"You’ve done an excellent job. I’ve received the data. Find the special zombie as quickly as possible." The voice of Zombie Chunyu Hu came through.

They communicated through a time imprint, and the other party hadn’t noticed that Qi Suian had hidden it in something with multiple, intricate layers.

"Sir, I went to the site, restored the power, and reviewed the surrounding surveillance footage. I discovered something."

"Before that archaeologist mysteriously disappeared, a survivor from the Otherworld had contacted him. Then, the man vanished without a trace."

"If we can’t find the archaeologist-turned-zombie, then the Celestial Mandate is most likely on that survivor," Qi Suian immediately interjected.

Upon hearing this, Zombie Chunyu Hu was naturally skeptical. He had Qi Suian package the video files and send them over.

Qi Suian wasn’t afraid, because it was the truth. He really had gone to the site to download the videos.

Once the data was transmitted through the time imprint, Zombie Chunyu Hu was finally convinced.

"You’ve investigated this well. However, the archaeologist is missing, and we have no trace of this survivor. What are your thoughts?"

To Zombie Chunyu Hu, it didn’t matter which one it was. He couldn’t find either of them.

Thus, the information Qi Suian provided only served to add another suspect, offering no other help.

"You’re right, Sir." ’What opinion could he possibly have? He was just trying to frame someone to divert attention.’

’Might as well see if he could get Zombie Chunyu Hu to go stir up trouble with the survivors.’

’In any case, one more death meant one less enemy for him. What’s not to like?’

Faced with Qi Suian’s non-answer, Zombie Chunyu Hu directly severed the connection.

If Qi Suian had any real insight, he wouldn’t have said something like that.

"Tch. They’re all smiles when they need you, then turn their back the second they don’t," Qi Suian muttered, but only after completely severing the audio link.

Then, he turned his attention to the Tai Sui God.

He had stripped all of Ring Island, obtaining enough evolutionary materials for the Tai Sui God to evolve three times.

It had been assimilating the materials over the past several days, and now, the process was finally complete.

’Armor value has reached 11, and thankfully, the requirement for the next evolution hasn’t changed...’

’It’s a real struggle to raise my armor by even a single point now.’

’I probably shouldn’t even think about reaching 12 armor points for an evolution in the short term.’

Qi Suian then looked at the three new SSS-class modules he had obtained.

[SSS·Net Capture Array]

[SSS·Black Domain Melting Furnace]

[SSS·Star Core Condenser]

These three modules served three functions: resource gathering, material smelting, and evolution acceleration.

’With these three modules, I should be able to increase my armor value by about 0.01 points per day. And now, my evolutionary materials are no longer limited to metals and minerals.’

’Anything of value can be tossed directly into the Black Domain Melting Furnace to be converted into evolutionary energy, then further transformed and assimilated by the Star Core Condenser.’

As for the Net Capture Array, it’s similar to a solar panel, able to capture various resources through its special structure, which then go into the Melting Furnace.

Of course, I don’t have to let it run passively. I can also just throw everything directly into the Melting Furnace to get enough evolutionary energy.

It’s just that the amount of resources currently required is truly staggering.

Even if I spent an entire day feeding resources into it for smelting, I probably wouldn’t gain much armor value. Getting even 0.001 a day would be a stretch.

The more modules it has, the higher the armor value and resource investment required for each evolution.

’The artificial crystal-vein alloy is finally starting to pull its weight.’

If I only had 1 point of armor, a 100% increase would only add 1 point.

But now that I have 11 armor points, adding another 11 is very significant. The higher the base armor, the greater the amplification.

Before, his armor value was low, so the module’s ceiling was also low. This made Qi Suian constantly want to swap it out, but in the end, he chose not to.

More armor points would make the Tai Sui God a little sturdier. ’It’s already squishy enough; I can’t be taking away its reinforcements.’

’Unfortunately, 11 armor points still isn’t enough to withstand a single blow from a Corpse King.’

He highly doubted that 11 armor points would be enough to block an attack capable of sinking Ring Island. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"It seems the original Viper Armor was also a glass cannon..." Qi Suian couldn’t help but mutter.

A D-class Viper Armor has 100 armor points. If not for its module slots and special traits, the Tai Sui God would be completely useless in comparison.

’So, relying on the Tai Sui God’s own armor for defense might be fine in the early stages, but later on, I’ll have to rely on shield and defense-type modules.’

Qi Suian glanced at the Tai Sui God again. After installing the three new modules, its overall form looked somewhat bloated.

Especially since these three were all large-scale modules.

’Great. I’ll have to find a module that can regulate its size and weight, otherwise this will become increasingly troublesome later on.’

The Subspace Pocket could handle the weight for the time being, but that wasn’t a long-term solution.

As it acquires more modules, its weight and size will sooner or later become unsustainable.

’As for what’s next... I’ll keep stringing Zombie Chunyu Hu along for now and focus on upgrading my virus talent as fast as possible.’

-----------------

"Damn you! We’ve been friends for a millennium! How could you betray our oath for personal gain!?"

An elder of the Divine Prayer Association, a zombie who had reached the limit of the ninth rank and was about to break through to become a Corpse King, was killed by Chunyu Hu, his heart filled with bitter resentment. He was then fed to the Source of Profound Virus.

"Friends? Heh. That’s just because you never got your hands on the Source of Profound Virus and have no idea of its mysteries," Chunyu Hu said contemptuously.

All the elders of the Divine Prayer Association who had survived since a millennium ago were turned into nutrients.

Having absorbed a sufficiently high concentration of the Profound Virus, the black jade finally stopped emitting signals of hunger.

When it landed in Chunyu Hu’s hand, he felt as if all the Profound Virus in his body was cheering.

"I... I’ve broken through the limit and reached a higher level!" In that moment, he could feel his body undergoing a qualitative transformation.

He knew he had been on the verge of a breakthrough for a long time, but that final barrier was just too difficult to pierce, leaving him stuck at his current level until now.

And yet, he had not even begun to conduct in-depth research or development on the Source of Profound Virus, and it had already helped him break through so smoothly. This was simply too valuable.

’If the Source of Profound Virus is this miraculous, then the Celestial Mandate, which is in no way inferior to it, is likely just as extraordinary.’

’Just by carrying it on my person, the Profound Virus and my powers within my body continuously activate and strengthen on their own.’

’It seems research and development will have to be put on hold. I must find the Celestial Mandate. Only then can the two complement each other.’

A sharp glint flashed in Zombie Chunyu Hu’s eyes. "It is time to mobilize the power of the Divine Prayer Association."

The Divine Prayer Association is a far more massive organization than Watchman Dawn; it doesn’t consist of only those elders, the rest are just hidden much deeper.

Of course, its personnel are all sentient zombies, not humans.