Undercurrents

Lu Li walked down the deserted hallway, constantly scanning his surroundings.

More than four hours had passed since the apocalypse began, and there were no longer any students moving around the school alone.

Most had chosen to band together for warmth, huddling in classrooms as they waited for rescue.

But they would soon learn that no rescue was coming.

With the arrival of the apocalypse, everyone had awakened different Talent Abilities.

The original social order and organizational structure might barely hold on for now, but they definitely would not last long.

No one could refuse the chance to grow stronger.

So when an opportunity for a massive reshuffle arrived, chaos was bound to follow sooner or later.

"Lu Li."

A voice called from the corner, stopping Lu Li in his tracks.

Ying Zi'an stepped out of the shadows with a smile on his lips.

What should have been a friendly expression looked somewhat sinister when paired with the blood covering most of his body.

"Why did you come out alone? Where are Xu Xiao and the others?"

"Oh, I didn't join Xu Xiao's team, so naturally they wouldn't be acting with me."

Lu Li looked completely at ease.

"You didn't join Xu Xiao's team?" Ying Zi'an seemed to think of something, and his smile widened.

"Then aren't you afraid of danger out here alone? There are monsters everywhere now. A Player like you, with no means of protecting yourself, isn't in a very good position..."

"But I have you."

Lu Li smiled as well, his expression utterly sincere.

The experiences of his previous life had made his disguise flawless.

"Me?" Ying Zi'an paused, quietly retracting the Sharp Claw he had been about to use for a sneak attack.

"Yeah." Lu Li nodded. "Didn't you say you wanted to cooperate with me? That's why I specifically came out to find you."

"I see."

Ying Zi'an chuckled and held out his hand toward Lu Li.

"Cooperation is fine, but you'll have to show the same sincerity as before."

"The Second-Order Mana Crystal?" Lu Li deliberately put on a troubled expression. "I don't have it anymore."

"Quit playing dumb!"

Ying Zi'an suddenly dropped his smile, his entire demeanor turning vicious.

He grabbed Lu Li by the collar and snarled fiercely.

"Don't think I don't know that bitch Xu Xiao gave you both Origin Crystals. Hand them over now! Otherwise, I'll kill you right here!"

"Don't, don't, don't. I'll take them out right now."

Pretending to be terrified, Lu Li tremblingly took out the Origin Crystals he had prepared in advance.

Ying Zi'an was overjoyed. He snatched the crystals away and absorbed them completely.

The additional 40 experience points caused Ying Zi'an to level up twice in an instant, making him a Lv.2 Player.

[Detected that Player Ying Zi'an has become the first Player in the world to reach Lv.2. Would you like to make a Global Announcement immediately? Yes/No.]

[Note: A Global Announcement grants two Black Iron-tier Level-up Chests. Declining the announcement is considered forfeiting the reward.]

"Announce it immediately!"

Two pitch-black Treasure Chests appeared out of thin air.

Feeling his attributes rise, Ying Zi'an's face was filled with irrepressible delight.

His guess had been right!

The rank of one's awakened talent did not mean much. Absorbing high-order Origin Crystals and raising one's level was the true path!

As long as he remained at the top in levels and continuously obtained Level-up Chests, his strength would grow stronger and stronger like a snowball rolling downhill!

Lu Li calmly watched Ying Zi'an throw back his head and laugh wildly, then lowered his head to look at the watch on his wrist.

Eleven fifty.

Ten minutes remained.

At twelve o'clock on the first day of the apocalypse, the Ranking List would appear.

At that time, the top hundred Players on the Ranking List would be completely exposed to everyone's sight!

At the same time, the mechanism for overlevel challenges would appear.

As long as someone could achieve an Overlevel Kill against a Player on the Ranking List, they would receive a Slaughter Chest!

In the early days of the apocalypse, Slaughter Chests were one of the few ways to obtain Mythic items!

