Researcher Xie

Time passed quickly.

Over the next few days, Song Chen led the team on a frenzied hunt for mutant beasts.

On the first day, they changed locations five times and killed eighteen First Rank mutant beasts.

Song Chen killed sixteen alone, while Li Wei and the others joined forces to kill two. His Killing Value surged to 88.

That night, he exchanged 40 points for two bottles of Spirit Blood Serum. After drinking them in succession, his Vitality Value soared from 1.1 to 1.8.

He also discovered a pattern. The first increase had been the greatest, rising by 0.5; the second bottle had been less effective, raising it by only 0.4.

The higher his Vitality Value, the lower the efficacy. That, he could understand.

With plenty of Killing Value left, he opened the combat skill section and found a combat skill he had long had his eye on.

[Blood War Blade Technique (C-Class) - 40 points]: Temper the blade with blood, temper battle with battle. The blade technique is fierce and sharp, growing stronger with every fight. Suitable for group combat, with a complementary breathing method included.

He bought it without hesitation.

In an instant, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind.

Blade forms, methods of exerting force, breathing rhythms... it was as though someone had drilled them into his mind thousands upon thousands of times, carving them deep into his bones.

In the past, Song Chen had mainly relied on the basic blade techniques taught at school and his own instinctive reactions.

It was time to have a proper combat skill, one that opened wide and closed wide.

After learning it, he opened the panel again. Sure enough, there was another category.

[Song Chen]

Rank: First Rank

Vitality Value: 1.8

Mental Strength: 0.7

Ability: Lightning Control

Martial Skill: Blood War Blade Technique (currently at Initiation level; 50 Killing Value may be spent to upgrade Proficiency)

System Level: 1

Just like his Ability, the combat skill could be upgraded with Killing Value.

The levels of Proficiency were the same as humanity's classification. He had learned about them in school: Initiation, Proficiency, Mastery, Great Accomplishment, and Grandmaster.

Song Chen was so excited that it took him a long time to finally fall asleep.

The next day.

After learning a martial skill, Song Chen found that it had improved his strength even more than learning an Ability had.

Mainly because his Mental Strength was not high, and he relied primarily on his body to fight.

Against mutant beasts that had previously taken three to five strikes to kill, he could now split a First Rank mutant beast's head open with a single slash.

The way Li Wei and the others looked at him had changed from admiration to worship, then from worship to looking at a monster.

Li Wei could now say it with perfect ease, "Brother Chen, are you even human?"

Song Chen was wiping his blade without lifting his head. "No."

"Then what are you?"

"Something that kills mutant beasts."

So cold.

Everyone fell silent.

Another two days passed like this.

Over these days, Song Chen had grown much stronger.

First, his Vitality Value reached 2.2. He also exchanged for potions to improve his Mental Strength, which had now reached 1.6 as well.

His Lightning Ability was still C-Class. Raising its rank required one thousand Killing Value, which was far too much.

The greatest improvement was still the Blood War Blade Technique.

The more actual combat he experienced, the more Song Chen valued this blade technique. He had poured a fortune into it, spending several hundred Killing Value to raise its Proficiency all the way to Mastery in one go.

He was now confident that he could handle weaker Second Rank mutant beasts or martial artists without any problem.

That was already quite impressive. After all, Second Rank martial artists required a Vitality Value of 10.

Third Rank required 100, Fourth Rank required 1,000...

On the fifth day, at dawn.

Sunlight spilled across the Wilderness, dyeing the grass golden.

In the distance, the ruins of Evergreen City stood sharply outlined in the morning light. Its shattered high-rises were like silent giants, looking down on this land ruled by mutant beasts.

Song Chen stood on a patch of high ground, gazing at the city.

Five days.

He had already spent five days outside the city, killing nearly a hundred First Rank mutant beasts, yet he had never set foot in that city.

It was not that he did not want to, but Zhang Zhenyun had always refused to agree.

He turned to look at Zhang Zhenyun, who was leaning against the vehicle and smoking. "Captain."

