The upgraded Silent Hunter wasn’t just supplied with more bolts—its range and stopping power had both increased dramatically.
Combined with its built-in thermal scope, Ethan’s odds of surviving against the increasingly active monsters had just improved considerably.
Early the next morning, after a hearty breakfast, Ethan Carter and Natasha Romanoff returned to the abandoned city.
This time, however, they stopped and concealed themselves almost as soon as they entered.
The route that had been relatively safe the day before was now patrolled by Ironfang Giant Rats roaming back and forth.
A scorpion the size of an alligator rested atop the roof of an abandoned car, basking in the morning sun.
Nearby, beside patches of grass taller than a person, a rabbit calmly grazed on weeds.
It looked like a harmless herbivore.
But judging from its body—well over five feet long—and the sharp horn protruding from its forehead, Ethan had no doubt it was more than capable of killing a human.
"Commander," Natasha whispered, lowering her voice, "the monsters are definitely becoming more active. Judging from their behavior, though, they’re probably still in the early stages of waking up."
"I agree," Ethan replied just as quietly, his expression serious. "We’ll have to be even more careful from now on. Stay close."
"Yes, Commander."
"At this distance, I could probably take out those monsters without much trouble."
Natasha considered the situation for a moment before shaking her head.
"Commander, your crossbow can kill them silently, but it can’t stop them from bleeding."
"Out here in the open, there’s nothing to block the wind. The scent of blood could attract other monsters—especially predators."
"Good point."
Ethan nodded.
"Let’s go around instead."
He wanted to hunt monsters for two reasons.
First, he wanted to test the newly upgraded Silent Hunter.
Second, he needed more meat.
Not only would it provide food and nutrition, but meat had become an extremely valuable trading commodity.
Bread was already fetching excellent prices in the Marketplace.
Fresh monster meat was worth even more.
After all, he’d traded a single piece of rat meat for a Shelter Upgrade Crystal.
Since hunting in the middle of the street carried unnecessary risks, it was safer to fight indoors.
Yesterday’s encounter with the Ironfang Giant Rat had already proven that monsters could be found inside buildings.
Because they changed routes, they skipped the office tower they had explored the previous day and entered a different high-rise instead.
Judging from its interior, it had once been a massive shopping mall.
Like the convenience store, however, it had clearly been looted long ago.
Very little food remained.
Still, the trip wasn’t a total loss.
In fact, they found something even better.
[Inventory Upgrade Crystal (Lv.1) — Permanently increases inventory capacity by 15 slots.]
Looking at the crystal he had pulled from beneath a pile of weeds, Ethan smiled and used it immediately.
He had been worrying that, between scavenged supplies and hunting rewards, his inventory would eventually become too small.
To make matters worse, he was something of a pack rat.
He hated throwing anything away because it might prove useful someday.
Now his inventory had expanded from fifteen slots to thirty.
It still wasn’t huge, but it greatly eased his storage anxiety.
Despite carrying far more items than before, Ethan didn’t feel any additional burden.
"It really is like this world has been converted into game data," he muttered.
"Otherwise, an inventory system like this wouldn’t make any sense."
"But I’m not complaining."
"It’s a huge advantage—not just for me, but for every player."
"This game doesn’t seem designed to wipe everyone out as quickly as possible."
"If anything, it actually encourages people to survive... maybe even thrive."
"But why?"
After thinking about it for a while, Ethan gave up trying to solve the mystery.
He had only been in this world for three days.
Although he was surviving far better than most players, survival was all it was.
He wasn’t truly living yet.
Whatever purpose the game had could wait until he’d established himself.
With that thought, Ethan opened another overturned cabinet.
Something rolled out onto the floor.
Another white crystal.
[Inventory Upgrade Crystal (Lv.1) — Permanently increases inventory capacity by 15 slots.]
"Nice!"
His eyes lit up.
He picked it up and tried to use it.
Instead, a System notification appeared.
[Inventory has already been upgraded. This crystal cannot be used.]
"Hmm..."
"So there are limits after all."
Thinking it over, he realized it made sense.
If these relatively easy-to-find crystals could be used indefinitely, someone’s inventory would eventually become the size of a small world.
They could probably fit an entire city inside.
Fortunately...
He wasn’t fighting alone.
Holding the crystal, Ethan called quietly,
"Natasha."
She slipped a blueprint into her inventory before walking over.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Use this crystal."
"It’ll increase your inventory capacity."
"Understood, Commander."
Without the slightest hesitation, Natasha accepted the crystal and activated it.
Only then did Ethan ask,
"What blueprint did you just find?"
"It’s for an off-road motorcycle."
"As long as we gather the required materials, we can craft one."
"However, under the current circumstances, the engine noise would attract large numbers of monsters."
"So it isn’t very practical right now."
"I kept it because it might become useful later—or we could trade it to another player."
Ethan nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
"Even though each blueprint takes up one inventory slot, they’re still rare."
"If we find more in the future, take every single one."
"Even if they don’t seem useful."
"We have plenty of inventory space now."
"Yes, Commander."
After a brief pause, Natasha added,
"Commander, although no one has been here for a very long time, there are signs that someone searched this place before us."
"Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so few supplies left."
"I was thinking the same thing," Ethan replied.
"If abandoned cities exist in this world, then humans—or at least some intelligent civilization—must have lived here once."
"For some reason, the city was abandoned."
"Then monsters took over, making it impossible for people to live here."
"My guess is that this world experienced a catastrophic global war."
"Possibly even one involving nuclear weapons or something equally devastating."
"That would explain the ruined environment."
"But even a nuclear war couldn’t wipe out every last survivor."
"It’s entirely possible that some of the original inhabitants are still alive."
"And judging from the blueprints and upgrade crystals we’ve found..."
"I don’t think the natives had access to the game’s systems."
"Otherwise, these items would’ve been far too valuable to leave behind."
"Of course..."
"It’s also possible these items only started appearing after we arrived."
"That makes sense, Commander."
Ethan smiled.
"There’s no point worrying about it right now."
"We just need to remember one thing."
"It’s not only monsters and other players we need to watch out for."
"The natives may prove just as dangerous."
With that, the two resumed scavenging.
After another productive day, they left the abandoned city and returned to their cabin before darkness fell.