Outside the arms factory.
A battered Wuling Hongguang minivan sat behind a secluded dirt slope.
Wang Gou slumped over the steering wheel, clutching a walkie-talkie that no longer had any signal. Cold sweat covered his forehead.
"Why is there still no sign of them?"
"I can't reach Guo Yong either..."
"Guo Yong and the others have been inside for almost an hour... and those gunshots and screams stopped ages ago."
"Could... something have happened?"
Wang Gou swallowed, his nerves on edge.
He had planned to head inside for a share of the spoils after Guo Yong killed that fool of an easy mark. After all, he had provided the coordinates, and Guo Yong had promised him 10 units of Universal Fuel.
If Guo Yong refused to pay, he would expose the Hungry Wolf Guild's scam in the group chat.
They promised a reward for coordinates, then refused to hand it over!
But now, the deathly silence filled him with an inexplicable dread.
"Maybe... I should go take a look?"
Just as he hesitated.
Rumble-
A low, powerful engine roar came from the arms factory's shattered gate.
Wang Gou hurriedly raised his binoculars.
A second later, the binoculars fell from his hands and hit the ground with a clatter.
In the fading light of sunset.
A black steel beast, even larger and more menacing than before, slowly rolled out.
It was longer and taller now, covered in reactive armor like dragon scales. Most terrifying of all was the slowly rotating turret on its roof, its thick barrel gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
And behind the vehicle...
There was no sign of Guo Yong's pickup.
No Hungry Wolf Guild motorcycle convoy.
Nothing.
"It's over..."
Wang Gou's legs instantly went weak.
Anyone with half a brain could guess what had happened.
Guo Yong and his men... had been wiped out!
Run! I have to run!
Trembling, Wang Gou started the black-smoke-belching minivan and tried to turn around and flee.
But just then.
The moving black beast suddenly rotated its turret.
There was no wasted movement.
That pitch-black muzzle, like the eye of the Grim Reaper, locked precisely onto his battered van from hundreds of meters away.
Inside the vehicle.
Lin Hui sat in the high-tech driver's seat. On the holographic screen before him, a red crosshair rested over the Wuling Hongguang.
[Fire-control radar target lock: Wuling Hongguang (light vehicle)] [Distance: 1,450 meters] [Hit probability: 100%]
"Heh. So it really was you."
"I was wondering how those Hungry Wolf Guild bastards found me!"
Lin Hui watched the little minivan trying to flee on the screen, his gaze cold as ice.
"Perfect. I'll test my new turret on you."
His finger rested lightly on the red firing button.
"Single shot!"
"Aim for the fuel tank!"
No hesitation. No mercy.
He pressed it.
Boom!
A deep, muffled blast rang out.
The vehicle barely shuddered.
A 25 mm armor-piercing round tore through the air with a piercing shriek.
Over a thousand meters away.
Wang Gou frantically stomped on the accelerator, muttering, "Don't kill me, don't kill me."
A second later.
BOOM-!!!
An enormous fireball erupted in his field of vision.
It was the last thing he ever saw in this world.
The entire Wuling Hongguang exploded into countless fragments. Burning wreckage scattered in every direction, like a flower of death blooming on the wasteland.
[Sanity +3.]
Watching the burning fireball on the screen, Lin Hui's lips curled slightly.
That felt good!
The Sanity he had just lost from seeing mangled zombies strewn across the ground had returned.
"One shot, one kill."
"With power and accuracy like that, all those materials were worth it."
He did not stop or even slow down. He drove the RV straight over the still-burning wreckage and continued down the highway.
Inside, the temperature stayed at a constant 26 degrees, with soothing jazz playing.
Lin Hui opened a can of ice-cold cola, then glanced at the [Regional Channel] on the system panel.
The World Channel was still filled with cries of despair.
"Help! I'm out of water! Can anyone spare some?"
"A white mutant beast shot through my tires! I'm stranded on the road, and that mutant is getting closer! Someone save me!"
"Give it up, buddy. Who would dare stop now?"
"I saw one too! There was a mutant with a really long tail, just like a Whitespike from The Tomorrow War! Thank god I ran fast enough!!"
