A huge thank you to Monsterben for the Golden Ticket and the Magic Castle! 🏰✨

Your support truly means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing and improving the story.

Thank you for your amazing support!

-----+++++(((((¥^¥)))))+++++-----

Vikram looked at the others; they understood and immediately swarmed forward, beginning to relentlessly attack the Epic Zombie.

Soon, a collection of wounds, both large and small, appeared on its body.

After his last encounter with an Epic-level creature, Vikram already knew its habits.

Just as he thought the creature would flee in disarray upon realizing its disadvantage, the Zombie’s next action left him dumbfounded.

He saw the creature grab a Zombie corpse at its feet, and while dodging everyone’s attacks, it began to gnaw on it.

In a few bites, an entire corpse, roughly the size of an adult, was swallowed whole.

The wounds that the group had painstakingly inflicted while chasing it had now silently and rapidly healed!

If that were all, it would be one thing, but what was even more astonishing was that, in a view invisible to others, the system clearly showed that after swallowing a Zombie, all four of its physical attributes had increased.

Although each attribute only increased by a small amount, it was enough to shock him.

"Is this what the Survival Platform referred to as a potential danger?"

"No, there are also those bizarre Zombie buildings."

All these signs made Vikram realize that he must pay attention to the hidden Zombies.

As for the Epic-level Zombie in front of him, Vikram only stood there for a moment; the group, working together, quickly completed the kill.

He nodded; with so much crystal cultivation, the combat power of his members did not disappoint him.

After putting the corpse into his backpack, the group finally returned to the territory before dark.

The moment he returned to the Shelter, Vikram immediately took out the Territory Core he had extorted from Snape.

He stored some of the canned goods that he hadn’t been able to put away earlier.

After dinner, a hot shower, and a quick scroll through the Survivors in the chat channel from his soft, large bed, before he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Vikram woke up from his bed, feeling refreshed.

After washing up and having breakfast, he immediately headed to the territory 2. Mostly ¾ area was cleared.

But his focus was on the different things, yesterday his van had been scratched by zombies. Although its performance wasn’t affected, the van body was covered in scratches.

Recalling the zombies’ movements, he noticed that compared to their previous instinct-driven actions, these zombies now exhibited a strong sense of purpose.

Normally, even if these zombies discovered someone inside the car, they would only helplessly run alongside it, attempting to attack.

But yesterday’s situation was completely different.

The zombies had clear roles; one zombie first rushed under the van, getting caught in the wheel hub to slow the car down.

The rest of the zombies then swarmed the vehicle, pouncing onto the roof to cause damage.

That’s right, he was certain those zombies were targeting the van not them inside it.

Because when they later got out of the van, the zombies were still scratching the van.

Even after some of their companions were killed, the zombies didn’t shift their target to them.

He pretty much had an idea about this; these commands, if nothing unexpected happened, were the doing of that strange Epic-level Zombie.

He knew that Epic-level creatures had the special ability to summon companions, but their previous behavior was definitely not like this.

At most, they would attract zombies; controlling the actions of ordinary zombies was clearly something they couldn’t do.

Combining the zombie’s new ability to devour companions to recover and grow stronger, Vikram immediately thought of the lightning that day.

He hadn’t forgotten what Draco said: this lightning specifically struck zombies.

"Sigh, as expected, new trouble has emerged." With a slight sigh, Vikram said helplessly.

Coming outside the enclosure, Vikram summoned his van.

The van’s defense was good, but its counter-attack capability was not quite enough.

And he didn’t know how to repair his van.

His consciousness sank into the system, and Vikram slowly asked, "System, did you know how to repair my vehicle?"

A moment later, the familiar mechanical voice replied.

[No.]

Vikram’s expression stiffened slightly. "No?"

[Current Host does not possess any vehicle repair-related facilities, abilities, or specialized units.]

Hearing this, Vikram sighed, as expected, he wasn’t a mechanic. Neither did he have anyone under him capable of repairing complex vehicles.

Just as he was wondering what to do next, the System spoke again.

[However, the Host may choose an alternative solution.]

Vikram’s eyes immediately lit up. "Alternative solution?"

[Vehicle repair is currently unavailable. Vehicle modification is available.]

"Huh?" Vikram was stunned. "What’s the difference?"

[Host may create a Vehicle Modification Room. Specialized modifications can be performed by the Metal Mage Sprout.]

Seeing this, Vikram became interested, "Explain."

The System immediately displayed a series of information panels.

[Vehicle Modification Room]

Type: Special Workshop Facility

Construction Requirement: • Plant Essence ×70,000

[A specialized facility operated by the Metal Mage. It allows ordinary vehicles to be transformed into biological vehicles. All modifications are performed through the fusion of plant life and machinery, gradually replacing traditional vehicle components with living biological structures. Future upgrades will unlock more advanced modification options.]

[1. Ironwood Armor — Replaces traditional armor plates with reinforced Ironwood. The armor possesses durability comparable to metal while retaining the regenerative properties of plants. Minor damage can gradually repair itself over time, while resistance against impacts, corrosion, and environmental damage is greatly increased.]

[2. Thorn Ram — Replaces the vehicle’s front collision guard. A massive thorn-covered biological battering ram is grown onto the front of the vehicle. It greatly increases ramming power and can easily impale zombies, destroy obstacles, and crush weak structures during movement.]

[3. Bloodvine Energy Network — Replaces portions of the traditional fuel and energy circulation systems. Living Bloodvines transport biological energy throughout the vehicle, reducing fuel consumption while supplying energy to all biological components and future weapon systems.]

