small animals had also been affected.

The ground was littered with dead rats.

Dead cockroaches.

And countless insects.

However...

Because the giant birds had attacked the transport planes before they completed their mission, the herbicide had not been distributed evenly.

Many areas still contained large numbers of surviving mutated plants.

Some indoor locations had barely been affected at all.

For example...

The decorative plants in the lobby on the 1st floor had only wilted slightly.

None of them had actually died.

What troubled Jiang Fan most, however, was something else.

The life-force glow of the surviving plants had not weakened.

Not even a little.

On the contrary...

The glow had become even brighter.

As though they were rapidly adapting to the herbicide.

After thinking about it, the explanation made perfect sense.

In a world where everything was evolving at an unimaginable speed...

How could a single herbicide eliminate every mutated plant?

As long as they survived...

They could adapt.

Evolve.

And become stronger once again.

Jiang Fan let out a quiet sigh.

"It seems that what's happening now..."

"...is merely the dying struggle of human civilization."

At the same time, increasingly bold survivors began leaving their apartments.

Excited voices echoed throughout the residential complex.

"Holy crap! This herbicide is incredible!"

"As expected from the Longke Research Institute!"

"Stop standing around!"

"Let's hurry to the supermarket and gather supplies!"

"So many of those plants are dead now!"

"This might be our last chance!"

Almost instantly, survivors began moving once more.

Completely unaware that...

The real danger...

May have only just begun.