11 Talent - Dual Aura

"Ding! The host has successfully infected one person, Evolution Points +10!"

...

Shaun's Evolution Points had reached 120/400. To evolve to a Tier 5 Common Zombie, he needed to infect twenty-eight more people.

"I need to speed up the progress."

Shaun stood in thought, not minding his wounds at all. His abdominal injury hadn't caused any bleeding or had any impact on him.

Slowly approaching the radiant lights, he received a prompt as expected. The sound was a neutral electronic tone, similar to his system notifications.

"Randomly acquire a talent! It enhances your survival abilities in the apocalypse."

He walked into the radiant light, and immediately, another prompt came.

"Absorbing talent! Time: Ten minutes."

Now he knew why the three brothers had been battling outside. It required time to absorb the talents.

Leaving the light, he pushed the three new zombies off the rooftop and locked the iron door.

This should prevent anyone from disturbing my absorption.

Shaun let out a roar and began absorbing the talent.

"Talent absorption in progress..."

"Absorption complete!"

"Talent: Passerby Aura!"

"Tier: Unknown!"

"Introduction: Skilled in disguise, you can instantly become an ordinary passerby, thoroughly reducing your presence. This is a perfect yet clumsy deception!"

"Effect: There's a 50% chance to significantly reduce your presence!"

He stood frozen in place, paying no attention to the fading colors of the radiant light. It was as though he was lost in thought.

Is this really a talent?!

Not only is it unrelated to combat, but the success rate is also only fifty percent!

Couldn't it at least give me enhanced strength or speed, if not the ability to become a super zombie?

"Ding! The host has completed the weekly task. Divine Descent Talent: Acquire a talent!"

"Reward is being distributed..."

"Upgrading the tier of Passerby Aura!"

"Ding! Passerby Aura has no tier and the upgrade failed..."

"Reward transferred... New talent derived..."

"Ding! The host comprehends a new talent: Protagonist Aura!"

"Talent: Protagonist Aura!"

"Tier: Unknown!"

"Introduction: Skilled in disguise, you can instantly become the protagonist, radiating brilliance, and gaining the attention of other beings. This is a perfect yet clumsy deception!"

"Effect: There's a 50% chance to significantly increase your presence!"

"A new weekly task will be released in seven days. Host, please check it."

Shaun looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. A light breeze brushed past him, causing his pink cape and black plastic bag to flutter slightly.

He was completely speechless. He had never expected that after Passerby Aura, the system would reward him with a Protagonist Aura.

The effects, however, were completely opposite. What on earth could he use it for?

He had great expectations for Divine Descent Talents, but now he realized his mistake completely.

Is this really what Divine Descent Talents are like?

A zombie wearing sunglasses gazed into the distance, lit a cigarette from within his feathered coat, and had a melancholic expression.

Gaining two talents in an instant, his combat strength hadn't changed at all.

These talents were more like whimsical skills rather than what he had hoped for.

Talents are unreliable. It's better to stick to the path of evolution.

Fortunately, zombies received these talents. If survivors had received them, what would the effects have been?

Even if you become more inconspicuous, for zombies, you're still fresh meat, and they would rush at you.

Shaun adjusted his disheveled hair and mood, put on his black plastic bag, and left the rooftop.

In this old building, several apartment doors were tightly locked, yet Shaun still caught a whiff of the scent of fresh flesh.

Approaching the door of an apartment on the third floor, he could clearly sense the presence of three people inside. Politely, he knocked on the door.

Bang! Bang!

This apartment housed a family of three – a couple and a young elementary school boy – all huddled in the bedroom.

All three of them had pale faces, clearly having gone hungry for a long time. The young boy's cheeks still bore traces of dried tears.

"Damn it! How could something like this suddenly happen?! How?!"

The man's spirit was equally weak, and he couldn't accept this reality until now. The apocalypse had suddenly unfolded!

Just the previous day, he had been working hard at the office, looking forward to the future. He had hoped to spend the weekend resting with his family. But a burst of light had come, and the sun had never risen again. Instead, an eternal blood-red sun loomed overhead.

The woman's face had already turned desolate. Her eyes were lifeless, devoid of any remnants of hope. Every day, they peered out of their windows, seeing only the wandering zombies on the streets and no living soul.

The world had changed.

They had expected rescue to arrive, but with such widespread infection, the military was likely overwhelmed, let alone in this small city.

The shadow of death hung over them.

Suddenly, a slow and orderly knocking at the door caused the three of them to look surprised, their faces filled with disbelief.

Could they be hallucinating already?

Bang! Bang!

Shaun remained patient. As a zombie, he had plenty of patience. This was a fundamental quality for a hunter.

"Is there really knocking at the door?!"

The man's face showed a hint of excitement, his voice even trembling.

Could hope be arriving this quickly?

The woman's eyes, once void of life, now sparkled with a glimmer, but she quickly realized the truth.

"Could it be the thugs from upstairs a few days ago?"

A few days ago, the three brothers had gone door to door, knocking. When they saw this family's fierce appearance, they hadn't opened the door, out of fear.

The man struggled to stand, shaking his head slightly before saying, "I'll go check it out."

He reached the door and peered outside through the peephole.

At this close range, Shaun could clearly sense the man's fresh flesh, and a trace of excitement appeared in his heart.

He took two steps back, making sure the man could see him clearly. With his right hand, he made a scissor gesture.

The man froze. A person wearing sunglasses and a black plastic bag, carrying a blood-stained flat-bottomed pot on his back, and making an odd scissor gesture – no matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like a good person.

Could it be another thug? Perhaps a twisted criminal!

Despair resurfaced within the man. He had no intention of opening the door. The apocalypse had brought out people's darkest sides – letting such a person in would only result in a quicker death.

Shaun grew impatient, sensing the man's reluctance to open the door. He immediately activated the Protagonist Aura.

"Protagonist Aura activation failed!"

He blinked, not unexpectedly unreliable!

"Activate Protagonist Aura again!"

"Can't use it on the same target in a short time."

What the hell! What's going on!

"Activate Passerby Aura for me!"

"Activation successful, your presence has been significantly reduced!"

Shaun's heart leaped in joy. He hadn't expected the failure rate for both auras to be quite low!

The man looked outside, then left without a second glance, completely ignoring what was outside the door.