Zhang Zhenyun said, "If you have something to say, say it."

"Can you take us into the city?"

Zhang Zhenyun paused. He raised his head and looked at Song Chen.

"Into the city?"

Song Chen nodded. "Yeah."

"The efficiency of waiting in the outskirts is too low. There are more mutant beasts in the ruins. Killing one in there is worth killing three outside."

Zhang Zhenyun was silent for several seconds before crushing out his cigarette. "Do you know what it's like in there?"

"I don't."

Zhang Zhenyun walked over and stood beside him, looking toward the distant ruins. "Then let me tell you."

"Before Evergreen City fell, it was a city of five hundred thousand people. When the mutant beast tide erupted, fewer than a hundred thousand escaped. Of the remaining four hundred thousand, most died in the city..."

First Rank mutant beasts have a bit of brains, but not much. Second Rank ones are very intelligent. Third Rank ones are basically no worse than humans."

"Do you know what that means?"

Song Chen said nothing.

Zhang Zhenyun continued, "It means that once they reach Third Rank, mutant beasts become like people. They can set ambushes, launch sneak attacks, call friends and allies, and even carry out organized, disciplined group attacks like humans."

He turned to Song Chen. "Are you sure you still want to go in?"

Song Chen fell silent. Of course he wanted to go in.

He needed Killing Value. Mutant beasts clustered in the ruins, and he could kill several times more in a day than he could around the outskirts.

But he also knew Zhang Zhenyun was right. Inside the ruins, it was ten times more dangerous than outside.

"Let me think about it..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly stopped.

Zhang Zhenyun turned at the same time, looking into the distance.

A rumbling sound came from the direction of the ruins.

It was the sound of armored vehicle engines, and they were racing at full speed.

Very soon, three massive armored vehicles appeared in view. They charged out from the edge of the ruins, racing wildly and kicking up dust that filled the sky.

On the lead vehicle, someone leaned half their body out and waved frantically at them.

"Run! Run!"

Zhang Zhenyun's expression changed.

"Get in the vehicle, now!"

Before the others could react, Zhang Zhenyun shoved and dragged them into the vehicle.

He leaped into the driver's seat himself, started the engine, turned around, and fled.

The three armored vehicles behind them drew closer and closer. Song Chen looked back through the window.

All three vehicles were covered in damage. The lead vehicle had a massive claw mark on its roof, its alloy top torn open by a gash.

The middle vehicle's rear door was gone, leaving its interior pitch-black and impossible to see into.

The last vehicle was in even worse shape. Half its body was covered in blood, and a human arm hung outside it.

Li Wei's voice trembled. "What is that?"

No one answered her.

Zhang Zhenyun floored the accelerator, and the armored vehicle charged forward madly.

Before long, the three armored vehicles caught up to them.

The lead vehicle slammed on its brakes and blocked their path sideways.

"Stop!"

Zhang Zhenyun was forced to stop.

The door opened, and a man covered in blood jumped down.

He wore a martial artist's uniform, with a Third Rank martial artist's badge pinned to his chest. But at this moment, he looked as bedraggled as if he had just been fished out of a pool of blood.

"Which unit are you from?"

Zhang Zhenyun did not dare hide anything. "Anning No. 3 Middle School's training team. I'm the captain, Zhang Zhenyun, a Second Rank martial artist."

The Third Rank martial artist froze for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the young faces inside the vehicle.

"Students?"

"Yes."

The Third Rank martial artist gritted his teeth, then turned and shouted toward the vehicle behind him, "Researcher Xie, there are students here! Have them escort you out first!"

The rear vehicle's door opened, and two martial artists carried out a stretcher.

A woman lay on the stretcher.

She was very young, barely in her early twenties. Her face was pale as paper, and her eyes were tightly shut.

She wore a white researcher's uniform, but most of that white coat had now been dyed red with blood.

There was a vicious wound across her chest, still seeping blood.

"Put me down."

The woman's voice was very weak, yet unexpectedly clear.