The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 81

Hayley picked up the cup of clear liquid.

She sniffed it first, just to be safe, then split it in half and drank only one half.

The evolution serum had no taste at all–if anything, there was a faint, pleasant sweetness she couldn’t quite describe.

After she finished, she tried using her gift.

With a sharp whoosh, the small rosebush sitting in the corner of her shelter suddenly shot up new buds. Its stems thickened before her eyes, thorns sharpened, and bright red blossoms bloomed one after another.

In just a few seconds, the tiny plant that had already passed its blooming season grew into a lush, two–foot–tall

rose tree.

Hayley’s eyes lit up instantly.

Before, her ability could only make one branch grow a little, and every time she used her gift, her body would crash afterward, drained and weak for hours.

She had spent so much time trying to figure out how to improve her power, but no matter how much she practiced or pushed herself, the limit never changed.

The only times she’d seen real breakthroughs were during intense fights or after eating a ton of meat–like what happened with Leonard earlier that day.

Now, after drinking the evolution serum, she could grow and control an entire rosebush with a flick of her hand. Every vine moved in sync with her thoughts, and she didn’t feel the slightest strain in her body.

She turned toward the bathroom sink and tried controlling the water.

She now had water and wood–element gifts.

There was a boom, followed by a whoosh of crashing water as a heavy curtain of rain exploded through the bathroom, slamming into the wall with enough force to punch a hole straight through it. If her shelter hadn’t been built into the side of a mountain, the water might’ve blasted right through an ordinary building.

The strength of it stunned Hayley.

She stared down at her hands, eyes wide with amazement.

By her estimation, her power now was on par with the Gifted who had been evolving for five or six years back in her previous life.

And all that came from drinking only half of a level–2 zombie’s evolution serum.

She confirmed her suspicion: crystal cores were the key to every Gifted’s evolution!

No wonder the Gifted in her past life had been so slow to grow stronger at first. It wasn’t until the big bases started producing and trading crystal cores in bulk that the Gifted began to advance quickly.

Those bases must have figured out how to extract and refine the cores into evolution serums, then sold them to help Gifted level up fast.

But she also remembered something else. Every Gifted she had known who advanced quickly had serious side effects.

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The stronger their gifts grew, the worse it got–rage, paranoia, or complete mental breakdowns. Some even lost control altogether, going berserk and attacking anyone nearby like wild monsters.

Hayley now suspected it was because the evolution serums made by the big bases weren’t pure enough. They probably worked by forcing the body to absorb energy too fast, building up toxins that eventually turned against the user.

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