Chapter 102: The Third Tier

Rebuilding Civilization – No Ads

Perhaps it was the blueprint etched deep within his mind that kept Xie Han restless despite his exhaustion. He simply could not fall asleep. The image of the zombies he had encountered today replayed in his thoughts, and the situation seemed to be growing increasingly complicated. He couldn't help but summon Zhou Ruomeng; it was absolutely necessary—vital, even—to once again review the zombie data thoroughly. Xie Han had the nagging feeling that he had missed something. Could it be that his access level, being only at the second gene tier, restricted him from uncovering more detailed information about the zombies?

As usual, Zhou Ruomeng appeared out of thin air. Yet this time, Xie Han was taken aback to see her dressed in a vibrant red qipao. She emerged with a bright smile and cheerfully said, “Congratulations on successfully advancing to the third gene tier. Your data access has been upgraded, allowing you to learn much more about the zombies. At this third tier, the zombies are classified meticulously, with their combat capabilities listed. Since you have reached the third gene tier, your genetic status will also be updated, enabling you to check your own status data.”

Xie Han lay back on his bed, his expression exaggerated as he gaped in disbelief at Zhou Ruomeng’s words. It wasn’t until she replaced the red qipao with a white dress, still smiling warmly, that he snapped out of the shock brought by the joyous news. Eagerly, he asked, “Third gene tier? You mean I’ve already advanced to the third gene tier?” Swallowing hard, he recalled that just a week ago he was still halfway short of the experience needed. How could this have happened so quickly? “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

Zhou Ruomeng shrugged lightly and replied, “Do you really think I, as an intelligent program, would make such a mistake?” Xie Han forced a sheepish smile and said, “But why didn’t I get any notification about advancing to the third gene tier? There was no prompt at all…”

“The moment you killed the R3 zombie, I did give you a notification,” Zhou Ruomeng explained with a faint smile. “But your mind had already reached a state beyond awareness at that time, so naturally you couldn’t hear my prompt. However, that’s not important. It’s good for you to know it now anyway.”

Confirming that he had truly reached the third gene tier, Xie Han was naturally overjoyed. The surge of excitement washed away his fatigue and lingering drowsiness. He sprang from the bed, almost shouting aloud.

The first thing Xie Han checked was the expanded spatial storage, now at four cubic meters. He envisioned the base focusing primarily on construction for the time being, and future food supplies would rely entirely on the teleportation capabilities of the spatial storage. This didn’t mean simply bringing food directly to the warehouse; such an approach would raise suspicions among anyone aware. His plan was straightforward: establish a food storage point outside in advance. He believed that within a month, he could transport enough food from the modern era to feed thousands for an entire year.

Next, he needed a plausible excuse for hunting, followed by the accidental discovery of this storage point—thus solving the food issue naturally. However, Xie Han felt a headache coming on. Fresh food would be difficult to explain its sudden appearance. Could he only purchase food that had been stored for three years from the modern era’s food bureau? That seemed like the only feasible way to justify the origin of the food in the storage point.

With the food problem settled, his thoughts turned to the modern electrical appliance factory. After over a week of reorganization, the factory was nearly ready to resume operations. However, progress on the core chipset was stalled, and he was unsure how Xu Qiang was handling the tasks he had assigned. Maybe he should consider purchasing an entire chip production line from the modern era? Yet such equipment was embargoed, and even if someone was willing to sell, the cost was beyond his means.

It seemed he truly had to get creative in earning money. For someone living in a post-apocalyptic world, making money in the modern era was surprisingly easy, given the abundant information on future events. The most direct avenues were lotteries, stocks, futures, and so on. If successful, he could potentially earn billions within a year.

Just as the idea formed, Zhou Ruomeng laughed and said, “Don’t put too much faith in post-apocalypse data. Even if you use this information to profit, it will only work in the early stages. You mustn’t overlook how your excessive actions can alter the course of things. For example, if you keep winning first prizes in the lottery or sweep billions in futures, wouldn’t that affect their trends? Once the trends shift—even slightly—the data you obtain in the post-apocalypse won’t match that of the modern era.”

She continued, “Of course, you are essentially altering both worlds. Perhaps you’ve heard of the multiverse theory. Small differences between two worlds can create entirely new dimensions. That’s why I say the data you get post-apocalypse can only be reliably used early on; the later stages are unpredictable. But rest assured, even if a new dimension arises from minor changes, the main historical timeline can never be altered. Futures data can change, but events like a meteor striking Earth are unchangeable—unless your dimensional alterations reach an astonishing level, like destroying the Earth itself…”

Xie Han’s mouth dropped open. He had never imagined a mere thought of his could unravel such a profound explanation. Clearly, many matters were far more complex than he had believed. But Zhou Ruomeng had said it: his changes only created new dimensions without altering the main historical course. Thus, many worries naturally fell away.

Reflecting on the reliability of early-stage data, Xie Han’s heart stirred once more. Even if his profits were short-term, the futures market’s nearly two trillion daily turnover meant that even a small slice could net tens of millions at minimum—enough to solve many of his pressing problems.

Feeling lighter, Xie Han felt invigorated by his new third-tier access. Upon activating the database, the zombie information became much more detailed—from habits and movement patterns to the like. To his surprise, the system even listed each zombie tier’s attack, defense, and agility stats, as if they were monsters in a game.

“What in the world is going on?” he asked, astonished, turning to Zhou Ruomeng for answers.

She explained, “This is an added feature of the third gene tier. It allows you to clearly understand the zombies you face and just how formidable they are. These stats merely represent the zombies’ abilities in numerical form. Not only the zombies, but your own abilities are also quantified. The advantage is that by comparing your data with the zombies’, you can gauge your chances of defeating them.”

Xie Han was ecstatic. With these stats, whenever he encountered an R3 zombie, he could instantly scan and calculate its data using his watch’s scanning function, deciding whether to attack or flee with confidence.

After a month studying zombies, Xie Han had uncovered many of their weaknesses. While he couldn’t hope to eradicate every zombie, he could at least eliminate a portion of them. Given enough time, he was fully capable of gradually clearing all zombies from Wangtian City within a year, eventually reclaiming the entire city.

He dubbed such tactics—leveraging zombie weaknesses—“Zombie Special Warfare.”

(Continuing to take the baby for IV drips… Day six now, feeling frustrated and depressed! If you have tickets, please support with a few. Thank you!)