"You have two choices. One is to eat it and gain an additional ability, but this ability may not be suitable for you. The other is to give you a potion that can purify your ability. As long as you take the potion, your ability will continue to increase. Maybe even I will not be able to defeat you …"
This Colloid was the Level 2 Colloid that triggered the war between thousands of evolvers. Jian Zhan had eaten a Level 1 Colloid, so this was exactly what he needed. The potion that Zhang Xiaoqiang was talking about was the Heavenly Saint Essence that Tie Zhongyuan had found. The Heavenly Saint Essence could allow evolvers to evolve and improve their original abilities. It was a peerless treasure for evolvers who had ordinary abilities. Zhang Xiaoqiang had taken it out as a reward for Jian Zhan for subduing thousands of evolvers, but not all of them. Zhang Xiaoqiang had eaten three Colloids before, and this thing could indeed improve an evolver's ability. However, having an additional ability might not necessarily translate into combat power. On the contrary, his Flying Knife Remote Control had been continuously evolving during the battle, and it had become his biggest trump card. If Zhang Xiaoqiang had blindly pursued the Colloid and neglected the improvement of his own ability, his Rat King Blade would not have been able to deal with D3 zombies, nor would it have been able to deal with sharp enemies. At least, his Rat King Blade would not have been easily blocked.
Jian Zhan wanted to ask for the Colloid directly, but he swallowed his words. He did not know why, but he suddenly thought of something else. If he ate the Colloid in exchange for the ability to whiten his skin, he would not even have a place to cry. It was not unheard of, at least among the evolvers in Shanghai, there were some who were completely useless. They could control the growth of their hair, or they could eat mud so that they would not starve to death, and the worst thing was that they could control the volume of their farts. So what if their farts were louder than thunder?
"I want the potion. Just you wait, the scimitar will return to me sooner or later …"
After getting rid of Jian Zhan, Zhang Xiaoqiang put away the Firebird scimitar. He glanced at Xi'er and walked toward the two. At this time, the two had already begun to quarrel. When they saw that Zhang Xiaoqiang had stopped arguing, Zhang Xiaoqiang was already standing in front of Xi'er. When Xi'er saw Zhang Xiaoqiang, she blushed and tried to avoid him. When Chen Yu saw Xi'er's expression, he glared at Zhang Xiaoqiang. Even if he said he did not care, he could not let go of the feelings hidden in his heart. Zhang Xiaoqiang did not know that he had inadvertently become a love rival. He only had eyes for the water snake. The water snake in front of him was no less than the height of a seven-story building, and its body was faintly exuding an aura similar to his killing intent. It was unknown what this aura was for, but in any case, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not feel any pressure. He turned to Xi'er and said, "Take a boat and leave. We don't need you here for the time being. The children are waiting for you on Shazhou Island …"
After the past few days of fighting, Xi'er was extremely haggard. Now, standing in front of Zhang Xiaoqiang, she was as dirty as a mud monkey. Seeing Xi'er like this, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not want her to continue fighting here. Xi'er had great potential. If she was provided with enough resources, she might grow to an incredible level one day.
Zhang Xiaoqiang only talked to Xi'er and ignored Chen Yu. How could he not see that Chen Yu was hostile to him?
"No … I want to stay …"
Xi'er repeatedly objected, but Zhang Xiaoqiang did not try to persuade her carefully. He glared at her and stopped talking. For some reason, Xi'er lost all her confidence when she saw Zhang Xiaoqiang's stern look. She gritted her teeth and lowered her head, not saying another word. Zhang Xiaoqiang nodded and pushed Chen Yu away. He climbed up the snake's swaying tail to the top of its head and looked at the dock area in the distance.
The snake was like a giant train as it slowly spread its body and swam toward the river. Only Xi'er stood there, staring at the snake's huge body and Zhang Xiaoqiang's back in a daze. Chen Yu said sourly, "Do you like him?"
Chen Yu's question made Xi'er shake her head subconsciously. She silently watched Zhang Xiaoqiang's back as he gradually disappeared into the distance.
