When Lin Fan left Villa 199 in Bright Moon Residential Quarter, it was already noon.
Lin Fan had changed into clean clothes. He wore the D5-series combat suit underneath, with an ordinary casual jacket over it as a disguise. Then he slung on the backpack he used for show and walked out of the villa.
On the lawn, several old men in loose training clothes were slowly practicing tai chi. Farther away, a nanny pushed a baby stroller in the sunshine.
A peaceful life, a tranquil world.
But Lin Fan had no mind to admire the easygoing life around him.
His head was full of thoughts of soy-braised beef, roasted lamb shanks, and braised pork knuckles...
Even the greenery along the roadside looked appetizing. He wanted to go over and take a couple of bites.
He hurried along.
The soldiers standing guard at the gate were as dutiful as ever. One snapped off a salute and watched the young Quasi-Martial Artist leave.
It was mealtime, and the streets were filled with the aromas of all kinds of food.
For Lin Fan, who had just completed his genetic Origin Energy evolution and was severely depleted, it was sheer torture.
But he didn't stop at any of the roadside stalls.
Ordinary carbs and fats could no longer satisfy his evolved body's ravenous needs.
He needed high-energy "fuel."
Just a few minutes later, Lin Fan walked into a martial artist restaurant called Energy Kitchen, beside the central square in Yi'an District.
The decor was rugged. There was no gentle music, only the clatter of knives and forks against plates and the sound of people chewing heartily.
Most of the diners coming and going were burly martial artists in combat suits. The air was thick with the smell of meat and medicinal cuisine.
Lin Fan found a seat in the corner and called over a waiter.
"Waiter!"
"I'll have one of everything on this page, this page, and this page."
"Certainly, sir."
Before long, the waiter pushed over a cart piled high like a small mountain.
"Sir, here's your order."
"Ten portions of premium soy-braised Iron-Armored Bull hind leg, and five high-energy carbohydrate meal sets."
"And this is complimentary: a rich soup made from the bones of a Junior Beast General-level Fire-Scaled Pig. Please enjoy."
"Thanks."
Lin Fan didn't stand on ceremony. After thanking him, he grabbed a piece of beef bigger than his face and stuffed it into his mouth.
The tender, juicy monster meat slid down his throat and into his stomach, gradually filling it.
The hollow, panicky feeling—as if his body had been emptied out—finally began to fade.
In its place came waves of warmth, surging continuously through his blood vessels and spreading to every limb.
"Now that's good!"
With Lin Fan wolfing everything down, the plates on the table were soon empty. He even polished off the entire pot of bone soup, leaving it cleaner than a dog could have licked it.
"Hah..."
Lin Fan leaned back in his chair, a toothpick between his teeth and a satisfied look on his face.
"Now this is what it feels like to be alive."
Ding.
His phone vibrated. A payment notification had arrived.
[Your purchase at "Energy Kitchen": 8,200.00 yuan.]
The corners of Lin Fan's mouth, which had been curled upward, twitched.
"One meal, nearly ten thousand yuan..."
Being a martial artist really was an expensive profession. Only now did he truly understand why so many low-level martial artists were willing to risk their lives to join a martial arts school or the HR Alliance.
Because on their own, it was really hard to support a body that kept evolving, let alone buy expensive equipment and manuals.
Lin Fan stood up and left the restaurant.
He stood on the bustling street and flagged down a taxi.
Now that his body was in peak condition, his weapon had completed its first stage of evolution, and his defensive gear had been upgraded, it was time to test himself in real combat.
This time, he wasn't going to scavenge in a county town.
He was heading to a true death zone.
His destination: City 003.
At one in the afternoon, at the forward base for City 003.
As the armed train let out a deep, dull braking sound, Lin Fan stepped onto this land steeped in the smell of gunpowder.
The moment he got off, the air changed.
Gone were the exhaust fumes and food aromas of the city. In their place was a distinctive smell of engine oil, rustproof paint, gunpowder, and a faint trace of blood.
It stung his nose a little, but it was invigorating.
Lin Fan looked up.
This place was far more imposing than the base at County 023, which he'd visited before—and far more oppressive.
Calling it a base didn't do it justice. It was more like a massive fortress of war.
A fifty-meter-high alloy wall stretched across the land like a mountain of steel.
Heavy machine-gun emplacements and laser defense systems were arrayed densely along its top, slowly rotating as they aimed toward the distant Wilderness Zone. Huge searchlights turned slowly despite the daylight.
Armed troops were everywhere.
Lin Fan could tell that the troops here were clearly much better trained than those at the base in County 023.
The martial artists coming and going around him carried a much stronger aura of bloodshed, too.
Many had dried blood on their combat suits. He even saw several stretchers hurrying past, with motionless bodies beneath white sheets.
Death was nothing unusual here. If you came, you had to be prepared to die at any moment.
Lin Fan didn't linger at the base. He tightened the straps on his backpack and headed straight for the city gate.
"Stop. Show me your ID."
An armed sentry blocked his way.
Lin Fan took out his brand-new ID and handed it over.
The sentry took it, glanced at the photograph, then looked up at the boy before him. He was young, but his gaze was composed and his equipment was top-notch. The sentry didn't look down on him. Instead, his eyes took on a slightly more scrutinizing look.
"Quasi-Martial Artist?"
The sentry's voice was stern. "Young man, make sure you understand where you are. This is City 003, not some low-level Wilderness Zone."
"The density and strength of the monsters here are more than ten times those in County 023. Even formal martial artists can't claim to be completely safe in this area."
The sentry tapped the ID against his hand and spoke earnestly.
"Your gear looks decent. D5 series, right? You've got some money behind you."
"But the Wilderness Zone doesn't care about money. It only cares about whether you live or die. If you die, your gear becomes someone else's spoils."
He had seen far too many reckless rich kids like this. They thought that buying a full set of top-tier gear would let them steamroll the Wilderness Zone, but usually they just ended up delivering their gear to someone else.
Lin Fan could hear the concern in the sentry's voice.
He smiled and didn't argue, replying softly, "Thanks. I'll just stick around the edge. I won't go in."
The sentry watched Lin Fan for several seconds. Seeing that the boy's gaze was clear and steady, with not a trace of rashness, he finally sighed.
"All right. Just make sure you know what you're doing."
Beep.
The gate opened.
"Go on. Be careful."
"Understood."
Lin Fan took back his ID and stepped through.
Beyond the protection of the Base City lay a vast, lifeless ruin.
In the distance, the steel bridge that had once spanned the river had long since collapsed. Countless skyscrapers loomed through the gray mist like enormous gray tombstones.
This had once been one of the brightest jewels of human civilization. Now, it was a paradise for monsters.
"So this is City 003."
Lin Fan stood at the broken end of the highway and took a deep breath.
Without a moment's hesitation,
he lowered his body. His Spiritual Force lifted him slightly from beneath his feet, and he leaped soundlessly off the broken bridge like a black cat, darting into the perilous abandoned streets below.
The asphalt beneath his feet was long cracked, and weeds had stubbornly pushed through the gaps, growing nearly waist-high.
Lin Fan planted each step firmly, doing his best not to make a sound.
"Roar!"
Less than two kilometers into the city's outskirts, a violent growl suddenly came from the ruins of a shop to the side.
The next instant, rubble flew.
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