Confused, I'll beat you to death, this is mine too

The gunfire ceased, and the young man with the sword slumped to the ground. Lord M14's muzzle followed Zhang Yang's gaze toward the stairwell not far away.

There, the smug expressions on the faces of two youths of similar age had yet to fade.

Clearly, the reversal had been so sudden that the two spectators in the distance hadn't even had time to react.

"Bang!" A wave of pure white soul power erupted from Lord M14's muzzle, and a soul power bullet instantly streaked toward the taller of the two youths.

With a crisp "ping," a cloud of dust kicked up from the wall beside the stairwell.

Looking at the man again, a Xuanhua Broad Axe with a wide blade had appeared before him out of nowhere; clearly, Zhang Yang's bullet had been blocked and deflected by the face of the axe.

Beside him, the figure of a thin youth had already vanished around the corner of the stairs.

The shot hadn't succeeded, but Zhang Yang wasn't disappointed. It was merely a matter of letting them live for a few more minutes.

Seeing the man standing there with his Xuanhua Broad Axe and glaring at him with hostile eyes, Zhang Yang didn't show weakness, returning the gaze with equal intensity.

Meanwhile, the soul power within Zhang Yang was depleting rapidly, and the magazine of the M14 in his hands was slowly reloading with soul power bullets.

He had used too many bullets to kill the swordsman earlier, and the 10-round magazine was now empty.

Seeing Zhang Yang surrounded by soul power, the youth naturally guessed he was brewing some kind of move, so he didn't delay, turning and heading up the stairs, disappearing from Zhang Yang's field of vision.

His retreat had truly exceeded Zhang Yang's expectations.

But in all fairness, this move was truly the best way to deal with Zhang Yang.

After all, a ranged fighter facing a melee fighter is like a father beating his son, and given that the M14's attack power was so unreasonable, it was an even stricter father to any melee soul master.

As long as that soul master dared to get close, Zhang Yang could use this 10-round Lord M14 to teach him a lesson.

But now that he had turned and gone upstairs, Zhang Yang had many things to consider.

With the ten bullets reloaded, Zhang Yang glanced at his mana bar.

138/147.75.

After storing 10 bullets, Zhang Yang's soul power remained in a very abundant state.

He popped a Painkiller to ensure that any injuries sustained within the next 5 minutes wouldn't affect his combat performance.

One shot of Physical Enhancement Agent to significantly increase his physical attribute for 5 minutes.

One shot of Perception Enhancement Agent to boost his sensory range for 5 minutes.

One shot of M2 Muscle Injection to increase his load-bearing capacity for 5 minutes.

With the supplements complete and carrying the Power of Nine Dragons, Zhang Yang felt terrifyingly strong as he raised the M14 and crept toward the stairs with silent steps.

At the bottom of the stairs, Zhang Yang pricked up his ears and listened quietly, but unfortunately, he heard nothing.

As long as someone moved upstairs, the sound of feet hitting the wooden floorboards could never escape Zhang Yang's ears.

With no movement, Zhang Yang felt slightly more at ease and continued to creep upward.

Staying close to the wall, Zhang Yang moved upward cautiously, clearing the area point by point.

The staircase of the Heding City Academy cafeteria was a very spacious, open, single-flight wooden staircase.

The wooden stairs had large gaps, leaving few places to hide, making it relatively easy to clear.

Stepping into the middle of the stairs, Zhang Yang kept his muzzle pointed straight at the top to prevent anyone from suddenly popping out.

But just then, with a creak of floorboards, a fierce gust of wind suddenly struck from behind Zhang Yang.

"Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, first, Power."

"Great Strength Axe Cleave!"

It turned out that the enemy with the Xuanhua Broad Axe soul had been on the landing directly above the stairs the whole time, quietly watching Zhang Yang, who had exposed his back to him.

As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master, he was in the middle of the second floor, ready to provide long-range buffs to the axe-wielding soul master at any moment.

When he saw Zhang Yang carefully clearing his position and, after confirming it was safe, directly exposing his wide back to him, he felt the time was ripe.

The yellow first soul ring beneath the Xuanhua Broad Axe soul master's feet lit up, and the Xuanhua Broad Axe in his hand glowed with a pale golden soul power halo; combined with the axe's massive design, it looked incredibly imposing.

But just as they thought they had successfully ambushed Zhang Yang from behind, Zhang Yang turned instantly as if he had been prepared all along, his muzzle snapping into a frame-perfect flick shot, locking on precisely.

He pulled the trigger and held it down, aiming at the soul master who was holding the axe high with his yellow soul ring glowing.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang..."

