Girl's Doomsday Rebirth Revenge & Survive novel Chapter 359

Chapter 359: Gathering Strength Before the Swarm

Several civilians had stepped forward, volunteering to assist the military forces. Most of these volunteers possessed some form of combat ability, making them valuable assets in the upcoming battle.

Francis took charge of a small squad of four soldiers stationed on the building’s ground floor, holding the crucial front line. Just one floor above them, Caroline, Tyler, and two younger soldiers stood guard, forming a secondary defensive barrier.

With manpower stretched thin, it was impossible to secure every floor with personnel. So, they focused their remaining time on fortifying the building by sealing every window they could reach.

One man, gifted with earth manipulation, busied himself upstairs mixing cement with water, methodically blocking off as many windows as possible. Nearby, a soldier with plant-based powers caused wooden planks to sprout thick vines, which Francis instructed him to use to cover any remaining gaps.

Meanwhile, the civilians and weaker ability users—those not suited for direct combat—retreated to floors above the 50th level. They armed themselves with whatever they could find: rusty pipes, axes, bats, anything that could serve as a weapon if mutant insects managed to breach their defenses.

The entire building hummed with a tense energy, alive with preparation and anticipation.

Caroline moved steadily from floor to floor, her mission clear in her mind. Whenever she encountered someone wielding an ability, she would either place a reassuring hand on their shoulder or grasp their hand firmly. Each interaction was a chance to absorb a new power.

By the time she completed her rounds, she had absorbed over ten new abilities. Of course, some were duplicates or relatively weak, and a few were beyond her reach—abilities tied to energy colors she had yet to unlock.

What frustrated her most was the Zero System’s constant reminders. Each failed attempt to copy an ability triggered a vibration alert, a nagging buzz that grated on her nerves.

After finishing her circuit, Caroline opened the Zero System interface. Instead of a neat list of newly acquired powers, the screen was dominated by a glowing message: “Frustrated? Disappointed? So many abilities you couldn’t copy, huh? Then go collect more color energy!”

Caroline’s lips twitched involuntarily. Really? At a moment like this? The system had zero awareness of the urgency surrounding her. Yet, she knew its purpose—it was designed to push her relentlessly toward gathering every type of color energy, no matter the circumstances.

As she scrolled through the list of abilities, a few caught her eye:

Metal Ability: I’m a Hammer
Description: When my head transforms into a hammer, it can crush anything in the world. Bonus: Never suffer a concussion again.

Mutated Earth Ability: Dustveil
Description: Create a five-square-foot cloud of sand out of thin air. Inside, I can move or hide freely. Not even gods can see me.

Life Ability: Life Drain
Description: Absorbs nearby life energy to heal myself or others and maintain eternal youth.

Green represented life energy, often linked to healing powers.
Blue was nature energy, associated with water and plants.
Red was another form of nature energy, usually tied to fire.
Yellow was also nature energy, probably connected to earth and metal abilities.

Later, Caroline made her way to the lab to warn Nelson about the impending insect disaster. She hoped he would pause his experiments and focus on survival.

But when Nelson heard the news, his eyes lit up with excitement, like a child on Christmas morning. “What kind of bugs? Cockroaches and spiders—the usual apocalypse pests? Or rare ones like stick bugs and butterflies? Wait, could there be mutant centipedes, mutant mantises, or maybe even mutant beetles? You have to save me some specimens if you find them. I could run so many tests!”

Caroline couldn’t help but laugh. That was Nelson for you—a true science fanatic.

She thought that someone like Nelson—a powerful healer and a living medical miracle—should only be sent into danger if it was absolutely necessary.

The base already had plenty of healers, including a few whose abilities Caroline had copied. Nelson, on the other hand, was terrible in combat and much safer inside his lab.

Still, as she left, Caroline’s mind was already racing with ideas on how to fully harness Nelson’s abilities in the days ahead.