The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 549

Chapter 549

Ruby was getting more unhinged by the day.

“Okay, okay, stop,” Hayley said, laughing as she pushed Ruby away. “Aunt Ruby, I need to talk to you.”

“Perfect timing,” Ruby said. “I need to talk to you, too.”

“Then you go first.”

“No, you go first. What do you need me for?”

Three minutes later, the two of them were already inside the office.

Hayley took out the fire–element gift seed she had just gotten and handed it to Ruby. She didn’t explain what it was; she just said it was something good.

Ruby didn’t ask a single question. Hayley handed it over, and Ruby swallowed it without hesitation.

Hayley watched her closely, heart in her throat.

Nothing happened.

No reaction, no discomfort, no side effects.

And then, a familiar sound echoed in Hayley’s mind.

Ding! [Base guard Ruby has awakened a fire–element gift.]

Ding! [Guard fire element ability acquired. Fire–element gift already possessed. Automatically converted into proficiency.]

Ding! [Please note: This guard ability is revocable.]

Hayley’s eyes lit up.

She had been right. She had found the loophole!

She couldn’t gain duplicate abilities herself, but when she gave an ability to someone under her command, their awakening fed back into her own growth.

She had suspected it might work that way, which was why she had tested it on Ruby first. 1

And it worked.

Ruby got stronger, and so did Hayley.

Giving abilities to her people was far more valuable than keeping them for herself.

Hayley also noticed something else. Ruby’s ability was marked as revocable. That meant that because the ability came from Hayley, she could take it back at any time.

Hayley’s eyes shone even brighter.

Meanwhile, Ruby had no idea what had just happened. She only knew she had eaten something Holly gave her.

“Holly,” Ruby said excitedly, “we’ve had a major breakthrough! Our anti–zombie spray has an upgraded version now. It works on higher level zombies!”

1/2

+15 Banus

Hayley went from one rush of excitement straight into another.

System abilities were cheats. They were powerful, yes, but borrowed.

Human–made progress was different. That was real power.

Ruby’s spray had been incredibly effective early on, but as zombies evolved, its impact had dropped fast.

Now, they had broken through again.

Their own strength had leveled up.

Hayley had never treated the system as her only pillar. She used it as leverage, then pushed human development forward alongside it, including agriculture, manufacturing, research, equipment, and medicine. Every front at

once.

The system had its role. What she was building belonged to humanity.

And human strength was the only thing that truly lasted.

“How high does it work?” Hayley asked immediately.

“Level 3,” Ruby said, “but I don’t know the upper limit yet.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have higher–level zombies to test on,” Ruby replied. “Everything sent to us so far has been below level 3. Nothing higher. The upgraded spray is hitting the ceiling because of that. If I could get my hands on stronger zombies, I might be able to push it further.”

As Ruby finished speaking, a new notification sounded in Hayley’s head.

Ding! [Super Lord System activated. Limited–time mission. Within 24 hours, eliminate 10 thousand zombies. Reward: Ten random gift packs!]

Hayley had been about to agree, anyway. Now, she grinned.

“Aunt Ruby,” she said, already turning toward the door, “stay home and wait. I’ll bring you some high–level zombies myself.”

+15 Banus