Apocalypse: I Have A Multiplier System - Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Fourth Superpower?

Xi Ping set out for the day, with a mission in her mind. Today she was tasked to hunt down 20, level 3 zombies and 10 level 4 zombies.

The task was challenging but the reward following it was generous, hence she decided to accept it.

Very few people knew about her strength. She was a rare tri-power superhuman. Super strength, super speed, and teleportation.

However, to the public, she was just another dual power awakener.

But there was something else bothering her. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Lately, her body had felt strange—warmer than usual, like an unspoken force bubbling beneath her skin.

It wasn’t the typical aftereffects of battle fatigue or stress from living in a world where survival was an everyday challenge.

No, this was something different, and she had a nagging suspicion that something was changing inside her.

For now, she chose to push it aside, determined to finish the mission early so she could rest before dealing with her blood-sucking foster parents.

“Twenty Strikers, ten Morphs,” she whispered to herself, tightening her grip on the blade at her side.

She preferred close combat—it allowed her to fully utilize her super strength and speed.

But teleportation had its uses too, especially when she needed a quick escape.

The first few Strikers came at her fast, their decayed bodies moving with surprising agility. One lunged forward, its long, jagged nails slashing through the air.

Xi Ping dodged to the side.

In a blur, she appeared behind it, her blade slicing clean through its neck. The Striker crumpled to the ground, its head rolling a few feet away.

One down.

Another two closed in, their movements quick but predictable.

Strikers were fast, but their combat style was straightforward—attack head-on, overwhelm the target.

Xi Ping could handle them with her eyes closed.

With a quick teleport, she appeared between them, using her super strength to knock one into the other, the impact sending both zombies crashing into the ground.

She finished them off with two swift strikes to their skulls.

After an hour of relentless combat, Xi Ping had taken down her 20 Strikers, their crystal cores gleaming in her pouch.

But now came the real challenge—the Morphs. Unlike the Strikers, Morphs were much more intelligent.

They could think, strategize, and adapt to their surroundings, making them infinitely more dangerous.

She moved cautiously now, knowing that one bite from a Morph could turn her into one of them within 20 minutes.

She couldn’t afford to be reckless.

The first Morph spotted her from the shadows, its cold, dead eyes narrowing in on her.

It moved faster than she anticipated, darting toward her with a speed that rivaled her own.

Xi Ping teleported at the last second, reappearing a few feet away.

The Morph turned, its movements calculated, almost as if it had anticipated her next move.

Clever, she thought. But not clever enough.

With a burst of speed, Xi Ping closed the distance between them, swinging her blade toward its neck.

The Morph blocked her strike with its arm, the sound of metal clashing against bone reverberating through the air.

She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, her super strength finally overpowering it as she drove her blade through its skull.

Nine more to go.

After what felt like hours, Xi Ping finally collected her tenth Morph crystal.

She was exhausted, her muscles aching from the prolonged fight, but relief washed over her.

It was done.

She collapsed against a tree to rest, her breathing heavy.

But as she closed her eyes, the warmth inside her flared up, intense and almost unbearable.

Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

She clutched her stomach, trying to breathe through the pain, but it only grew worse.

What’s happening to me?

Suddenly, her surroundings felt different, as if the energy from the crystals she had collected was now being drawn toward her.

She gasped, her eyes widening in shock as the power from the zombie cores began to seep into her body.

It was a strange, terrifying sensation—like she was absorbing the very essence of the creatures she had killed.

She had always believed tri-power was her limit, that three abilities were all she would ever have.

But now, as the power of the zombies flowed into her, she realized she had been wrong.

The warmth in her body grew hotter, spreading through her veins, her bones, her very soul. And then, with a final burst of heat, it happened.

Xi Ping’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a new, untapped power.

A fourth superpower.

Her heart raced as she waited for the strange new power to reveal itself.

She tried to focus, summoning the strength that had bubbled up within her just moments ago—but nothing happened.

“What…?”

She frowned, staring down at her hands.

Her fingers trembled slightly, still buzzing with residual energy, but no matter how much she concentrated, she couldn’t summon whatever had been awakened inside her.

Had it all been an illusion? Just a side effect of absorbing the zombie crystals?

“No,” she whispered under her breath.

She felt different.

Something had changed.

But why couldn’t she access this new ability?

She paced around the clearing, trying to calm herself. Maybe she was still too exhausted from the battle.

The fight against the Morphs had pushed her to her limits, and now her body was fighting to adjust to the influx of power from the crystals.

“Focus,” she muttered to herself. “You’ve got this.”

She closed her eyes, trying to focus again.

She channeled the same energy she used to activate her teleportation, expecting to feel the familiar rush of movement—but there was nothing.

Her heartbeat quickened as she thought back to the moment when the zombie cores had merged with her.

It had felt unnatural, foreign. Had she somehow absorbed the wrong kind of energy? Was this new power dangerous?

Xi Ping shook her head, unwilling to let fear take root.

She wasn’t helpless.

She had three powers she could still rely on, and that was more than most people ever dreamed of having.

“Maybe I was overthinking…” At last Xi Ping felt frustrated and decided to give up.

[Zzz…Initializing the conversation…]