The Siege City, twenty kilometers to the west.
A dilapidated village overrun with weeds, with buildings destroyed by mutant beasts everywhere. In the wilderness, villages or towns devoid of human presence, with towering structures, are the easiest targets for mutant beast attacks. The outcome is often a heap of ruins with broken walls.
In just two years, the proud architectural achievements of humanity have been reduced to only the skyscrapers between cities.
A small building, its top floor sheared off by some unknown mutant beast, still stood relatively intact in this village. One room on the second floor had been tidied up a bit, equipped with the necessities for living.
"Crackle... crackle..."
The sound of static electricity echoed in the room, piercing the silence.
A man who had been sitting quietly on the bed, meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, which were filled with a cold gleam. He picked up a transceiver next to a small radio, pressed a few buttons, and a hoarse voice came through: "Temporary mission, eliminate target number 2, reward: one Third-Tier Star Crystal."
The man holding the transceiver frowned as information about target number 2 flashed through his mind.
"Zhou Zheng, target number 1, Apprentice Martial Artist, average marksmanship."
Recalling this information, Tang Lai's face showed a disdainful expression. A dignified Fifth-Stage Martial Artist was dispatched to deal with an Apprentice Martial Artist. Since when had the people of Shadow become so cheap? It was only the second year of the New World, and those who could reach the Fifth-Stage Martial Artist level were all elite practitioners with rapid advancement.
"For the sake of the Third-Tier Star Crystal."
Tang Lai put down the transceiver, turned off the radio, and began to organize his equipment.
The Third-Tier Star Crystal was green, commonly known as a Green Star Crystal. Although Tang Lai was a Fifth-Stage Martial Artist, he was still tempted, as the Green Star Crystal was very beneficial for his cultivation. Moreover, killing an Apprentice Martial Artist would only take a single shot, requiring no elaborate effort.
He inserted a few throwing knives into a sheath, strapped on a 50-centimeter dagger, and finally took an old wooden-stock AK off the wall.
Tang Lai had come here through perilous circumstances, and his mission was not just this.
In Siege City, someone had paid a high price to Shadow, and the people Shadow dispatched were not just him but five individuals, all Fifth-Stage Martial Artists. This temporary mission was just an additional task.
Who needed to be killed and what consequences it would cause, Tang Lai did not care to know.
He only knew that he was sure to earn this Green Star Crystal.
With his equipment in order, Tang Lai quickly stepped out of the room. On the second floor, he leaped forward, soaring over ten meters, and landed lightly on the village's broken concrete road, crossing the weed piles and soon disappearing into the woods outside the village.
...
In a hidden basement within Siege City.
The lights were off, plunging the area into darkness, with only a vague silhouette visible sitting on a sofa, sipping a glass of red wine. From outside the door, a raspy voice came: "Master, they have accepted the task."
"Hmm."
A faint response, followed by a sigh: "A worthless person, worth a Third-Tier Green Star Crystal. Even if he dies, he should have no regrets."
Thinking of the news of this worthless person's death, his father would probably go mad with grief, right? By then, all plans would proceed along the predetermined path, and the cost would be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold.
"Continue with the original plan."
The voice of the silhouette in the darkness turned cold and merciless.
...
Zhou Zheng, wearing military boots, stepped on the muddy road, breathing in the fragrant air. In the morning, it was an invigorating experience.
The sounds of insects and birds reached his ears, as joyful as the most moving light music.
With the apocalypse's arrival and the New World's emergence, despite the heavy human toll, at least in Zhou Zheng's eyes, the entire Earth seemed reborn. Countless factories that polluted the Earth ceased their roaring machines, cars could no longer emit exhaust, and terrible sewage no longer flowed into rivers.
Countless beautiful things were returning to their original state, and the Earth's air was recovering.
The night sky of the New World once again revealed the scene of a starry sky from childhood.
Ahead of Zhou Zheng, Yan Boxun was also proceeding at a leisurely pace, though he seemed indifferent to the surrounding environment. The laborers in the fields seemed aware of today's contest and greeted the two as they passed.
Heading west, they soon traversed the vast fields.
The road forked, one path leading northwest, the other southwest. Yan Boxun, who was ahead, stopped, his eyes filled with a mocking smile as he looked at Zhou Zheng, speaking in a condescending tone: "Young Master Zhou, you can choose a direction first. This is my concession to you; I admire your courage at this moment." Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Zhou Zheng squinted his eyes and stepped onto the northwest road.
As he passed Yan Boxun, Zhou Zheng said in a low voice, "Instructor Yan, good luck."
Yan Boxun's face showed even more disdain: "A blessing from a worthless person, don't you find it laughable? Young Master Zhou, I hope you can return alive. I wouldn't want to hear that you've become mutant beast food."
He turned slightly and headed southwest.
Zhou Zheng continued to smile, his military boots treading on the secondary road, the asphalt surface giving a sense of solidity. The morning sun shone on the road, and walking on it, Zhou Zheng felt a profound peace. In Zhou Zheng's mind, there was no such thing as a contest; it was just a normal power leveling exercise.
In Firmament Continent, Zhou Zheng had quietly leveled a rogue character to level 200 first, taking five years, enduring silently for five years. The loneliness of it all, if not for a strong will, would have been impossible to achieve.
The current situation felt like a return to those days of intense power leveling for Zhou Zheng.
Once again, it was just him, walking alone through the woods, appearing in ruins, climbing massive peaks, hunting monsters. Under his dagger, monsters fell with mournful cries, transforming into Zhou Zheng's experience.
Now, isn't it the same?
Since discovering the extraordinary nature of skills yesterday, Zhou Zheng realized that skills were not as useless as he had imagined. With these two active skills, Zhou Zheng had no worries about his safety in the wild, as long as he didn't encounter mutant beasts far beyond his level, he was confident in taking them down.
"Unfortunately, modern equipment doesn't have damage bonuses, otherwise..."
To gain high experience, super challenges were almost inevitable, but modern equipment lacked damage bonuses, so Zhou Zheng could only progress gradually.
Zhou Zheng wasn't very familiar with the northwest direction, but according to the map, following this secondary road for 27 kilometers would lead to Hui County, a county with over 300,000 residents. Of course, Zhou Zheng dared not appear in Hui County, as the 200,000 to 300,000 Toxic Corpses would tear him apart.
Taking out the map from his pocket, Zhou Zheng examined it carefully along the way, and with Hu Bo's suggestions, he quickly locked onto a location.
He tapped a name on the map with his finger, about 15 kilometers from Siege City, where Third-Tier Shadow Wolves, a type of mutant beast with strong attack power, once mountain wolves living in the forest, were now an ideal target.
"Third-Tier Shadow Wolves are said to have a good Star Crystal drop rate, and their mutated wolf pelts, when made into leather armor, are enough to defend against ordinary blades, slightly inferior to bulletproof vests, and can fetch a good price, making them a primary hunting target for martial artists."
While power leveling, he could also make a small fortune. Such places were always Zhou Zheng's favorite in Firmament Continent.
As for how to bring back the wolf pelts, with the rogue character's backpack, it was no problem at all.
...