The two teammates exchanged a glance, then let out low roars in unison and lunged at Wang Rui, ignoring their grievous wounds.
Fists whistled through the air, and daggers crossed.
On the deserted highway, the three Great Xia soldiers engaged in a brutal, utterly unrestrained bout of "killing their own."
Dull blows echoed in the cold morning wind.
Before long, the combined attacks of his two teammates had brought Wang Rui's health bar down to 1% as well.
With that done, the three stopped fighting, holding one another up to keep from collapsing.
Blood stained their camouflage uniforms, but their eyes shone with startling brightness.
All three turned toward Su Ye.
"Comrade Su Ye, begin."
Wang Rui's voice was slightly hoarse from weakness, but his tone remained resolute.
Su Ye took a deep breath, feeling as though a boulder weighed on his chest.
This was more than killing. He was taking custody of Great Xia's spark, carrying the blood and hopes of countless predecessors.
He stood at attention before these three iron-willed soldiers and gave them another solemn military salute.
The three smiled, their eyes full of encouragement. "Don't be afraid. See you later."
Su Ye nodded and took out the Scale-Breaking Blade.
Its edge gleamed coldly in the morning light.
There were no agonized struggles. With smiles still on their lips, the three fell heavily into pools of blood.
As they fell, three faint lights emerged from their bodies.
Su Ye picked up a glowing metal cube.
[Function Module: Sprint] [Tier: 1] [Effect: When activated, consumes up to five times the fuel to increase vehicle speed fivefold for ten minutes.] [Cooldown: Six hours.]
Su Ye's eyes lit up as he read the module's effect. "It's actually a speed-boosting module."
His level 2 vehicle currently had a top speed of about 240 kilometers per hour. A fivefold increase would bring that to 1,200 kilometers per hour.
That was practically flying just above the ground.
Although it lasted only ten minutes, that was enough to cover 200 kilometers.
"Nice, very nice. This is practically a godsend for climbing the mileage rankings during the beginner phase." Su Ye nodded in satisfaction.
A six-hour cooldown meant he could use it at least two or three times a day, adding another four hundred or even six hundred kilometers to his daily travel.
And if he encountered a threat he couldn't fight, it would make an excellent trump card for escaping.
As for why he would only use it two or three times a day...
With the night roads riddled with potholes and deadly traps, if he dared activate the Sprint module, he would probably launch himself and his vehicle into the air within ten seconds, then crash into a heap of mangled flesh.
Su Ye then looked at the next drop.
Unfortunately, it wasn't another Function Module as he had hoped.
He had probably hit that 30% drop chance and received only a hundred units of fuel.
Finally, Su Ye looked at the item Wang Rui had dropped.
As the light faded, it revealed a translucent silver mask as thin as a cicada's wing.
[Illusionary Form Mask] [Tier: 1] [Effect: Wearing it allows you to change your appearance and build. Changes in size cannot exceed twice your original size.] [Cooldown: Five minutes.]
"It dropped."
Su Ye stroked the mask's cool surface, his heart settling.
With this mask, at least during the beginner phase, he would no longer have to worry about being exposed as a member of Humanity.
He could disguise himself as any of the Fivefold Race's constituent races, or even as other monsters, allowing him to navigate all kinds of complicated situations with ease.
After putting away the mask, Su Ye looked at the bodies of Wang Rui and his two teammates.
Standing ramrod straight, Su Ye gave the three bodies another military salute.
"Comrades, a spark will surely set the prairie ablaze."
Only after watching the system clear away his three comrades' bodies did Su Ye turn to his vehicle.
Now that he had a new Function Module, an upgrade was naturally in order.
[Detected sufficient upgrade materials. Upgrade the level 2 pickup truck (Speedster)?]
A cold mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
A translucent blue virtual panel immediately appeared before Su Ye's eyes.
"Yes."
[Please select an upgrade path.]
The panel flashed, quickly displaying three distinctly different upgrade branches.
The first was the heavy armor path.
Thick armor would cover the body, and a ram would be mounted on the front. It would sacrifice some speed for defense and impact power, making it resemble a miniature land tank.
The second was the balanced path.
It offered steady, unremarkable improvements across all attributes, providing some defense while maintaining decent speed, making it suitable for handling various unexpected situations.
The third was the extreme speed path.
The body would be streamlined, its weight greatly reduced, and its engine strengthened, substantially increasing the vehicle's speed.
Su Ye studied the three options. At this stage, his primary goal was to compete for a place on the mileage rankings.
There was nothing to hesitate over. Su Ye immediately selected the third option.
[Selection successful!] [Detected Function Module: Sprint. Incorporate it into this upgrade?]
"Yes!"
[Beginning upgrade. Estimated duration: Ten minutes. Please wait patiently.]
The instant the voice finished, a dazzling pillar of white light completely enveloped the level 2 pickup.
From within the light came the faint, grating sounds of metal reshaping and gears meshing, as though an enormous invisible hand were making sweeping modifications to the vehicle.
Ten minutes wasn't long, but Su Ye wasn't about to waste it.
He walked aside and took the silver mask, as thin as a cicada's wing, out of his storage space.
The Illusionary Form Mask.
Its cool touch spread through his fingertips, while a faint silver glow flowed across its surface.
"With this, I can disguise myself as a member of the Fivefold Race."
"But even with the mask, I still have no idea what the Fivefold Race actually looks like."
He couldn't simply invent some bizarre mishmash out of thin air. That would only get him killed faster.
"I need to find a way to learn what they look like."
After a moment's thought, Su Ye quickly opened the chat channel.
Day had broken, and the previously quiet chat channel had become lively again.
Countless messages scrolled furiously down the light screen like a waterfall.
"I survived! I finally fucking survived! The monsters last night were terrifying."
"My car door got clawed to pieces. Does anyone have any metal? I'll trade a piece of bread for it."
"Don't even get me started. I drove last night and fell into a huge pit. My undercarriage is completely wrecked, and now the car won't move at all. Someone strong, please come rescue me!"
"I'm out of fuel. I've completely run dry, and monsters are closing in. Can anyone lend me some fuel? I'll work like a slave for them."
"..."
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