The sole drawback of this talent lay in the agonizingly prolonged cycle required to farm its level.
Furthermore, with its success rate being abysmal, it couldn’t be leveled up using ordinary experience points; it relied entirely on the experience points gained from successful thefts.
Song Yu’s double and triple bonus effects from Scavenger Trash Goblin had no functional impact on it whatsoever.
To a certain degree, the player who originally acquired this talent could be considered quite unfortunate.
It featured virtually zero native combat bonuses.
Song Yu had zero intention of deploying this talent on herself, opting instead to pass it along to Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei’s running speed outstripped her own, and its theft actions could be executed in the blink of an eye.
Even in the event of a failure, it could bolt away at lightning speed.
Moreover, compared to human beings, humans maintained a far lower baseline of vigilance toward animals.
Humans possessed independent thought and cunning intellect, whereas animals were comparatively straightforward.
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While many people might harbor malicious intentions toward animals, they rarely raised their guards against them.
As for the Street Ruffian talent, that naturally went to Song Yu.
No matter how heaven-defying Xiao Hei grew, its inherent biological limitations remained fixed in place, leaving no alternative.
Song Yu tidied up her slot grids and backpack, stationing herself by the window to wait for Xiao Hei’s return.
This wait stretched across two full hours before Song Yu finally caught sight of Xiao Hei’s dirt-streaked, limping silhouette.
Without a second of hesitation, she hurried downstairs to apply that very last roll of medical bandages to Xiao Hei.
Following that, she packed up and prepared to lead Xiao Hei toward Doctor Zhong’s operating zone.
At a time like this, having access to a motor vehicle would have been ideal.
Song Yu was referring to a four-wheeled vehicle or an electric/gas-powered two-wheeler, not that battered human-powered bicycle.
In terms of mobility, that bicycle was less efficient than using her own two legs.
Catching sight of Song Yu preparing to head out the moment it returned from its trek, Xiao Hei bore no grievances, docilely following right along with Song Yu’s movements.
Nighttime in Yangliu City was fraught with peril on all fronts.
Song Yu continually caught the sound of gunfire, artillery, and footfalls echoing from every direction.
Yet Xiao Hei unfailingly managed to guide her along paths boasting the sparsest concentrations of zombies.
Even so, the volume of zombies crossed by Song Yu and her companion was hardly negligible; she even stumbled right into a Tier 4 zombie!
That zombie looked feeble and frail at a glance, yet its attack damage and speed were punishingly high!
Fortunately, its health pool sat at a mere 237 points, likely because someone else had already chopped away half its health prior to her arrival.
Xiao Hei executed kiting maneuvers while Song Yu provided auxiliary attacks from the flanks.
Human and dog expended a fair bit of effort before finally putting down this zombie, coming dangerously close to perishing beneath its claws.
Still, they emerged safe through the harrowing ordeal. Having successfully cleared out the zombie, it yielded a rewarding drop of 6 vials of mutated blood!
It should have only dropped 2 vials, but Song Yu triggered the triple-bonus effect of her talent, instantly netting 6 vials of blood.
This truly came as an unexpected, delightful windfall.
By this stage, she had already progressed a full quarter of the way through her journey.
Right at that juncture, Song Yu suddenly caught the roar of a motor engine, followed immediately by the staccato cracking of intensive gunfire!
Clearly, the source couldn’t be far away.
Weighing the situation, Song Yu promptly instructed Xiao Hei to lead her straight toward the origin of the sounds.
At an hour like this, anyone possessing the means to drive motor vehicles and fire live ammunition was bound to be an NPC.
Among the NPCs in this sector, Shuyuan didn’t use firearms, leaving Jing Ming, the Watcher organization, and three other NPCs Song Yu had yet to lay eyes on.
Facing a two-fifths probability of running into a known NPC, Song Yu decided the gamble was worth taking. Should they happen to be heading in the same direction, that would make things even better!
The packs of cigarettes and bottles of vodka stashed inside her backpack served as ideal currency for compensation; smoke and alcohol undeniably reigned as top-tier bestseller commodities in the apocalyptic era!
Song Yu and Xiao Hei darted swiftly through the street alleys, trailing a massive tail of zombies right behind them.
Before long, she spotted several military-green heavy transport trucks.
These vehicles belonged to Qilin, another organization operating within the city.
The Watchers had marked them out for her: one of these two organizations operated as a civilian faction, while the other functioned as a semi-official entity.
Qilin was the semi-official one.
