Chapter 30 : Four Heads as Spoils – Lucky God or Eternal Loser?

While tidying up the lab, Li Yiming failed to notice the heat rising to his face.

Earlier, he had made an excuse to leave, feeling a sudden and inexplicable sense of awkwardness.

He had held her hand for nine whole hours before without feeling anything in particular.

But after Christine blushed…

Li Yiming suddenly realized—

Christine’s delicate, fair hands were incredibly soft.

That slow-on-the-uptake realization made Li Yiming immediately feel restless.

He quickly let go of Christine’s hand and found a random excuse to slip away.

Now, as he cleaned up the mess inside the lab, his mind was in complete disarray.

It took quite a while of moving around before he could finally shake off that strange feeling.

“Women only slow down how fast I draw my sword!”

“But zombie crystal cores? Never!”

Rubbing his hands together, Li Yiming slowly walked into the now glass-wall-less lab.

On the lab’s workbench, four frozen Licker heads were neatly laid out like icy sculptures.

It was time to inspect the spoils!

Four full Licker heads!

No matter how bad his luck was, he should at least get one zombie crystal core, right?

Especially from that alpha Licker—with its strength, there had to be at least one guaranteed crystal core!

Li Yiming pulled up a chair and sat in front of the workbench.

He looked at the four uniquely shaped frozen heads.

Then, he decided to pick which one to crack open first using the sacred ritual of “tapping them like picking watermelons”.

Of course, the action itself had zero actual effect on the outcome.

But as a lifelong gacha game player, this was an essential mystical ritual that could not be skipped!

After giving each head a pat, he picked the one that sounded the most hollow.

“Alright, you’re up. Sounds like you’ve got a tiny brain!”

No brain?

That just means more room for a crystal core, right?

Li Yiming raised his hand and chopped down hard on the zombie’s frozen skull like a karate strike!

Bang!

The frozen Licker head split in half like a watermelon.

“Let’s see if I can pull a one-hit miracle~”

Li Yiming reached into the Licker’s cracked skull, rummaging around.

But…

Even after scooping out every bit inside the Licker’s head, he couldn’t find the slightest trace of a crystal core!

“Damn it, no way!”

Frustrated, Li Yiming held the empty skull up.

Back when the Licker had burst through the lab’s ceiling…

Most of the overhead lights had been destroyed.

Only a few dim lights around the edges barely lit the massive lab space.

Yet even in such dark conditions, Li Yiming had no trouble seeing clearly.

Thanks to the virus’ modifications, his eyes were no longer hindered by darkness.

After confirming that the Licker head was indeed completely empty, he finally tossed the useless skull aside in disappointment.

First try, and I whiffed it.

Not a good omen.

Without hesitating further, he lifted his hand and chopped open the next Licker head.

Another clean crack echoed through the room.

Li Yiming, filled with anxiety, began rummaging through the second zombie’s head…

But then—

The second head still yielded nothing.

Two heads, both empty!

Li Yiming, unwilling to give up, dug through the second skull completely, turning it inside out.

But no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find even a sliver of a crystal core.

“Damn it!”

He tossed the remains aside and anxiously looked at the third Licker head.

He had been daydreaming earlier, thinking it’d be amazing if he got three crystal cores from four heads.

But now?

Forget three—he just hoped at least one would drop.

Anything but the worst-case scenario!

With a sinking feeling in his chest, Li Yiming slowly reached out and cracked open the third Licker’s skull.

“Fujian-style grilled rat—give me the goods!”

He muttered the “summoning ritual” catchphrase made popular by Teacher Piao (a well-known meme/reference among gacha players), and stuck his hand into the Licker’s frozen brain matter.

And then—he felt it!

Something hard and solid within the icy pulp!

He had a drop!

Li Yiming joyfully pulled his hand out—

It was a black zombie crystal core!

But the happiness on his face instantly vanished when he saw it clearly.

It was a Water-element crystal core.

Not exactly high-tier loot for someone like Li Yiming.

These element-infused crystal cores offered minimal improvement for him personally.

If he forcefully absorbed it, sure—there’d be a tiny boost…

But that would be a complete waste of its potential.

Trading an elemental zombie core for a more compatible one with another ability user was clearly the smarter choice.

Letting out a long sigh, Li Yiming pocketed the black Water-element core.

He hadn’t gotten a non-elemental core that could extend his life significantly…

Still, something was better than nothing.

After all, his younger sister, Li Xiaoyao, was a Water-element ability user.

Once he brought her back, this core could be saved for her.

Also, Christine was still suffering from ability backlash and exhaustion.

If she didn’t recover after absorbing that Ice-element core, this Water-element one could serve as a backup.

Even though it didn’t perfectly match Christine’s ability, Water and Ice didn’t repel each other strongly, so…

While the efficiency would be lower, it wouldn’t be a total waste.

After storing the Water-element core, Li Yiming’s gaze turned to the final Licker head.

This one belonged to the alpha Licker, the one that had led the others.

Li Yiming took a deep breath and pulled the largest head toward him.

If this one didn’t yield a usable core either…

He’d have to leave Christine behind for the night and head out solo hunting mutated zombies.

The last non-elemental core he’d absorbed only bought him one extra day of life.

If he remembered correctly…

There were only about ten hours left before his body hit its limit.

His expression grew serious as he slowly raised his hand—

CRACK!

With a clean, swift strike, he split the largest Licker’s skull wide open!

Carefully, he reached in and began searching through the remains.

As expected—

He felt something hard inside.

Clenching his fist, he pulled out the crystal core.

Now it was all down to this—luck or no luck, the gacha had been rolled!

“Come on! Gimme the goods!”

Li Yiming flung open his hand—

A gray zombie crystal core lay quietly in his palm.

A non-elemental zombie core!

And it was significantly larger than the last one he’d found!

“Hell yeah! Let’s gooo!!”

Staring at the crystal in his hand, Li Yiming broke out into an excited dance, thrilled beyond words.