009 Devour, Steel Membrane Structure
Afterward, the two of them had a quick meal together and confirmed their short-term goal for the next few days: to find a place with as comfortable an environment as possible, ideally with ample food and drinking water reserves.
Taking advantage of the still-functioning internet, Lin Moze downloaded an offline version of the map and pinpointed the location of a nearby supermarket.
However, since it was already getting late, and considering the danger and inconvenience of traveling at night, they decided to spend the night on the rooftop and depart the next day.
This also gave Lin Moze a chance to sweep through the area around the school for more Kabane — those were all valuable points!
Not only that, he had something else he wanted to try out!
...
Night fell.
But the city did not become quiet.
On the contrary, fires and smoke could still be seen in the distance, Kabane wandered the streets, and the occasional roar of unknown monsters echoed through the city. In the night-shrouded sky, vague shadows occasionally flitted by.
Looking out at all of this, Lin Moze became even more certain that deciding not to travel at night was the right call.
Although he could travel swiftly between buildings — even while carrying Kitagawa — there were clearly other creatures in this apocalypse who could also climb walls or fly.
And before fully developing his powers, it was best to stay low-key.
Thanks to his efforts, the Kabane on campus had become few and scattered. At the same time, his points on the exchange panel had already surpassed 5,000.
While clearing the school, he had also occasionally found some survivors hiding in classrooms and rooms.
But he didn't approach them. In fact, he deliberately left a few Kabane near the stairway leading to the rooftop to prevent any of those survivors from accidentally making their way up.
He didn't bother coming up with any righteous excuse — he simply didn't want to bring those people along.
His super-dimensional awareness talent let him sense that none of the survivors were other saviors. Therefore, they were of no use to him for now.
Maybe in the future, when his strength had grown, he'd consider gathering survivors — but not now.
He turned and glanced at Kitagawa Marin, who was now fast asleep, lying on a mattress, pillow, and blanket he had brought back from the infirmary.
Once he confirmed she was asleep, Lin Moze leaped off the rooftop again, landing in a secluded corner of the campus, dragging along a Kabane he had saved for this moment.
This Kabane was tall and muscular, wearing a blue tracksuit — he had once been the school's P.E. teacher. Even infected, he looked more intimidating than most other monsters.
Without hesitation, Lin Moze took a deep breath, then tightened his grip — his fingers digging into the Kabane's skin.
Immediately, countless black-and-red blood vessel-like tendrils surged from beneath his skin, piercing into the Kabane's body and rapidly enveloping it.
The sounds of flesh melting and bones shattering followed. In just a few seconds, the terrifying Blacklight Virus had completely destroyed the Kabane's bodily structure, converting it into the same type of viral flesh.
These viral tissues were then transmitted back into Lin Moze's body through the black-and-red tendrils, turning into pure nourishment and replenishing his previously spent energy.
Not only that, the Blacklight Virus also began quickly analyzing and replicating any useful traits found in the Kabane virus.
However, this process ended swiftly — seemingly because the Kabane virus was too weak and unimpressive.
A wave of instinctual understanding surged into Lin Moze's mind, and aside from a slight recovery of stamina, the devouring process granted him a replicable anatomical structure:
Steel Membrane!
A toughened structure surrounding the heart and internal organs of the Kabane — while not bulletproof, it could defend against bladed weapons.
To Lin Moze, this was actually quite a useful gain.
Although merging with the Blacklight Virus had given him powerful regeneration and near-undying abilities, healing wounds still consumed stored bio-energy.
Even in the game, Brother A's health bar worked the same way.
Sure, Lin Moze could replenish energy quickly by devouring organisms — but in a high-paced, intense battle, enemies might not give him that opportunity.
So, boosting his defense to reduce damage and save energy might one day prove vital.
Closing his eyes, he carefully analyzed the viral feedback in his mind regarding the Steel Membrane's structure, and began generating the membrane tissue within his own body.
Unlike the Kabane version which only protected the heart, he planned to construct a full-body armor structure.
Glowing patterns began to appear on Lin Moze's skin, spreading rapidly from his heart to his torso and limbs.
Under his control, the Steel Membrane spread to every part of his body. He moved through a series of different poses and actions, optimizing the membrane's flexibility at every joint.
Finally, once all adjustments were complete, his entire body was covered in a hardened keratin structure glowing with a faint orange-yellow light. At a glance, it looked like he was some cosplayer in a custom Kamen Rider suit.
"Great, I haven't even unlocked the classic Whip-Blade form, and here I am stuck with the most useless armor form," Lin Moze couldn't help but mutter as he found a piece of glass to inspect his reflection.
Honestly though, this appearance might be intimidating at a glance, but it probably wasn't even as good as the in-game armor version.
After all, in the game, the biotic armor could tank gunfire and artillery. What he had now probably wouldn't hold up to more than a few cold weapons.
Oh well — it's only the first day of the apocalypse. The future holds promise!
Comforting himself with that thought, Lin Moze dismissed the Steel Membrane armor and prepared to return to the rooftop.
But just then, his ears twitched — he had picked up a faint sound of footsteps in the distance.
His interest piqued, he casually leapt up to the second floor and began heading toward the source of the sound.