Chapter 59: Beastification
Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Beastification
The second man was the oldest of the four. Although Xisuo couldn’t tell his exact age at a glance, he had to be at least forty.
Honestly, in the wasteland, that age was already considered old.
After all, the radiation and various dangers spread throughout the wasteland had drastically shortened most people’s lifespans.
If someone spent years active in high-radiation zones, consuming food and water that weren’t specially purified, their physical functions would be in steep decline by age forty.
A man that old would be the first to be excluded from a team.
However, if the man was a Mutant Hunter, that was a different story entirely.
The mutants that managed to survive in the wasteland each had their own strengths, but they also had all sorts of flaws and weaknesses.
An experienced Hunter who was familiar with mutants could devise combat strategies based on their habits and weaknesses, and could also track distant prey through subtle clues.
’If the others don’t have any special strengths, I’ll probably choose this man,’ Xisuo thought.
’After all, his qualifications seem like a good fit for Ye Yun’s shelter.’
The third person was the tallest of the four, but his frame was somewhat gaunt.
"My name is Zhang Kai. I’m an expert with firearms and can serve as the team’s marksman."
Xisuo carefully sized up this man named Zhang Kai. A moment later, he sneered inwardly.
He noticed that Zhang Kai’s hands lacked the thick, rough calluses that came from holding a gun for long periods.
This made him mentally question Zhang Kai’s so-called "firearms expertise."
It wasn’t uncommon in the wasteland to find people who boasted about their firearm skills without any real proof. After all, a gun was a very simple weapon.
Even a child could call themselves a gunman as long as they could pick up a firearm.
However, a gunman like that wouldn’t bring any improvement to the team’s combat effectiveness. On the contrary, they’d become a menace.
After all, combat often involved close-quarters fighting. Especially when hunting mutants, the two sides were very likely to end up tangled together.
A gunman with poor aim could cause even more damage than a fearsome mutant.
Of course, Xisuo didn’t expose him on the spot.
As the old saying goes, it’s best not to burn your bridges.
Xisuo had no desire to needlessly offend anyone.
Soon, his gaze fell on the last person, who was also the only woman.
The woman stood up without hesitation. Her voice lacked a woman’s typical gentleness; instead, it was somewhat hoarse. At first, you might not even realize it was a woman’s voice.
"My name is Zhou Mei."
"I am an ability user."
Though she spoke softly, her words immediately captured the attention of the other five people present.
Xisuo was instantly intrigued.
He never expected to find an ability user in a remote settlement like October Town.
A slight smile appeared on Xisuo’s face, but he didn’t get his hopes up too high.
After all, truly powerful ability users had mostly joined organizations or factions.
Unless they had special personal reasons, like him and his brother, they generally wouldn’t become freelancers or loners.
"An ability user?"
"What kind of ability do you have?"
Zhou Mei didn’t hesitate. The fact that she could use an ability was no secret in October Town.
"I am a Beastification user."
She took a deep breath, and a layer of fine downy hair began to sprout from her wheat-colored skin. In the blink of an eye, the down turned into a coat of cat fur.
Zhou Mei’s transformation didn’t stop there.
The contours of her face also began to change, and pointed ears emerged from the edge of her hairline.
Her face grew more pointed, and her eyes became large and round, glowing with green light as her pupils narrowed into thin vertical slits.
Sharp claws extended from her fingertips, looking extremely dangerous.
The entire transformation was swift and smooth. In less than two seconds, Zhou Mei had completed her change.
Seeing her transformation, Xisuo’s expression immediately turned serious.
’A Beastification user.’
Beastification was a very large branch of ability users.
Beastification users, as the name implied, were ability users who could partially or fully transform into beasts.
After activating their ability, they would manifest animal characteristics and gain corresponding powers.
It was said that this type of ability user was actually very similar to them—a type of artificial ability user.
However, these artificial ability users were different from them, because the Beastification ability was hereditary.
According to legend, this was the result of a special research project before the Great Cataclysm.
Some mad scientists had edited the genes of different animals into their test subjects.
The original purpose of this experiment was to create powerful, humanoid biological weapons.
After all, biological weapons that used humans as their base could retain their intelligence to a large extent.
However, with the arrival of the Great Cataclysm, the research was never perfected, and many test subjects were released into the wasteland.
Due to the instability of the gene editing and mutations from radiation, only a small fraction of the test subjects’ descendants inherited this Beastification ability. These people became the Beastification users of today.
Of course, there was also a theory that the descendants who didn’t exhibit the Beastification ability were simply lacking a trigger and were temporarily unable to activate the power within them.
This special bloodline would continue to flow within them until it awakened in one of their descendants.
Xisuo had seen a Beastification user once before.
The person was a guard for a passing merchant caravan, and he had seen them transform by chance.
After transforming, a layer of fine scales would appear on their body, greatly enhancing their defensive capabilities.
After transforming, a Beastification user’s body would be strengthened to a certain degree. The woman before him, Zhou Mei, must have a feline-type Beastification.
’Most likely, it increases her night vision, speed, and perception.’
’Of course, I’ll need to learn the specifics later.’
But with an ability user now in the running, the once-promising Monster Hunter, Carl, could only be his second choice.
Xisuo immediately opened his mouth to extend an invitation.
"Then, welcome..."
Just as Xisuo began to speak, a somewhat discordant voice sounded from beside him.
"Hold on. A Beastification user is a Beastification user, sure, but has someone forgotten to tell the employer about their drawbacks?"
The speaker was Zhang Kai, and his tone was tinged with ridicule.
The "someone" he was referring to was obviously Zhou Mei, who was right beside him.
Xisuo frowned. He turned to look at Zhou Mei, his voice filled with confusion.
"Drawbacks?"
Hearing Zhang Kai’s words, a flash of displeasure crossed Zhou Mei’s cat-like eyes.
However, she had never intended to hide her weaknesses in the first place.