"Are there any doctors here? I have a fever. I think a scratch got infected. I don't have any medicine. Does anyone know a home remedy to bring the fever down...?"
Lin Hui shook his head at the messages.
This was the reality of the apocalypse.
Hunger, cold, disease, monsters...
Most people were still struggling desperately to survive, while he was already sitting in an armored fortress, wondering how to spend his mountains of supplies.
Suddenly, several pinned bounty posts caught his attention.
[Sky Tyrant Alliance bounty: Buying all Gene Serums at premium prices! Supply one, and I'll make you deputy leader!] [Rose Society bounty: Recruiting players who have awakened a "specialization"! If you have awakened a "specialization" ability, whether strength or reconnaissance, and you're female, you're welcome to join us! All the food you can eat!] [Mysterious buyer: Offering 30 units of Universal Fuel for a Basic Gene Potion! Message me privately if you have one!]
"Gene Serum?"
Lin Hui raised an eyebrow.
It seemed the top players had already encountered this world's "supernatural" side.
Relying on vehicles alone was not enough.
The frailty of the human body remained their greatest weakness.
That was why those top players were frantically trying to buy Gene Serums.
"I happen to have a bottle."
Lin Hui took the [Basic Gene Potion] dropped by the tier 2 zombie out of his pocket.
The deep-blue liquid flowed slowly inside the glass tube, giving off a mesmerizing sheen.
[Name: Basic Gene Potion] [Type: Consumable] [Quality: Rare] [Effect: Enhances all physical capabilities and improves Constitution. Constitution +10] [Side effect: Severe pain during injection.]
"Pain?"
Lin Hui smiled.
Compared to the pain of being eaten alive by zombies, what was a little pain?
Without hesitation, he pushed the needle straight into a vein in his arm.
He depressed the plunger.
An icy liquid instantly surged into his veins. Then that cold turned into searing heat like molten lava!
"Hiss-"
Lin Hui clenched his teeth, veins instantly bulging on his forehead.
Pain!
Pain that pierced to the bone!
It felt as though every cell in his body was being torn apart and rebuilt.
The agony lasted a full five minutes.
When the pain receded like the tide, it was replaced by an unprecedented sense of ease and strength.
Lin Hui's eyes snapped open.
His previously slender body had not turned into an exaggerated bodybuilder's physique, but every muscle had become sleek and taut, brimming with explosive power.
[Constitution: 15 (5 → 15)] [Combat assessment: Physical capabilities equivalent to a heavyweight boxing champion.]
"This feeling..."
Lin Hui drew a deep breath and murmured.
"I feel like I could take on 30 adults by myself!"
"I probably still can't beat a strength-type zombie alone, but with a few more Gene Serum injections, I definitely could!!"
With that thought, Lin Hui also posted an offer to buy Gene Serums in the Regional Channel. He offered 40 units of Universal Fuel or medicine in exchange, 10 units of Universal Fuel more than the mysterious player!
Just then.
The onboard radar suddenly let out a rapid alarm.
It was neither a zombie nor a player.
It was an enormous signal source, so red it was almost black!
Lin Hui immediately looked ahead.
Through his binoculars, he saw a shocking sight on the horizon.
On the wasteland several kilometers away.
A camouflage-painted main battle tank-a genuine heavy military vehicle-sat by the roadside, its turret belching black smoke.
Around the tank.
Two white bone spikes like spears were embedded deep in its armor, with one even piercing straight through a track!
At the source of those bone spikes.
A strange, alien-like creature with an elongated body covered in white bone plates crouched on a huge rock, coldly watching the tank.
[Warning! Mutant creature encountered!] [Name: White Thorn (tier 3)] [Ding! Monster attributes and skill information are unavailable for monsters of tier 3 and above. Players must discover them themselves!]
"No monster attribute information?"
Lin Hui's pupils contracted slightly.
He looked at his Lv. 3 RV's thick armor and 200 defense, then at the newly installed 25 mm autocannon on the roof.
He made his decision.
Study this White Thorn and try to kill it!
A tier 3 monster was bound to drop some great rewards!!
Lin Hui jerked the steering wheel.
The black armed fortress left the main road and slowly headed toward the [White Thorn] mutant.
Finally, he stopped within the autocannon's firing range.
Before you continue