121: Crystal core.

Tian Ming reached out, and the pale blue Red Crystal Core flew directly over.

But as the Red Crystal Core came into his hand, its volume rapidly shrank, and soon, it disappeared.

However, Tian Ming could still see that the Red Crystal Core had shrunk to a nanoscale, yet its structure remained distinct. Suddenly, the Red Crystal Core melted like ice and integrated into Tian Ming's own cells, completely vanishing.

"Boss, Boss!" Inside the armored troop carrier, Sun Wentao, Pan Ting, and two members of the Materials Group stumbled over.

Qiu Wuhui knelt down in front of Tian Ming with a thud, crying out in pain.

"Boss, all my brothers are dead, all of them."

Since Qiu Wuhui took charge of the Materials Group, although many Ability Users had been replaced during this period, the old members who remained in the Materials Group were basically those who had a life-and-death bond with Qiu Wuhui.

When facing the Corpse King tide, these brothers had also stayed by the armored vehicle.

Looking at Qiu Wuhui, Tian Ming sighed deeply and said in a low voice, "See how many people are still alive."

Pan Ting said, "Boss, the armored troop carrier can hold twelve people, and one in the driver's cabin. Me, Sun Wentao, Meng Dong..."

"Where's Meng Dong?"

Pan Ting's expression changed, and she exclaimed, "Meng Dong is still in the armored vehicle; he was operating the machine gun."

Qiu Wuhui abruptly stopped crying and rushed directly to the armored vehicle, shouting, "Meng Dong, Meng Dong..."

But in the armored vehicle's weapon control room, the powerful impact from the Corpse King had deformed the entire driver's cabin and weapon control position. Meng Dong's hands were tightly gripping the weapon control stick, while his lower body was directly crushed by the deformed vehicle body.

His face was covered in blood, his eyes wide open, but he had long since stopped breathing.

"Meng Dong!" Qiu Wuhui's eyes blazed with fury as he reached out, wanting to pull Meng Dong out of the weapon control room. But this iron-willed man had no life left. No matter how much he pulled, it was futile; the man was already dead.

Tian Ming looked at Meng Dong's remains, his heart a mix of emotions. He placed his hand on the armored vehicle, and the driver's cabin slowly restored itself. Meng Dong's remains were also carried out by a few people.

Most of the Materials Group brothers did not leave complete remains; only a few were still alive.

At this moment, Meng Xian finally arrived with the convoy. Looking at the mess on the ground, Meng Xian remained very calm.

"You few, tally the material damage. Huang Qiusheng, collect the brothers' bodies and cremate them here."

There was no sadness in Meng Xian's tone; he handled the aftermath calmly. Qiu Wuhui, who was squatting on the ground, suddenly stood up and rushed towards Meng Xian.

Bang!

Qiu Wuhui threw a punch fiercely at Meng Xian, but the latter dodged sideways, raised his hand to grasp Qiu Wuhui's wrist, and said coldly, "Qiu Wuhui, what do you want to do?"

Qiu Wuhui's eyes blazed with fury as he pointed at Meng Xian's nose and cursed, "Meng Xian, you damn it, my brothers died so tragically, aren't you sad at all?"

Meng Xian was expressionless: "Half of these people were brought by me. What's the use of being sad when they die? Will sadness bring them back to life?"

"Cold-blooded, you've been treating us like machines these past few days? Now you're happy, delighted? Go screw yourself, do you have to work us to death before you stop?" Qiu Wuhui angrily cursed.

"Enough!" Tian Ming roared, and everyone present quieted down.

An iron hand was raised, and Iron Dude's voice echoed in Tian Ming's mind. He turned around and walked towards a nearby spot. The Metal Zombie, Iron Dude, had been violently torn in half. But it was not dead.

Tian Ming waved his hand, and the remaining half of the body flew directly over. Immediately after, Tian Ming summoned the surrounding iron elements, which continuously merged into Iron Dude's body.

Its body was recovering rapidly, and soon, Iron Dude, who was lying on the ground, got up. It lowered its head and said to Tian Ming, "Master, that one just now, its body was made of tungsten gold. I was no match."

Tian Ming nodded slightly. Iron Dude's body strength was definitely not as strong as that Tungsten Gold Corpse King. Tungsten alloy is much stronger than steel, second only to diamond. Its Mohs hardness is between 8 and 9.

Everyone cremated the remains, and Tian Ming got some urns to put them in. During this time, some slightly mutated zombies rushed over, but they were no match for Tian Ming.

"Pack the urns. We're going back."

Tian Ming glanced at the melted metal from the Tungsten Gold Corpse King's body nearby. With a wave of his hand, the metal was directly decomposed into particles and flew towards Iron Dude. He wanted to see if Iron Dude could assimilate the tungsten metal from the Tungsten Gold Corpse King's body.

Iron Dude emitted a warm glow, and the iron elements in its body were slowly being replaced. The entire process lasted about 10 minutes, and Iron Dude's body was completely assimilated by the Tungsten Gold Corpse King. At this point, Iron Dude's body strength directly increased by one level.

Iron Dude prostrated itself on the ground and kowtowed several times to Tian Ming. It could clearly feel that it had evolved, as its master had directly replaced its own iron elements with tungsten elements. It evolved faster than through cannibalism of its own kind.

Previously, Tian Ming had also used other metals for replacement, but it hadn't worked. After Tian Ming absorbed the Tungsten Gold Corpse King's Red Crystal Core, he found that he could use the metal elements left by the Tungsten Gold Corpse King to directly evolve Iron Dude.

It seems that when zombies evolve to a certain extent, they produce Red Crystal Cores, and this Red Crystal Core can grant Tian Ming the ability to transform zombies. Tian Ming decided to go back and study whether this Red Crystal Core had any other uses.

The group began their return journey. By the time Tian Ming and the others returned to the Shelter, it was already evening. Everyone was exhausted, but no one rested. They held a simple ceremony, burying the ashes of the Materials Group victims on the mountain north of the Shelter. The northern slope of the mountain had been converted into a temporary cemetery.

Everyone present felt heavy-hearted. This time, the Materials Group suffered immense losses. The convoy used for transport consisted of 15 vehicles, with nearly 55 personnel dispatched, and only 11 survived.

Most of the squad leaders under Qiu Wuhui had basically all died. In front of the cemetery, he glared fiercely at Meng Xian. They had already set out near noon, and if Meng Xian hadn't urged them, their convoy might not have run head-on into the Corpse King tide led by that Tungsten Gold Corpse King.

The sky gradually darkened, and the personnel present disbanded and returned to the Shelter.

"You, come with me for a chat," Tian Ming said to Meng Xian.

Meng Xian nodded slightly and said, "Okay, Boss."

The two came to the Shelter's conference room. Tian Ming sat down, but Meng Xian dared not sit. He felt a bit uneasy and stood there, not daring to speak.

"Sit down, don't stand!" Tian Ming's tone was very calm, and Meng Xian couldn't discern his attitude towards the matter from his expression.

But Meng Xian also knew that Tian Ming seeking him out for a private conversation meant that his management style of the Shelter during this period might not be approved by the Boss.