The bullets in the magazine poured out, and the Xuanhua Broad Axe soul master, who had been descending from the sky with such momentum, instantly went limp and crashed heavily at Zhang Yang's feet.

"Clang!"

With the second "escort" down, only the tender and delicious boss remained upstairs.

Zhang Yang's soul power surged again, and while reloading, he rushed to the second floor in two strides, the M14 in his hand pointing at the somewhat stiff figure on the second floor: "Don't move. Move again and I'll kill you."

Seeing Zhang Yang arrive on the second floor unscathed, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master naturally understood that the situation was lost.

It seemed he was going to die here today.

But, as a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master with a bright future, he attempted a final struggle.

"Brother, spare me," the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master said as he took off his ring and placed it gently on the round table beside him. "As long as you agree, the gold bars inside are all yours."

As he spoke, he slowly turned around: "And that's not all. As long as you escort me back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Fortress, I, Ning, will surely reward you handsomely."

"Bang!"

A single shot to the head, and the frail Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master died instantly.

Watching his body collapse, Zhang Yang sneered: "Delusional. Even if I kill you, this is all mine anyway."

What "reward you handsomely"?

The map "Heding City Academy" didn't even contain the "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Fortress" building, so how was Zhang Yang supposed to escort him there?

It was like accepting a quest from the Doctor at "Babel Tower," only for the Doctor to ask you to escort him to "Ascension Point D."

Escort my foot.

He'd likely get hit in the face with a guided missile the moment he arrived.

Reloading his magazine, Zhang Yang approached the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master's loot box and reached out to open it.

"Gold, Pure Gold Lighter, value 62,155."

"Gold, Seafood Porridge Can, value 58,505."

"Gold, 'Sapphire' Tequila, value 81,502."

"Gold, Coffee, value 68,903."

"Gold, Nutritious Porridge Can, value 59,704."

"Gold, Aviator Glasses, 82,094."

"..."

A backpack full of gold-tier items and a significant amount of purple-tier ones; it was truly the backpack of a boss.

Furthermore, there was that ring on the table.

"Gold, Soul Tool Ring"

"Value: 151,564"

"Equip"

"0.016KG, 1 slot"

"Special storage equipment. Once equipped, grants 9 slots of insurance space. Items in insurance space do not drop upon death. Equipment drops after 3 deaths."

"Oh?" Seeing this gear, Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow.

It only drops after three deaths—not bad. I'll save it to use once my 3x3 trial card expires.

He searched the "Soul Tool Ring."

A 3x3 search space appeared, and one by one, the high-value items were reorganized.

"Gold, Clan Gold Thumb Ring, value 97,802."

"Gold, Military Map Case, value 152,022."

"Red, Sect Villa Suite"

"Value: 1,025,678"

"Durability: 40/40"

"Usage Location: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Fortress - Sect Villa Area"

"A key used to open a suite in the Sect Villa Area."

"Red, Ten Thousand Foot Gold Bar, value 333,903"

"Red, Ten Thousand Foot Gold Bar, value 333,903"

"Red, Ten Thousand Foot Gold Bar"

"Value: 333,903"

"Crafted Collectible"

"4.25KG, 1x2 slots"

"A solid gold bar, can be sold for money."

"Red Collector special effect: Increases currency value; in looting-type maps, increases the amount of Gold Soul Coin obtained."

What? Gold bars? And two of them?

Zhang Yang was ecstatic; the heavy weight of the gold bars felt exceptionally satisfying in his hands.

The damn [Collector] is finally finished; my 3x3 can finally be complete.

Of course, besides the gold bars, Zhang Yang had another massive gain: that 1-million-value red card.

As expected of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master—he might lack other things, but he was definitely rich.

Every red room card represented a high-drop-rate card room and several high-drop-rate containers.

It was just a pity that the "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Fortress" was clearly a high-level endgame map, not something Zhang Yang, who was only level 9, could touch right now.

After finishing the boss's crate, Zhang Yang briefly sampled the two escort crates as well.

As expected, the escort crates contained only a scattering of high-value items, netting him a mere 30,000 or so after he finished consuming them.

After scouring the second floor once more, Zhang Yang returned to the first floor to finish off the bot crate he hadn't fully consumed yet.

There was still a goodie in there waiting for Zhang Yang.

Sure enough, as a flash of red light swept by, a 1x1 small red item was refreshed.

"Red, Premium Peace Apple, value 128,888."

"Oh, a Peace Apple, not bad."

A smile couldn't help but bloom on Zhang Yang's face.

Compared to the heavy Big Gold Bar, Zhang Yang preferred this bright red, large Peace Apple.

It wasn't just because it could increase his physical attributes, but also because of its name.

Peace Apple, peace.

Who wouldn't hope to live a life of peace and safety forever?