Su Nian's eyes lit up. The system was just like life's trials: it might arrive late, but it would always arrive.
Life was bitter, but it came with strokes of luck.
"System, what can you do?"
"Host, as the badass survival system, I can upgrade anything. If you can imagine it, I can upgrade it."
As Su Nian focused his thoughts, an illusory five-pointed star appeared. He could maneuver it as nimbly as a mouse cursor, and he moved it to the spot between his eyebrows.
[Su Nian] [Constitution: 7 (A combined measure of health, damage resistance, stamina, self-healing, carrying capacity, and physical toughness. Reaching zero results in immediate unconsciousness/death. Can recover naturally through eating and resting. The limit for ordinary humans is 9 points.)] "Current status: overheated (moderate fatigue)" [Mind: 7 (Used to resist mental corruption and illusions, and for cognitive processing. Excessively low values cause self-doubt. At 1, the individual descends into complete madness. The limit for ordinary humans is 9 points.)] "Current status: overstimulated (moderate fatigue)" [Survival points: 200] [Talent: (unawakened)]
Su Nian studied the system as he ran. He felt refreshed now, and much of the gloom that had hung over him instantly lifted.
Judging by the system's notification, he was safe for the moment, and the horror hadn't caught up with him. Still, he needed to catch up with the main group as soon as possible.
[Ding! Spend 100 survival points to enhance Constitution (7 → 8)?] [Ding! Spend 100 survival points to enhance Mind (7 → 8)?] [Ding! Spend 1,000 survival points to enhance Talent?]
"Yes!"
[Ding! Insufficient survival points.] [Ding! Spend 10 survival points to enhance mineral water (0.17 ml → 596 ml)?]
Su Nian tried everything one by one. It was like playing a game: he needed to understand the rules first. At last, light appeared in his field of vision.
The group was moving slowly ahead at its usual pace.
That meant the awakened knew it was safe for now, too.
He was still quite curious about these awakened, wondering what abilities they had awakened.
Over the past week, apart from a few simple warnings, the awakened hadn't shared any information with the others or helped them with supplies.
Let alone answered the question everyone cared about most-how to become awakened.
They were one group, and the remaining survivors were another.
Asking anyone else was no different. Those who knew wouldn't talk, and asking those who didn't was pointless.
To truly uncover the mysteries of this world, he needed to become awakened and join them.
That would have been difficult for his former self. Now, things were different.
A faint glimmer appeared on the horizon, and the blood moon high overhead gradually faded.
"Hey, handsome, do you have anything to eat or drink in your bag? Could I borrow a little?"
The woman in yoga pants sitting in a tricycle cart propped her chin on her hand and fluttered her big eyes.
The man with tattoo sleeves pedaling the tricycle glanced at Su Nian, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
He didn't look like a good person.
"No." Su Nian's voice was cold, leaving no room for negotiation.
In this apocalyptic world, he had to be cold and leave no room for negotiation. The slightest hesitation would reveal just how many shameless people were out there.
At the beginning, there had been a kind young woman who lent people supplies and water. When she finally had nothing left, every single person she'd helped had kicked her while she was down.
That was human nature.
Everything he'd seen and heard over the past week had taught him that.
Trying to be a good person without the strength to back it up could get him killed.
"Really? Can I have a look?" The woman in yoga pants spoke in a cloying voice, but she made no attempt to hide the mockery in her eyes.
At the same time, the tattooed man stopped the tricycle and pulled out a rusty length of rebar, clearly ready to rob him if he refused.
Su Nian's gaze turned cold. He drew the dagger at his waist, the one his grandfather had used to slaughter pigs and cattle when he was alive. It was extremely sharp.
But against rebar... he'd have to fight for his life.
"The convoy has rules. No causing trouble while we're on the move. Aren't you afraid the awakened will punish you?" Su Nian deliberately emphasized "the awakened," operating the system as he spoke.
He certainly didn't believe a single order from the awakened could keep everyone in line. Even an emperor's decree wasn't that powerful.
[Ding! Spend 100 survival points to enhance Constitution (7 → 8)?]
"Upgrade!"
The remaining hundred points weren't enough to raise his Constitution to nine, so Su Nian selected Mind instead.
[Ding! Spend 100 survival points to enhance Mind (7 → 8)?]
There was no saving those points now. If he held on to them, he might take them to his grave.
The tattooed man swung the rebar with a mocking grin.
"Newcomers really are naive. Sure, the convoy has a rule against causing trouble while we're on the move, but that only applies when we're safe."
"Right now, we're in the chaos of fleeing for our lives. Besides..." The tattooed man pointed at the sky.
"It's daylight now... They don't have time to worry about us. They might already be asleep."
"Let me search your bag, or else..."
Before the tattooed man could finish, Su Nian lunged at him like a bloodthirsty beast, driving his dagger forward.
Ruthless and decisive!
Startled, the tattooed man dodged and swung his rebar. But because Su Nian had caught him by surprise, he couldn't put his full force behind the swing.
Su Nian raised his left forearm to block the rebar just beyond the man's grip, while his sharp dagger carved a wound across the man's chest deep enough to expose bone.
Before the tattooed man's fear could fade, Su Nian stabbed him again and again, plunging the dagger into him five times in a row. The rebar slipped from the man's hand, and he collapsed.
"Aah...!"
The woman in yoga pants let out a terrified scream.
It was piercing.
Su Nian kept stabbing, one thrust after another... Agony, terror, and regret filled the tattooed man's heart.
He hadn't picked a fight because he had a death wish.
He'd been certain Su Nian was exhausted after running all that way. In contrast, both of them still had plenty of stamina, and they had a weapon.
An easy win!
He hadn't expected Su Nian to throw himself at him like a madman, and he could tell that his opponent had plenty of stamina.
Every stab was forceful, driving the blade all the way in.
[Ding! Gained 100 survival points.]
Su Nian stood up. His chest was covered in blood, and a few warm drops had splashed onto his face.
Terrified by the sight of him, the woman in yoga pants fell back onto the ground.
"Don't kill me. I'll do anything. Please!"
The woman in yoga pants scraped her lower legs against the ground as she backed away. Her face was filled with terror, with none of her earlier ease or arrogance remaining.
Su Nian lunged straight at her.
"Aah!"
Amid a terrified scream, Su Nian stabbed her hard several times.
[Ding! Gained 100 survival points.]
The system's upgrades had not only raised the upper limits of his Constitution and Mind, but also fully replenished what his body had depleted.
It was like filling up at a gas station and getting a free bottle of fuel additive.
As long as he had enough survival points to upgrade, there was no need to spend extra points replenishing his stamina and mental energy separately.
Su Nian turned his gaze toward their tricycle. It belonged to him now.
And there was an unexpected bonus: killing people earned him survival points, too.
He'd spent two hundred and earned exactly two hundred back. It was as good as spending nothing.
Before you continue