A lone Player like Ying Zi'an, without the backing of any faction, would inevitably be seen as a piece of cooked meat by those massive powers.

Yet Ying Zi'an knew nothing about this.

He merely gave his orders arrogantly.

"Lu Li, find somewhere safe. I'm opening these Treasure Chests!"

In Ying Zi'an's eyes, Lu Li, who had awakened the [Scout] ability, was no different from an ant.

Trash with no combat ability like this could be crushed beneath his finger anytime he wished!

Therefore, Ying Zi'an did not guard against Lu Li at all.

Nor did Lu Li show the slightest resistance.

He did not even hesitate before a smile of agreement spread across his face.

"Let's go to the Multimedia Classroom. No one's there, so it should be the safest place."

The two headed toward the Multimedia Classroom side by side, unaware that someone behind them had been watching them all along.

Meanwhile, a clearly reinforced Hummer slammed through the school gates.

The tremendous noise startled the people hiding inside the guardhouse.

"Old Li, what's going on out there? Did some monster come?"

A middle-aged woman in her forties cowered in the corner, staring at the guardhouse door with terror-filled eyes.

He Shufen, a Chinese teacher at No. 1 High School.

She had originally intended to wait at the gate and catch late students, but when the apocalypse arrived, a Blade Mantis trapped her inside the guardhouse.

Although the mantis monster that had slaughtered three students had left an hour ago, the Bloodlust outside still left the teacher too afraid to open the door.

How could the students' lives matter more than her own?

Besides, they were already dead. The safest option was still to remain in the guardhouse and wait for the police.

"I don't know, Teacher He. With such a huge commotion, could some powerful monster have come again...?"

Old Li, dressed in a security guard uniform, muttered as he gripped a riot fork and cautiously approached the door.

Before Old Li could get close, a heavy kick struck the door with a BANG!

"Good heavens!"

The sudden noise nearly scared Old Li into a heart attack. He hurriedly backed up two steps and peered outside through the guardhouse window.

There were no monsters outside. Instead, a Scarred Bald Man stood there.

"A person?" Old Li was somewhat surprised.

"Open the door. I need to ask something."

The Scarred Bald Man withdrew his gaze from the corpses in the distance and turned toward the window.

The instant their eyes met, the elderly security guard shuddered all over again.

"Old Li, it's a monster outside! Don't open the door..."

Teacher He trembled from the corner.

BANG!

Another kick hit the door. The scarred man outside seemed to have lost his patience.

"Open the door! I'm just asking something!"

Old Li instinctively moved to open the door, only to find Teacher He clutching his clothes tightly.

"Don't open it, Old Li! If you open it, we're dead for sure!"

"But, Teacher He, I think he looks like a person. Maybe he's rescue personnel..."

Old Li had barely begun to explain when the guardhouse door was kicked open with a BAM!

"Damn it, taking so long and wasting my time!"

A Hao muttered unhappily, the scar on his face making his expression look even more vicious.

"What are you doing?!"

Seeing that the intruder was not a monster, Teacher He immediately gained some confidence and raised her voice in accusation.

"This is a school! Do you believe I'll call the police and have you arrested for acting like this?"

A Hao ignored Teacher He and simply looked at Old Li, who was sitting on the floor.

"Old man, I'm looking for someone named Zhao Hui. Do you know where he is?"

Because the Global Announcement could only display approximate coordinates and could not provide an exact location.

A Hao only knew that the person Brother Jin was looking for was at No. 1 High School.

"Z-Zhao Hui? Is he a student?"

Old Li froze and asked instinctively.

"He could be a teacher too."

Seeing that the other man seemed to know something, A Hao's tone softened somewhat.

But before he could continue asking, Teacher He beside him screamed again.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You look like some kind of thug, so you're obviously no good. Get out while you know what's good for you, or you'll regret it when the police arrive!"

A Hao frowned and reached toward his waist.

Teacher He was about to continue shouting when she discovered a dark gun barrel pointed directly at her.

"You're really noisy..."