After a long time, she said, "No … maybe it's because he's like the father in my heart …"
Zhang Xiaoqiang did not know that the little beauty regarded him as her father. If he knew, he would not be gathering his momentum and preparing to go all out like he was now. At the moment when the rain was about to fall, there were many problems that he could not deal with. Only the marine mutant beasts approaching the dock area was the most critical issue. If he could defend the dock, they would still have a chance to survive. At the very least, his direct troops could withdraw. If he could not hold on, no one would be able to escape except for a few high-ranking officials. Not only would all his efforts in managing Shanghai be in vain, but he would also suffer a great loss.
The water snake's power was unparalleled. When the panicking crowd saw the direction in which the water snake was heading, they could not help but stop what they were doing. Countless people stared at the snake and Zhang Xiaoqiang in silence. Zhang Xiaoqiang stood motionless on the snake's head, not reacting to the gazes of the people around him. His gloomy eyes stared at the dusk-like sky. Black clouds gathered and surged like demons baring their fangs and claws. From time to time, white flashes of light could be seen in the clouds, followed by the faint sound of thunder.
Sometimes, people panicked because everyone else was panicking, and they were panicking as well. If there was no strong person to suppress the situation, it would become more and more chaotic and eventually lead to collapse. But now, the water snake and Zhang Xiaoqiang had become the stabilizing force in everyone's hearts. Apart from making them feel at ease, the water snake's body was even larger than that of the terrifying giant beast. Looking at its dark scales, all the steel and concrete blocks in front of the water snake were easily erased by its body, giving people a strong sense of security from the bottom of their hearts. In their hearts, the terrifying water snake was on their side. Since the water snake was so powerful, no matter how many mutant beasts were threatening the dock, they would not be able to defeat it …
The sound of gunfire was getting clearer and clearer. At this moment, more than half of the elites of the 1st Regiment were defending the dock area. They might not be able to defend the surface of the river, but they were not willing to fall behind when it came to fighting on the ground. Armored vehicles were also ready. The artillery and machine gun positions were built strictly according to the depth of the fortifications. In order to prevent the heavy rain, these positions were all covered with military green tarps. Even if it was raining heavily, they would still be able to continue fighting.
Zhang Xiaoqiang glanced at the infantry positions. He did not even have the mood to meet Zhao Deyi face to face. He commanded the water snake to swim down the embankment and into the river. In the distance, more than ten armed speedboats were firing at the river. The lower part of the river was almost like a boiling pot of hot water. The rolling water was like surging magma surrounding the boats. From time to time, grenades or explosives could be seen being thrown into the water, causing dark red splashes. Although all the armed boats were iron ships, it was still very dangerous to fight in the river. In the cruel battle of fire and smoke, a ten-meter long speedboat was smashed into pieces. Countless scattered parts were still rolling in the air. The broken boat quickly capsized in the surging river. Until the last moment, the soldiers who had tied themselves to the machine gun positions were still firing at the river.
The ship capsized and the sailors were thrown into the river one by one. Without waiting for them to fall into the water, the ferocious mouth full of sharp teeth broke through the water and bit down. In Zhang Xiao Qiang's eyes, the sailors were like watermelons smashed in the mouth of the mutated beast, blood splattered everywhere. Zhang Xiao Qiang's heart was on fire as he fiercely stomped on the head of the water snake and shouted out orders.
In the short period of time between Zhang Xiaoqiang giving orders and waiting for the big snake, the Yangtze River fleet had fought so hard. From the dents on the bodies of the ships, it could be seen how fierce the battle was. Although the water was turbulent, Zhang Xiaoqiang could see the wreckage of the ships on both sides of the river. The green plants on both sides of the river looked horrible under the gloomy sky. Wave after wave of mutated beasts rushed to the embankment, pushing the fish-shaped mutated beasts with holes all over their bodies onto the embankment. As far as the eye could see, there were countless dead fish on the surface of the river, and the water around the ships showed a different kind of red even in the dim light. It was unknown whether it was the blood of the sailors who fought with their lives or the blood of the mutated beasts that had been shot to death.
The speed at which the water snakes entered the water was much faster than when they were on land. Like a black high-speed train breaking through the white waves, they rushed downstream. No matter how fast the water snakes were, they couldn't save a few of the armed speedboats that were already at their limits. Zhang Xiao Qiang watched helplessly as the speedboats were turned into piles of twisted, deformed scrap metal by the ten-meter-long, silver-scaled, big-headed fish with warheads that looked like helmets. He didn't feel sorry for these armed boats that had concentrated firepower. What he felt sorry for was the sailors who had tried their best to shoot until the last moment.