Dead silence fell over Scrap Mountain.
A Level 18 boss had actually had his throat slit by a Level 0 rookie?
Blood poured from the wound on Iron Crab’s neck, a shocking and ugly sight against the rusted junkyard metal.
“Damn it, the boss is dead!” “Wait…
seriously?” Once the shock wore off, the crowd began to snicker and laugh out loud.
“PFFT, HAHAHAHA!
What a pathetic way to die!” “Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
The boss lost because he got cocky.” “The boss is dead.
From now on, I’m the new head honcho.” On top of a pile of garbage, a woman who had just picked up a rusted cybernetic limb stood up slowly.
Her left eye glowed red, a clear sign it was a prosthetic.
Thick steel plates covered her scalp and neck.
Her left hand was gone, replaced by a huge grappling claw with tips that shone with a strange light.
Floating above her head was her rank: [Level 17].
The scavengers around her went quiet, too scared to say anything.
With Iron Crab gone, ‘Poison Spider’ was now the toughest and most feared thug here.
But the woman ignored Silver Wolf.
She stared straight at Zane, licking her lower lip slowly and hungrily.
“Iron Crab was an idiot.” “You’re pretty handsome, kid.
How about you come with me?
Or I might just sell you off to the ‘Neon Abyss’ as a gigolo.” “Boys, I want him!!” Raising her voice, Poison Spider slashed her massive claw through the air.
“All scavengers and drifters, listen up!
Grab him!” “And be careful…
Don’t scratch that pretty face of his.
If you do, I’ll carve out your kidneys and sell them for scrap!” Poison Spider was smart and much more cautious than Iron Crab.
A Level 0 taking out a Level 18 couldn’t just be blamed on underestimating the enemy.
There was something seriously off about that silver-haired kid.
The man next to her didn’t show a Level tag and looked like a nobody, but maybe he was hiding his true strength.
In Punklorde, only the strong survived after all.
“Pfft~ hehehe!” Silver Wolf couldn’t hold back her laughter.
She turned and gave Zane a cheeky wink.
“Old man, she said you’re handsome enough to be a gigolo.” “…” Zane’s face darkened.
He reached out and aggressively rubbed Silver Wolf’s little head.
The ‘Haxxor Bunny’ outfit he gave her wasn’t just for looks.
It boosted her strength, speed, and reflexes by a lot.
That’s the only reason she could take advantage of that brief chance and pull off an attack like that.
Without it, she would have been badly hurt fighting so many enemies.
Seeing the crowd hesitating, Poison Spider’s eyes turned ice-cold.
Her crimson cyber-eye pulsed dangerously.
“I said get them!
Are you all deaf?!” “ATTACK!
Grab them!
If you don’t, nobody is taking another step into Scrap Mountain ever again!
I mean it!” When they heard the threat, panic spread among the scavengers.
Losing their way to make a living was as good as a death sentence.
Right away, people started rushing out from the shadows and old pipes.
Men, women, old and young—they all smelled like cheap motor oil and rusted metal.
Almost everyone had some kind of cybernetic part, but most were just old junk or risky homemade fixes.
Some wore clunky punk goggles that only showed basic info.
Others had an arm with a rusty chainsaw built in, or a hand swapped out for a rough metal hook.
All of them fixed their fierce, desperate eyes on Zane and Silver Wolf.
“Sorry about this, kid.” “We don’t have a choice.
We gotta survive.” “Yeah.
Who told you to waltz right into a wolf’s den?
Scrap Mountain ain’t a place for people like you.” “Just another unlucky bastard.
If you’re gonna blame someone, blame your own bad luck.” Zane laughed when he heard their excuses.
“So, this is the survival rule of Punklorde, huh?” “Damn right it is!” an old man with missing front teeth rasped.
“In Punklorde, your Cartridge Level is the law!
IT’S EVERYTHING!” “Besides, Scrap Mountain is Slag Gang territory.