Song Yu had no inkling of how this world operated mechanically, but that was how the Watchers had framed it.
Jiang Zhou had previously instructed her that should she ever cross paths with Qilin, she could boldly appeal to them for rescue.
However, this organization was notoriously elusive, making them exceedingly difficult to encounter.
Recalling Jiang Zhou’s words, Song Yu swept her gaze across the zombies surging in from all directions and resolutely raised her voice to shout for help.
Upon hearing Song Yu’s cries, the personnel aboard the vehicle clearly froze for a split second before their gazes rapidly began sweeping the surroundings.
They locked onto Song Yu and Xiao Hei in no time; Xiao Hei’s bright yellow fur stood out with striking prominence amidst the sea of grey, black, and corpse-blue zombies.
A glance was all it took to confirm it wasn’t a zombie dog.
“Get aboard quickly, right here!“
The vehicle’s speed slowed down noticeably as someone aboard shouted out anxiously toward Song Yu.
“Xiao Hei, hop up first!“
Song Yu decisively whipped out a length of rope and commanded.
Xiao Hei wasn’t human, meaning these people wouldn’t necessarily look out for Xiao Hei, and her own running speed definitely couldn’t match Xiao Hei’s stride.
Catching her intent, Xiao Hei clamped its jaws around one end of the rope and leaped bodily upward to land aboard the truck bed.
Astonished by Xiao Hei’s cleverness, the individuals on the truck immediately seized the rope from its jaws and hewed down with muscle power to haul a lagging Song Yu forcibly aboard.
Song Yu’s shoe soles were on the verge of wearing clean through from friction.
Yet against the value of her own life, what did a pair of shoes matter?
“You alright?”
A young woman gently patted Song Yu’s back and asked.
Song Yu shook her head and murmured a word of thanks.
“Thank you for saving me and Xiao Hei. Are you guys heading to…”
Noticing the presence of numerous wounded personnel aboard the truck, a sudden idea sprouted within her mind.
“We’re heading over to Doctor Zhong’s place.”
The girl’s words validated the thought blooming in Song Yu’s mind—just as she suspected.
Judging by the phrasing of the buff and the attitude displayed by these individuals, this Doctor Zhong appeared to be a genuinely kind person?
“That’s wonderful!”
A trace of delight bloomed across Song Yu’s face, though she didn’t remain idle.
While conversing with the girl, she unslung her crossbow to assist in picking off the zombies trailing closely behind the truck bed.
One needed to display basic situational awareness and courtesy in life; you couldn’t take everything for granted.
“Are you injured? We still have a bit of rubbing alcohol on hand here that we can share with you first.”
The girl gazed at Song Yu with concern, while the remaining combatants aboard the truck raised zero objections—the collective attitude of these people could practically be termed saintly.
Song Yu meant it as a compliment with zero sarcastic intent.
“No need, I just scraped myself against some rusted metal. If you guys are running low on rubbing alcohol, I happen to carry two bottles of vodka here—should be serviceable as a substitute, right?”
Song Yu manifested her goodwill. Upon hearing Song Yu’s words, the expressions of several individuals among the cluster of wounded fighters shifted palpably.
“It’s fine, our medical supplies can still hold out until we reach Doctor Zhong’s clinic.”
The girl curved her lips into a smile, shook her head, and politely declined Song Yu’s kind offer.
Following the deployment of several thrown grenades, the horde of zombies tailing the convoy finally vanished from sight.
Along the journey, Song Yu maintained a remarkably congenial chat with the girl, passionately contributing her cache of cigarettes, vodka, and canned beef.
Bolstered by the offensive reinforcement of smoke and alcohol, the favorability ratings held by the remaining combatants aboard the truck toward Song Yu skyrocketed upward.
It had been an eternity since any of them had laid hands on such fine commodities.
In the doomsday landscape, smoke and alcohol unarguably reigned as luxury items.
Consequently, upon learning that Song Yu possessed a handgun, one of the combatants stealthily slipped a massive palmful of pistol bullets into Song Yu’s hands.
Over twenty rounds!
Returning kindness for kindness, Song Yu handed over her final carton of cigarettes to him, leaving that combatant practically glowing with radiant joy.
Song Yu deeply comprehended the critical importance of elevating favorability ratings with NPCs; it frequently paved the way for unexpected surprises.
Case in point.
The truck rattled along, rumbling all the way toward Doctor Zhong’s clinic.
Even in the deep hours of the night, the signboard illuminating that clinic remained brightly lit, catching the eye with striking prominence.