My Monster Fuses Everything

Chapter 157 News of the Fallen

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Although a banquet was arranged, in the post-apocalyptic world there was no such thing as a luxurious feast—fish of the evolved kind, fresh vegetables, various canned goods, and some beverages comprised the entirety of the dinner.

However, Yan Meiyu was quite attentive to the arrangements of the personnel, ensuring that all the high-ranking members within the camp were included.

Upon meeting in the evening, the strength exhibited by Zhao Yaqian's group somewhat surprised Su Han.

Zhao Yaqian had reached the Second Order Intermediate, Cheng Zhenyong was at Second Order Low Grade, and among the team members, there were three of First Order Upper Grade, indicating a significant increase in strength.

Though not comparable to Su Han's camp, such a boost in strength indicated how fiercely South City's camp had been striving recently.

However, compared to Su Han's mild surprise, Zhao Yaqian and her group were utterly shocked.

In just about a month, Shanhu Villa District had expanded to such an extent, occupying several blocks, and bolstering its defense and combat capabilities significantly.

Moreover, what terrified Zhao Yaqian the most was the towering giant tree at the center of the enclosure, its massive form too prominent to ignore, and her sense of danger constantly warned her that it was a creature that could easily kill her.

After the dinner ended, everyone tacitly avoided discussing anything crucial; they merely talked about recent changes.

As Su Han had anticipated, South City's camp had rapidly expanded to the surrounding factories.

With an ample supply of grain from the Bei Qing Grain Warehouse, they could concentrate on searching for practical items like medicines and gasoline without focusing too much on finding food.

The pace of rescuing survivors had greatly increased, and with each factory they secured, the number of people in the camp also rapidly grew; in just a month, the number had increased to seven or eight thousand.

The increase in personnel also enabled the Southern City Guards to expand further, thus forming a snowballing armed force that accelerated its expansion.

Of course, the most significant enhancement was likely in overall strength.

Unlike Su Han's camp, which prioritized Contribution Value, South City's camp had developed an injectable that they planned to implement on two tracks.

Original members of the security and Armed Forces would have priority, followed by common Southern City Guards like Cheng Zhenyong who had experienced the Bei Qing Grain Warehouse battle, and lastly, the new Southern City Guards according to their Contribution Value.

Without a doubt, this was an unfair system, as although everyone used Contribution Value for exchange, not everyone had the same access.

But undeniably, this was a necessary practice, because under rapid expansion, unity in the team was crucial, and in the short term, the core of the armed forces in South City's camp would still consist of the Armed Forces, security, and Cheng Zhenyong's powers; the newly added Southern City Guards would need a longer time to assimilate.

Li Ruikang, Guo Wutao, and Yan Tiejun had deliberated multiple times before settling on this distribution method and currently, the production still couldn't meet the demand.

They didn't possess abilities like Su Han's Mother Nest Ancient Tree, which could produce a large number of offspring and dependent beasts to provide materials for making the injectable.

Su Han vaguely guessed that one of the reasons they had come was probably related to the injectable.

The night passed, and the next day, Zhao Yaqian and Cheng Zhenyong indeed came to find Su Han early.

In a temporary office, Su Han sat on the sofa, while Zhao Yaqian and Cheng Zhenyong sat on chairs opposite him.

Since it was a room hurriedly made up, the table and chairs were mismatched, looking somewhat awkward.

"Now we can talk business; you should currently be focused on searching for survivors,"

Su Han was momentarily stunned and asked, "What fallen ones?"

"We just discovered them, some... special Contractors."

Zhao Yaqian paused slightly before saying, "It's also recorded in the ledger. Those whose original forms have become monstrous due to monster will erosion, special spiritual energy distortion and such, yet who still retain their own will but become insane, have been named the fallen ones by Professor Bai and his team."

The fallen ones, symbolizing those who have degenerated into monsters, into the abyss.

Su Han's expression grew grave. If the danger of monsters came from the outside, then the fallen ones could very possibly present a danger coming from within humanity itself.

"How strong are the fallen ones, and do you have any research on why they fall?"

"We've only identified a few fallen ones," she replied.

Zhao Yaqian said, "They suddenly attacked our scouting team and are capable of deceit, luring enemies, or even ambushing. At first, we thought they were just monsters, and we were severely disadvantaged because of that."

The fallen ones they encountered looked no different from monsters, and because it was their first encounter, they treated them as they would monsters, which naturally led to them being outsmarted.

She did not detail the losses in front of Su Han, but her eyes could not hide the sorrow.

That attack, a thirty-person search and rescue team, twenty-three were burned alive.

"They too have apostles, can still form contracts, and their original forms tend toward monstrosity, making them somewhat stronger than backlash."

Zhao Yaqian spoke seriously, "But the most difficult part to deal with is that they retain human thinking, but are even more insane."

Being part of the human faction, Li Ruikang and his team did not want Su Han to be ambushed by these sinister beings, which is why they specifically came to warn him. Naturally, they were also afraid of certain incidents occurring, especially unexpected evolutions.

Zhao Yaqian continued, "As for the reasons behind the fall, essentially it's the distortion of the human body by powers like spiritual energy. It might occur in cases of over-reaching contracts with apostles, failed Divine Initiation Rituals, and erroneous human enhancements, according to Elder Bai's speculations.

However, according to Elder Tian's hypothesis, if one is affected by too strong and chaotic spiritual energies over a long period, and can't cope with it, distortions will also occur."

Zhao Yaqian cautioned, "If... if Lord Su Han and those around you want to contract monsters or perform Divine Initiation Rituals, please be sure to measure your capacities and not be too rash."

Upon hearing this, Su Han finally understood the intentions of Zhao Yaqian and her team.

No wonder they came to specifically remind him. If he was reckless and any mishap occurred during evolution, not leading to death but transforming into a fallen one, then no one in South City would be able to stop him.

"I understand your concerns. I'll be cautious about this, not just for myself, but I'll keep an eye on my people as well," he said.

Hearing Su Han's promise, Zhao Yaqian finally breathed a sigh of relief. With Su Han steady on his side, all would be well.

She couldn't imagine how terrible it would be if Su Han turned into a fallen one.

"Besides these matters, everything else is recorded in the ledger, and the rest can be read at leisure. Besides exchanging information, this visit is also meant to trade for a batch of injections and more hand crossbows," she said.

After the exchange of information, naturally, the main event was the trade.

The camp in Southern City, unlike Su Han's side, had a tremendous need for resources due to their extensive expansion.

Especially the materials transformed under the Apostle System, although they had many scholars, they had even fewer materials than Su Han's side.

"That's easy to discuss. How much of the injections and hand crossbows do you want, and what do you plan to trade with?" Su Han asked.