[4. Runner Root Wheels — Replaces ordinary tires with specialized Runner Roots. The roots possess exceptional flexibility, self-repair capabilities, puncture resistance, and superior adaptability across rough terrain. Even after receiving damage, mobility can be maintained for extended periods.]

[5. Ironvine Suspension System — Living Ironvines replace traditional suspension components. The vines absorb impact, improve stability, reduce vibration, and significantly enhance off-road performance while adapting dynamically to different terrain conditions.]

[6. Lumen Vision Pods — Specialized sensory plants integrated into the vehicle. They provide enhanced night vision, environmental awareness, fog penetration, threat detection, and improved visibility during extreme weather conditions.]

[7. Thornvine Defense Layer — Concealed Thornvines are integrated beneath the vehicle’s exterior. Whenever hostile creatures approach, the vines automatically emerge and attack nearby targets, preventing enemies from climbing onto or surrounding the vehicle.]

[8. Root Regeneration Network — A living biological repair network spread throughout the entire vehicle. Damaged biological components gradually regenerate over time, while overall structural integrity is continuously maintained through Root Network support.]

[9. Torrent Vine Turret Slot — Specialized weapon mounts capable of supporting miniature Torrent Vine Turrets. The turrets automatically generate biological ammunition, provide autonomous fire support, and engage hostile targets without requiring manual operation.]

[10. Future Modification Options — As the Metal Mage evolves, additional biological components will become available. Future upgrades may include living engines, biological armor fortresses, vine missile systems, mobile territory support platforms, self-regenerating artillery, and advanced Treehouse-compatible war vehicles.]

After reading everything, Vikram became silent. The more he looked at it, the less it resembled a vehicle. And the more it resembled a moving biological war machine.

He clearly couldn’t do such modifications himself, but safety when going out was basically provided by the vehicle.

The System spoke again.

[After sufficient modifications, ordinary vehicles may evolve into Biological Vehicles.]

[Future Evolution Paths Available]

• Living Transport Vehicle

• Biological Armored Vehicle

• Territory Mobile Fortress

• Treehouse War Carrier

Vikram’s eyes immediately brightened.

Seventy thousand Plant Essence was expensive.

Very expensive. However, after seeing those modification options, he knew the investment would be worth it.

Without hesitation, he made his decision.

"Bought it."

The moment his words fell, a new System notification appeared before him.

[Vehicle Modification Room Blueprint Unlocked]

[Metal Mage Sprout Designated as Chief Modification Unit]

[Biological Vehicle Project Initiated]

Putting his vehicle into repair mode, Vikram took out the RV, he took Phanty and Fiery this time.

The factory resource points had been emptied, but Vikram still planned to go out today.

Without figuring out those strange zombie structures, Vikram felt truly uneasy.

He also took Ron and three others out with him.

After the RV drove a distance from the territory, it headed straight for the nearest strange building.

Upon reaching the target, everyone circled the building, which was still oozing black blood.

It seemed the builders of this structure used zombie corpses as cement; there were flesh chunks bonding the joints of every piece of wood and stone.

"Brother, what do we do now? Do we just chisel it open?"

Ron asked, then summoned his alloy pickaxe.

Vikram shook his head, "No need, just step back a bit."

After several encounters with people from Green Wind Shelter, Vikram had seized a large pile of homemade explosives.

Although these things had a pitiful amount of damage, blowing up such a crudely built structure shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

He casually lit two bundles of explosives and threw them beside the building.

Everyone retreated upon seeing this.

"Boom!" A deafening explosion, accompanied by a heatwave, swept through the surrounding cold air, causing a slight tremor.

The area near the building, which was directly hit by the explosion, also stirred up dust. Once the dust settled, everyone saw the collapsed building as expected.

And... an empty interior space?

"What the hell is going on? I just heard zombies screeching, why is there nothing inside?"

Ron scratched his head, looking puzzled.

Just as everyone was about to step forward to examine it closely, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to move.

Immediately after, a large pit suddenly appeared in the middle of the collapsed building.

A dozen roaring zombies swarmed out of the pit.

Upon discovering Vikram and the others nearby, they immediately charged forward with a fishy wind.

Vikram didn’t act but gave the opportunity to Ron and the others.

He initially thought it would be something that could be resolved in half a minute.

Vikram stood by and watched for a while, and soon realized something was wrong.

"These zombies..." He found that out of the sixteen zombies, ten were Mutated Zombies.

One should know that in ordinary zombie hordes, finding two Mutated Zombies among ten was considered good.

This was also why it was so difficult to obtain crystals.

Seeing that something was amiss, Vikram took the initiative to attack.

He quickly dealt with all the zombies that had crawled out from underground.

"Phew~"

Percy breathed a sigh of relief; his current strength was not as good as that of Mutated Zombies, so dealing with these things was somewhat strenuous.

Looking at the ground covered with Mutated Zombies, Vikram frowned.

According to the Survival Platform, the number of zombies should not have changed with this black fog transformation.

The current number of Mutated Zombies was clearly abnormal.

That left only one explanation: there was something strange underground that caused ordinary zombies to strengthen and upgrade into Mutated Zombies?

The others also realized this point, looking at the dark pit in the ground with troubled expressions.

"Boss, should we go down and take a look?"

Draco looked at Vikram, his expression a bit unnatural.

With so many Mutated Zombies having just emerged from inside, the underground would clearly only be more dangerous.

"Coward, are you scared already?"

"Brother Vikram provides you with food and drink; he didn’t bring you here to enjoy yourself."

Ron saw Draco’s expression and gave him a scornful look.

"I just think it’s a bit too impulsive to go down without preparation, especially since those zombies just now were indeed troublesome to deal with."