Once he confirmed it was a bot, Zhang Yang finally breathed easy.
Soul Power surged into the M14 in his hands. Zhang Yang raised the rifle and took aim, the tip of the sight steady on the bot's forehead.
"I'll kill you!"
Seeing Zhang Yang standing there in such a strange pose, the young man roared. A flash of light flickered in his hand, and a plain wooden staff appeared in it.
He gripped the long staff with both hands, raised it high, and charged straight at Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang didn't panic in the slightest. He held the rifle steady in both hands, Soul Power flickering faintly around Lord M14.
When the bot was about five meters away, a loud bang rang out.
As if a speeding truck had slammed into him head-on, the bot's charge came to an abrupt halt. His head snapped back, and he crashed hard to the ground.
The next moment, the young man's corpse vanished, and a Bot Loot Box appeared.
Only then did Zhang Yang let out a long breath and reach out to open the box.
First row, Martial Soul: "Long Staff," "None."
Second row, helmet: "None," armor: "None."
Third row, chest rig: None.
Fourth row, pockets: five slots in total, the first three currently being restocked.
White, Elastic Bandage, value 1,046.
White, Basic Recovery Potion, value 1,589.
Green, Small Potion Bottle, value 2,649.
Fifth row, backpack: Waist Pouch (white)
In the backpack's 2*3 slots, a shadow occupying four slots soon restocked.
Blue, Local Fashion Weekly, value 17,317.
On the cover, a beautiful woman dressed in gauzy silk gave a bewitching look that made anyone's blood run hot.
Oh, a pinup magazine? Not bad.
Zhang Yang quickly tidied things up. His earnings for this round had broken 40,000, reaching 40,863.
Getting a four-slot blue item right off the bat—what an unprecedentedly wonderful start.
After looting the bot's box, Zhang Yang didn't linger outside. He immediately headed into the most conspicuous building, a large office block.
The building had five floors. The moment he entered, he found himself in a three-story atrium, with a stone fountain at its center.
"Tsk, an indoor fountain. Nice design."
That was what Zhang Yang thought as he kept moving. In a few quick steps, he climbed onto the platform at the fountain's base, about a meter high, and swiftly circled it.
He was checking whether any outdoor loot had spawned on the fountain platform.
Anyone who had played Delta Force knew that a Heart of Africa spawn point could be found on the fountain on the first floor of Bakshi's Grand Bathhouse.
So an indoor fountain was something Zhang Yang couldn't afford to skip checking.
After confirming that nothing had spawned on the platform, Zhang Yang wasn't disappointed. He leaped down and dashed toward the other rooms on the first floor.
As an office building for a Soul Master Academy, it naturally had plenty of doors. But Zhang Yang moved fast. If a door didn't open on the first try, he didn't waste time on it; he went straight to the next one.
Soon, Zhang Yang reached the third floor.
As he came out at the stairwell landing, a faint sound in the corridor made him stop.
Zhang Yang edged to the corner and peered outside.
A thin, middle-aged man stood there, a gleaming blade held horizontally in his hand.
Someone's blocking the way.
Zhang Yang thought for a moment. Instead of charging straight at him, he stayed behind the corner, stuck Lord M14 out, and aimed at the bot's head.
Bang!
The deafening gunshot echoed through the silent hallway. The bot fell backward onto the floor, his head lolling to one side as he turned into a box.
After looting the box, Zhang Yang did a quick sweep of the third floor, then headed up to the fourth.
On the fourth floor, above the fountain, was a vast Academy Hall of Honor.
A timeline stretched across the room's left, front, and right walls.
It recorded major events in the history of Heding City Junior Soul Master Academy, each at its own point in time.
These included which famous figures had served as the academy's leaders, which had entered the academy during that period to receive their initial Soul Master training, and what honors they had later earned, among many other things.
Beneath the timeline stood rows of display cases, filled with historical relics that substantiated the events above.
Zhang Yang had no interest whatsoever in the academy's history on the walls. His eyes swiftly scanned the display stands.
Normally, these display cases should have spawned some worthwhile loot.
Sure enough, in the section covering the academy's history from 280 years ago, a Soul Emperor had donated a Ceremonial Scepter he'd received while serving in the Heaven Dou Royal Army.
