Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 158

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Fire Lizards

The second subordinate chimed in, equally astounded.

“That must have cost you more than 10 billion federal coins! Boss, we had no idea…”

For a moment, Qin Feng’s normally stoic expression softened. He waved a hand dismissively. “Stop exaggerating. The cloaks didn’t cost nearly that much.”

The subordinates exchanged a puzzled glance.

Qin Feng sighed, feeling a little awkward under their sudden admiration.

“Boss Su gave them to me at a discount. 10,000 federal coins each. She wanted to make sure people in the Black Ray Base were protected.”

Silence filled the room as the subordinates processed this.

They hadn’t expected such generosity—not from Boss Su, whose base had been known for strict management and selectiveness about who got in.

For her to offer such a discount… it spoke volumes about her.

“Boss Su gave us a discount like that?” the second subordinate whispered, clearly moved. “She didn’t have to do that…”

The first subordinate nodded in agreement, his voice filled with newfound admiration.

“Boss Su must really care about the safety of the people here. We heard rumors, but now… now I see how generous she truly is.”

They both bowed their heads slightly, a show of respect not only for Qin Feng but for Boss Su as well.

“We owe her,” the second subordinate added, his voice growing firm with resolve.

“Boss, you can count on us. We’ll protect Boss Su’s base from any trouble, no matter what.”

Qin Feng watched them, a strange feeling tugging at his chest.

His subordinates had always been loyal, but the way they spoke about Boss Su now felt… different.

It wasn’t just duty. They genuinely admired her, and that admiration was contagious.

He wondered how would they react if they knew that the only reason Boss Su gave the discount was because she liked him…

“Listen,” Qin Feng said, regaining his composure.

“I don’t want any reckless actions. You’re only to intervene if Dong Shin moves against Boss Su. We can’t afford to expose ourselves. Understood?”

Both subordinates straightened and nodded in unison. “Understood, Boss!”

Qin Feng gave them a rare, small nod of approval.

“Good. Now go. You have your orders.”

As they left the room, the image of their once cold and distant boss had transformed in their eyes.

He wasn’t just a strict leader anymore—he was someone who genuinely cared, someone who would go to great lengths to protect them and those he valued.

And their admiration for both him and Boss Su only grew stronger with each step they took.

Once outside, the first subordinate couldn’t help but whisper,

“I knew our boss was tough, but to spend so much just to protect us… He’s something else.”

“And Boss Su too,” the second one added, clutching the cloak with renewed reverence.

“We won’t let anyone mess with her base. Not on our watch.”

…….

Near a polluted river, under the dim, polluted sky, a zombie staggered forward, its flesh sizzling and crackling as though being cooked from within.

This zombie wasn’t like the others—it was on the brink of an evolution.

The heat emanating from its body hinted at what it could become: a fire-resistant zombie, a rare and terrifying creature that could survive flames and extreme temperatures.

But something was wrong. It wasn’t moving with the determination of the undead, but rather with desperation, its body lurching erratically as it fled from some unseen force.

The zombie collapsed by the riverbank, a plume of acrid steam rising from its skin as its decaying body gave out.

Its posture was strange, twisted unnaturally as if it had been running for its life. Its eyes, dull and lifeless, remained wide with a lingering fear, forever trapped in its dying moments.

The skin that had been on the verge of transforming into a heat-shielding shell began to bubble and flake off, its body failing to complete the evolution.

The toxic air of the river combined with the noxious environment around it accelerated its decay.

As the zombie’s body melted into the ground, a thick, dark fluid oozed from its wounds and seeped into the soil.

But there was more than just the remains of a failed mutation.

Tiny, barely visible bacteria, born from the zombie’s dying body, flowed into the nearby tunnel system through small cracks in the earth.

The river’s pollution acted as a conduit, spreading the infectious organisms to areas unseen by human eyes.

Deep within the dark, damp tunnel, life thrived.

Lizards, insects, and scavenging creatures scurried about in the shadows, completely unaware of the danger that had just been introduced to their ecosystem.

Beetles, flies, and lizards fed on decaying matter, living their lives as usual.

But as the bacteria from the zombie’s remains slowly infiltrated their habitat, everything began to change.

The bacteria entered their bodies through the air they breathed, the water they drank, and the food they consumed.

At first, the changes were subtle.

The lizards’ scales took on a faint red hue, their bodies growing warmer by the hour.

Insects began to twitch unnaturally, their wings humming with an eerie, unnatural heat.

The creatures were mutating, slowly but surely, into something far more dangerous than they had ever been.

The lizards’ bodies swelled, their size doubling, then tripling.

Their scales hardened, becoming like small shields capable of withstanding fire.

Their tongues flickered out, now glowing with a faint, fiery light, as the transformation completed.

No longer just ordinary lizards, they had become fire lizards—agile, aggressive, and dangerous.

The mutated insects grew larger as well, their wings thickening and their bodies swelling with heat.

The beetles’ shells now gleamed with a molten, fiery sheen, while flies buzzed around with scorching intensity, leaving trails of smoke in their wake.

The tunnel, once a harmless hiding place for small creatures, had turned into a breeding ground for dangerous, mutated monsters.

Not far from the river, a group of human scavengers, armed with makeshift weapons and crude armor, were tracking the dying zombie.

“Sh*t! God knows when the temperature will drop, thank god we have temperature-controlling suits!”