A couple of dead bodies out here is no different from dropping a loose screw.” A woman with a nasty scar across her face revved a buzzing buzzsaw.
“Don’t worry…
We’ll make it quick.” A red-haired punk pulled a short combat knife from his pocket.
The blade hummed to life, glowing with a very dangerous arc of energy.
The scavengers formed a tight circle around them, closing in bit by bit.
They shared quick looks, making sure there was no way out.
“!!” Silver Wolf gritted her teeth.
She raised her combat knife, instinctively stepping back to place herself firmly in front of Zane.
Taking on three or five guys?
Sure, she was confident.
But fighting off over fifty desperate outlaws…
“Kid, do yourself a favor and don’t resist.
You’ll suffer a lot less.
Just be a good boy and go with Big Sis Poison Spider.
Who knows, you might even get to live comfortably for a few days.” The red-haired punk grinned, lazily waving his energy blade.
“…” Zane gave him an amused look.
Was that jealousy and…
resentment in the red-haired punk’s eyes?
Was this guy actually simping on that ugly pig-beast?
Zane swept his gaze over the encircling mob and smiled.
“Perfect.
It looks like none of you will ever have to worry about surviving ever again.” He reached down and gently patted Silver Wolf’s tense little shoulder.
“Watch closely.
I’m going to teach you a new trick.” Silver Wolf froze.
She tilted her head back to look at him.
Zane held a small, shining orb of golden light between his thumb and finger.
Inside, it looked like swirling molten fire, sending out a powerful, frightening energy.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers.
The golden orb instantly shattered.
Vvvvmm!
A thick ring of golden light, full of destructive power, shot out from his fingertip.
The ripple made no sound, but it spread faster than anyone could see, blasting out in all directions.
Then came the second ring!
The third!
The fourth…
Wave after wave followed, building up in a never-ending rush.
The golden rings became a huge shockwave, sweeping out with unstoppable force.
Vvvmm!
Vvvmm!
Vvvmm!
The very air vibrated at a sickeningly high frequency.
Space itself was torn open and violently distorted.
The scavengers nearest the blast turned pale with fear.
They didn’t even have a fraction of a second to react.
The exact moment the light swept over their bodies, they were incinerated.
Not even a single speck of ash was left behind.
The ones slightly further back turned to run.
But before they could even open their mouths to scream, the rings of death caught up to them.
Their bodies, their junk cybernetics, their cheap weapons—everything was swallowed and wiped from existence.
“Damn it!
Aaaargh!!” Up on the trash mound, Poison Spider’s twisted greed had long been replaced by absolute terror.
Screaming at the top of her lungs, she crossed her massive steel hook in front of her body, desperately trying to block the blast.
But the cybernetic claw, which could cut through steel, melted right away in the light.
Her steel arm and body armor followed, vanishing instantly.
“Noooooooooooooo!!” BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!!
The rings of light hit her directly.
She felt her bones break and burn up from the heat, her body collapsing before she disappeared completely.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The bright, deadly rings of light expanded outward without the slightest resistance, easily leveling several massive mountains of garbage in their path.
Slowly, the golden light faded away.
Silver Wolf lowered the arm she had used to shield her eyes from the blinding flash.
Her beautiful gray eyes were wide open in utter disbelief.
The mob of more than fifty scavengers and Slag Gang members who had just surrounded them, no matter their Levels, were all instantly vaporized.
They vanished without a single trace!!
The surrounding trash mountains that had been caught in the blast radius were cleanly sliced right down the middle.
The top halves slowly tilted and slid off, crashing into the ground with a heavy thud.
Silver Wolf turned her head around.
Her light gray eyes practically glowed with stars as she stared intently at Zane.
“Old man, what the hell was that move?” “The Holy Spirit Requiem.” “I am going to learn it!” She took a deep breath, clenching her little fists tightly in pure determination.
“Alright.” “By the way, what’s the maximum power output of that move?” “It can easily destroy a universe…” “…” —
Every little bit helps the story survive and grow!