Apocalypse Gachapon

The creature was a heavily scaled, mutated lifeform, roughly the size of an adult male elephant, relatively small among the vast array of lifeforms depicted.

Beyond its scales, this creature possessed a pair of sharp, curved horns, a protruding snout filled with razor-sharp teeth, and an overall muscular build. The thick scales didn’t give it a cumbersome appearance; instead, it looked agile, clearly a terrifying entity excelling in both speed and physicality.

In the apocalypse, evolved particularly feared this type of creature.

Ye Zhongming had his reasons for choosing a fifth-row lifeform.

First, he couldn’t be certain about the guardian beasts’ exact strength. Apart from the energy bars, the patterns provided no descriptions—everything was guesswork.

Under these circumstances, selecting lower-tier guardians might result in insufficient strength, failing to intimidate others when collecting “toll fees” later. That would be handing out free gifts.

Second, Ye Zhongming wanted to gauge the cost range of these guardians. Mid-tier selections should logically have mid-tier prices.

Of course, this wasn’t absolute, but it was the only viable approach.

One could estimate based on energy bar lengths, but what if those lengths were merely conceptual rather than concrete indicators? Ye Zhongming trusted the conventional assumption that mid-tier guardians would have mid-tier prices.

Following Cannibal Chain’s example, he fed unused items into the guardian’s energy bar, watching it fill gradually.

Cloud Peak’s members observed intently, finding the process fascinating in itself.

Soon, the energy bar neared capacity. After inserting one last piece of useless level-eight material, the pattern flashed—the guardian vanished.

“No reaction?” Xiao Xuan remarked when nothing seemed to happen post-disappearance. Others frowned, equally puzzled.

Only Ye Zhongming suddenly turned to look behind the group.

The guardian stood there calmly, observing them with composed detachment.

This startled Cloud Peak thoroughly.

The Bright Star’s uniqueness had lulled them into dropping their guard, assuming they were alone on the planet and safe inside this structure.

No sentries had been posted—who knew the guardian would materialize silently at their rear?

Ye Zhongming attempted various methods to command the guardian but received no compliance. Its eyes showed understanding—it simply chose not to obey.

This was unavoidable. After all, it wasn’t his battle beast. Its mere presence here sufficed.

Though uncooperative, the creature radiated formidable energy—likely no weaker than level eight.

Yangos clamored to spar with it, but Ye Zhongming stopped him. Provoking unknown rules would be unwise.

While uncontrollable, Ye Zhongming received prompts about upgrades. As per the space’s rules, this guardian could be upgraded five times.

Without overthinking, Ye Zhongming chose to upgrade it once.

After surrendering roughly one-third of the guardian’s original purchase cost in equivalent items, the wheel space confirmed the upgrade’s success.

Temporarily dubbing this a “Level 1 Guardian”, its current form far surpassed its initial state.

Quantifying the improvement was impossible, but instinct told Ye Zhongming that while the base form posed no real threat, defeating this Level 1 Guardian would now require serious effort.

After consideration, Ye Zhongming proceeded with a second upgrade…

………………………………………………

“Please strike the Soaring Crystal again.”

The stone platform reappeared before the structure. This time, when Xia Bai moved to act, Red Hair intercepted, insisting on handling the second challenge herself.

Ye Zhongming glanced at the still-incapacitated Undead Dragon-fish, concerned.

But under Red Hair’s insistence, he relented.

Armed with spatial equipment borrowed from Xia Bai, Red Hair struck the Soaring Crystal, sending it flying beyond their Bright Star.

Once it entered space, the sky transformed into a star map, allowing Cloud Peak to track the crystal’s trajectory.

Following Ye Zhongming’s instructions, Red Hair applied moderate force. After passing three Bright Stars, the crystal collided with one of the reward cards they’d observed earlier.

The card shrank rapidly, streaking back to Cloud Peak’s Bright Star and landing in Ye Zhongming’s palm.

Without inspecting it, Ye Zhongming kept watching as the Soaring Crystal continued past one more star before settling on a new one.

Like viewing 4K footage, Cloud Peak watched Red Hair get drawn into that star. After purchasing a set quota, her challenge began.

Her opponent resembled a demon king—humanoid but bulkier, with a grotesque head, wreathed in ice-blue flames, wielding twin whips.

Glimpses of its limbs revealed skin in stark contrast to its flames—a reddish-brown hue.

Though this monster’s strength was reduced by 54%, it immediately humbled the observers by sending Red Hair flying within ten seconds. While not fatal, the damage was severe.

Red Hair’s current power far exceeded ordinary eight-star evolved beings. Only a level-nine entity could overwhelm her so thoroughly. Did this half-weakened monster still retain level-nine strength?

“Something’s off,” Ye Zhongming murmured before falling silent, his expression grave yet not overly worried.

“Did it open with its ultimate move?” Xiao Min, an eight-star evolved being with sharp instincts, ventured this theory based on her combat experience and understanding of Red Hair.

“Look! Sister Red Hair is counterattacking!”

Many Youth Army members—who feared the icy Xia Bai, distrusted the scheming Xiao Min, and avoided the stern Dai Zhi—adored Red Hair for her approachable, gentle demeanor.

Now, witnessing her counterattack, they erupted in excitement.

“Red Hair has grown stronger.”

This came from Xia Bai.

On the Bright Star, Red Hair gripped her spear as her crimson hair elongated, coiling around the shaft. Molten lava seeped from the weapon, igniting her hair, then her entire body.

The screen now showed two flaming figures in a face-off—one ice-blue, the other blazing red!