The one-meter-long, jewel-encrusted scepter on display was surrounded by a faint white glow.
That was the sign of a lootable item.
Zhang Yang raised Lord M14 and smashed the glass display case with the rifle's stock. He reached in and stowed the Ceremonial Scepter in his backpack.
"Purple, Ceremonial Scepter Replica, value 112,094"
After smashing a few more cases, Zhang Yang fished several more items out of the displays and put them in his backpack.
Once he'd cleaned the place out, Zhang Yang left the Hall of Honor without a backward glance.
The big safe upstairs was still waiting for him.
Fifth floor, Dean's Office.
After taking care of the guard at the door, Zhang Yang pushed open the Dean's Office.
As Zhang Yang had expected, its decor was spacious without feeling empty. The desk, chairs, bookshelves, greenery, files, materials, and equipment were arranged in a pleasing harmony.
No wonder it was the dean's office. It was much nicer than the faculty offices downstairs.
There was plenty to loot in the room, but Zhang Yang's attention immediately went to the coat rack by the entrance.
A wool overcoat hung on the old-fashioned rack, which stood about two meters tall.
A ring of interactive white light glowed around the coat.
The discovery thrilled Zhang Yang. He'd searched the whole building, and this was the first piece of clothing he could interact with.
Zhang Yang reached out, and a container-search interface appeared. In the 4*4 storage space, two 1*1 shadows were visible.
"Key card! Key card!"
He called softly. As the magnifying glass spun round and round, Zhang Yang's voice grew louder and louder.
The one-slot item inside the coat had been spinning for almost three full turns without showing up. What could it be?
It was so hard to guess.
Zhang Yang immediately reorganized his backpack. He tossed the two-slot Claw Hammer (white) to make room, then moved a green apple from his safe into his backpack to free up space for the key card.
It wasn't until the third and a half turn that Zhang Yang heard a ding. A flash of purple light appeared, and before he could even see what the key card looked like, he'd already stashed it in his safe.
His subconscious had acted too fast.
Zhang Yang looked over at the information that had appeared for the item in his nine-slot safe.
"Purple, Academy Restaurant Storage Room"
"Value: 522,647"
"Durability: 20/20"
"Use location: Heding City Academy—Academy Restaurant"
"A key used to unlock the Academy Restaurant Storage Room."
Five hundred and twenty-two thousand. A key card.
"Tra-la, tra-la-la, tra-la-la-la-la-la, tra-la, lonely people sing sad songs~~~"
Grinning from ear to ear, Zhang Yang had only just started humming a little tune when he noticed the magnifying glass still spinning over the second shadow in the search interface.
What the hell? How many times has that thing spun already? Why's it still going?
Zhang Yang stretched his neck out, staring unblinkingly at the magnifying glass.
Ding!
A flash of red light, and a plain, golden pocket watch appeared.
"Holy crap! Is this even real? The Collector's red item dropped in my very first round?"
Zhang Yang swiftly stowed the pocket watch in his safe, then exited the search interface.
When the interface closed, a golden pocket watch lay in Zhang Yang's hand.
Fine patterns were engraved on its face, while raised decorative flourishes adorned its crown and edges. A long, thin chain of pure gold lay coiled in his palm, heavy with the feel of solid gold.
Zhang Yang pressed the crown. With a click, the protective cover sprang open, revealing a white dial.
Roman numerals encircled the dial, and the hour, minute, and second hands moved precisely at its center.
He closed the cover and put the pocket watch away. The inspection animation ended.
Zhang Yang reopened his personal interface and found the pocket watch in his safe. Its information appeared.
"Red, Hunting Pocket Watch"
"Value: 217,444"
"Craftwork Collectible"
"0.33 KG, 1*1 slot"
"A pocket watch with a protective cover, commonly seen during Soul Hunting expeditions, designed to protect the dial from damage."
"Special effect of red collectibles: disrupts the synchronization of time flow, extending the time available in a round on Soul Hunting maps."
Extend the time available in a round?
Now that was a good item!
He wouldn't turn it in to the Collector just yet. He'd keep it in the Collection Room and enjoy its effects first.
Before you continue