Virus King [Translation]

[Ding~ Evolver No. 019, 'Lotte,' has joined Chat Group No. 001!]

[Your King—Bart: Wow, the new member's a girl!]

[Vince: Welcome!]

[Lotte: ???]

[Your King—Bart: Newcomers, make sure to read the group rules and doomsday guidelines first!]

Lotte, Evolver No. 019?

Novak glanced at his phone, scrolling through the group's chat logs. Sure enough, Lotte was the same person who had replied to his post earlier in the day.

He hadn't expected his post to gain so much attention! After just one day of not checking, the post's views had surged, with over hundreds new replies.

But what really caught Novak's eye was one of the replies:

[The Cosmic Will? Kepler-22b Proving Ground? Evolvers and Forerunners? It seems legit, but recently there have been strange phenomena in the world... Could this really be related?!]

Clearly, even without awakening, there were still people sharp enough to put the pieces together. Some had already started figuring out the truth.

At the same time, as more people awakened, Novak noticed an increase in private messages. More and more people were sending him DMs through the forum.

Of course, not all of them were legitimate. Some messages came from people clearly faking their "awakened" status, claiming to have special abilities. That made Novak chuckle.

But for those who truly had awakened, becoming forerunners and gaining the special powers granted by the Cosmic Will, Novak always sent a group invite.

After all, only the gifted—those who had awakened their talents—could join. If you hadn't been chosen as a forerunner by the universe, you wouldn't be able to enter the group.

Once the apocalypse fully broke out, Novak planned to close the group to new members. From that point forward, only those who demonstrated enough strength and potential would be invited by current members.

That was the only way to maintain the group's exclusivity.

In such a short time, the latest newcomer, Lotte, had already read through the group and doomsday rules and was now chatting with the others.

[Your King—Bart: Hey, can we get a picture, Miss? Where are you from? I'm in D-avao.]

[Lotte: ...I'm in Ifugad But I'm ugly, so please don't ask for a picture. Is doomsday really coming?]

[Your King—Bart: Of course it's real! If you've joined the group, don't you see the Cosmic Will interface and your own abilities? By the way, it's not polite for a lady to ask about my talents, haha!]

[Lotte: …]

[Vince: Ian, calm down...]

Novak's curiosity was piqued. Lotte seemed introverted, but at least she wasn't as blunt and boastful as Ian.

But Lotte's next message caught everyone off guard.

[Lotte: Is the person in the video the White Emperor? He's so strong! Does he know more about talents? I don't understand my ability, and I need some help.]

[White: I'm here.]

A private message arrived immediately afterward.

[Lotte: White Emperor-senpai, could you help me understand my talent?]

[White: Send it over.]

Generally, talents awakened in advance were never low-level. The higher the talent grade, the more complex its application. Novak's own ability, Virus King, had an intricate talent tree where each evolution point unlocked a unique ability.

Novak hadn't heard of Lotte in his past life, but her high-level talent intrigued him.

Soon, Lotte sent over a screenshot of her abilities.

[Lotte: 'Yin Wood Body (SS): Among the Five Elements of Yin and Yang, the Yin Wood Body is the most yin of all trees. Its life force is endless, like an ever-flowing stream. Ghosts may enter the body, and it dwells in the land of eternal life. It can permanently consume one point of spiritual attributes to activate the wood body and consume one point of constitution to awaken the Yin Soul.']

Hiss!

Novak's eyes widened.

An SS-level talent!

There were so few in the world.

As for SSS-level talents, in his past life, there had been fewer than five in total.

SS-level talents were the next tier down, and they were still exceedingly rare.

This previously unknown Evolver in front of him... had an SS talent?

However, her ability came with a steep price.

Unlike Novak's Virus King, which absorbed viruses to generate evolution points, Lotte's talent consumed her own attribute points.

Attribute points were the most fundamental and vital resource for any evolver, something Novak knew firsthand. His overwhelming physical strength came directly from his constitution.

But the Cosmic Will was fair—an ability that consumed so much had to be worth the cost.

Novak considered this for a moment before asking:

[White: Are you unsure about which attribute to activate first?]

[Lotte: Yes.]

Lotte's talent wasn't overly complicated, but it was clear she wasn't foolish. She could sense the importance of her attributes and was understandably hesitant about reducing them too soon.

Without the right choice, who knew what consequences might follow?

After a moment of thought, Novak smiled and gave her his answer:

[White: If your spiritual attribute is above 3, use that to activate the wood body first. Constitution is the most critical attribute in the apocalypse—your physical strength, and even resistance to the zombie virus, all depend on it. So, focus on activating the wood body. From the description, this talent should enhance your constitution as well, ensuring you'll survive both the early days of the apocalypse and the chaos that follows. You can open the Yin Soul when you're at a higher level.]

[Lotte: !!! Got it! Thank you, White Emperor-senpai! My spirit is at 5 points, so I'll start there!]

[White: And Lotte, remember not to casually share your talents and attributes with others. Stick to the doomsday rules. Stay strong! Now that you're in Group 001, don't be weak.]

[Lotte: I understand, White-senpai! I'll do my best!]

Novak smiled to himself.

This girl was interesting.

Her talent reminded him of someone from his past.

Closing the group chat and ignoring the idle gossip, Novak sat quietly for a moment.

His eyes narrowed as a name crossed his mind.

Two words escaped his lips:

"Wood Ghost Mother?"