Although all three abilities were incredibly powerful, they were completely useless to Liam in his current situation.

  Devour, Self-Optimization, and Parasite Implant—none of them could boost his combat power immediately. All three abilities only elevated his future growth potential to infinity. But if he had to fight mutated insects hand-to-hand right now, he would still be the one who died.

  Liam was satisfied with the powers he had obtained, but he also understood his weakness. If he was killed by mutated beasts or new humans at this moment, no matter how high his growth potential was, it would all be meaningless.Still, thanks to the triple physical enhancement from his evolution, Liam was not as fragile as an ordinary person. As long as he stayed careful and cautious, surviving would not be too difficult.

  The most urgent problem facing Liam right now was how to get out of this damned cave.He had peeked through the various tunnels earlier. After losing control of the brain worm, the mutated insects seemed to have engaged in an extremely brutal slaughter. Most of them had left afterward, while the remaining ones were dead or injured. But their presence had attracted zombies—Abominations!

  These zombies were nothing like the ones created by the T-virus.The Z-virus was far more terrifying than the T-virus from the movies.Once the Z-virus seized control of a human body, it began evolving the host at an ultra-high speed, turning the occupied body into a perfect parasitic nest.

  Zombies created by the Z-virus were divided into five stages:Ferals, Hunters, Venomskins, Abominations, and Ultimate Zombies.

  Ferals only had great strength and sharp hearing.Hunters possessed all the advantages of Ferals, plus strong defense and a keen sense of smell.Venomskins had all the perks of the previous two stages, along with poison and night vision.Abominations inherited every advantage of the first three stages—and they even awakened special abilities. They were ability-wielding zombies!

  As for Ultimate Zombies… everyone who had seen them was dead.Liam only knew of their existence from the brain worm’s stored information.

  Every single tunnel now had more than two Abominations.Only they could track down the source of the blood so quickly.And Liam would have to face at least two of them. Worse, even the tunnel with only two Abominations led to an unknown destination.

  “Liam, the enemies are strong, but you’ve got this. You’re the Runaway Prince. Those mutated beasts never got you before, and now you’re almost a superhuman. You can do this, you can do this!”Liam closed his eyes and muttered to himself repeatedly, relaxing his tense body.This was valuable experience he had gained from a year of working as a decoy. To run fast, you had to keep a calm mind—and self-hypnosis and encouragement worked wonders.

  Once his body was fully relaxed, Liam took a deep breath.He then threw a watch he had looted from a corpse toward one of the Abominations.The zombie reacted instantly, dodging the flying watch on instinct.

  In that split second, Liam burst forward and sprinted into the tunnel.

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  The zombie that hadn’t been targeted by the watch reacted too, roaring and charging forward—only to crash straight into the one that had dodged.Liam brushed past both zombies and bolted toward the cave exit.

  The two zombies quickly turned and chased after him.

  As the Runaway Prince, Liam had been chased by countless types of mutated beasts every single day during his time as a decoy. His escape skills were already perfected.He sensed the Abominations were fast and gradually closing in, so he immediately changed his pace—running straight, then zigzagging, then throwing in fake moves.

  Abominations had excellent vision, but their brains were not sharp.They fell for Liam’s tricks again and again, slowly falling behind.

  After running for what felt like an eternity, Liam glanced back and saw no sign of the zombies. Only then did he stop.Only now did he take in his surroundings.Unknowingly, he had entered a forest.The Z-virus did not only affect living creatures—it also corrupted plants.This forest had been transformed by the Z-virus. The trees were enormous, their trunks and leaves bright red.At a glance, it was like standing in an ocean of red.

  “This is bad,” Liam frowned and muttered.

  Mutated forests were the most dangerous.They were almost always filled with mutated beasts that had adapted to the environment. Most had camouflage that matched their surroundings. Spotting a red-colored mutated beast in this red forest would be extremely difficult.

  Liam observed his surroundings for a long while. Only after confirming no other mutated creatures were nearby did he sit under a tree to rest.

  What Liam needed most right now was prey—something not too powerful, but with special abilities.He craved prey with high growth potential, and enough time to evolve.

  Once his body recovered, Liam looked up at the sun to confirm his direction and headed south.The northern region had been flooded by the ocean since the meteor crash, filled with horrifying creatures.The south had lower mutation levels, making it safer.

  He had no intention of returning to his original camp.He would go solo.Once he devoured enough mutated creatures, he would be able to handle most threats in the apocalypse.

  Walking through the woods, Liam did not let his guard down for a second.His hearing was now three times better than before, allowing him to pick up even faint sounds.He stopped every few steps to listen. Within ten meters, he could catch even the tiniest breath, letting him avoid most mutated creatures easily.

  Suddenly, Liam heard the intermittent screams of a mutated beast.He immediately jumped onto the nearest tree and climbed to the top, staring in the direction of the sound.In the distance, a giant snail was retracted inside its shell, while a mutated lizard lay on the ground screaming in agony.

  “Glue Snail!” Liam recognized the creature at once.

  Although the Glue Snail was a mutated beast, it was still a herbivore.But it had one deadly trick: glue spit.The Glue Snail could shoot an extremely sticky liquid. Once you were hit, you would be stuck forever—unless you cut off the attached skin and flesh.

  The mutated lizard stood three meters tall and at least nine meters long, with immense strength.But after being hit by the Glue Snail’s adhesive, it could not move at all, only screaming loudly to call for its companions.

  “Heaven is helping me,” Liam muttered, staring at the lizard.He was already weighing his options: should he devour it, or implant a parasite inside it?

  But now was not the time.He spotted several more lizards approaching from the other side.

  The Glue Snail had sprayed super glue across hundreds of meters around itself.The approaching lizards were stuck instantly and began screaming as well.The commotion from the lizards then attracted a pack of mutated demon wolves—who also ended up trapped by the glue.Soon after, a three-eyed bear was drawn in…

  Watching more and more mutated creatures get lured over and stuck, Liam could not help but exclaim:“What a vicious snail!”