At Li Xin's command, the five teammates who had been standing quietly sprang into action.
Without a moment's hesitation, they drew the military daggers at their waists and began attacking one another.
Slash!
The sound of blades slicing through flesh rang out again and again outside the empty factory.
Blood sprayed, staining their camouflage uniforms red, but not one of them cried out. Their gazes remained resolute.
Barely a dozen seconds passed.
The six men's movements gradually slowed. Wounds deep enough to expose bone covered their bodies, and blood pooled across the ground.
The health bars above their heads had turned a dangerously dark red, locked at 1%.
Supporting one another, the six men staggered upright and looked straight at Su Ye.
"Comrade Su Ye, do it."
A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Li Xin's mouth, but he forced a smile, seemingly worried that their appearance might frighten Su Ye.
Although this was not his first time, Su Ye still felt a weight on his heart.
Even knowing they would revive in the Gray Mist World, he was still about to kill his own compatriots.
"Comrades, forgive me!"
Su Ye took a deep breath to steady himself, then drew the Scale-Breaking Blade.
They had already come this far. Backing out was no longer an option.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Cold streaks of steel flashed through the sunlight, leaving chilling afterimages.
Su Ye held nothing back. Every slash struck a vital point with precision, giving them the swiftest, most painless release he could.
As the blade fell, all six men's bodies stiffened.
They looked at Su Ye, the last glimmer in their eyes slowly fading, replaced by boundless relief.
Thud, thud, thud...
Six bodies fell in succession, dropping six item orbs that shone with different colors.
Su Ye's luck was indeed good this time. All six items Li Xin had mentioned dropped.
First, Su Ye picked up the two faintly glowing Storage Rings, each with a capacity of ten cubic meters.
The moment the two new Storage Rings touched the one already on his left index finger, something happened.
A crisp system notification immediately sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Compatible spatial storage equipment detected. Fuse to upgrade?]
"Yes!"
Su Ye confirmed.
As soon as he spoke, the two Storage Rings in his hand turned into streams of silver light and flowed seamlessly into the ring on his index finger.
An intricate spatial pattern flashed across the plain ring's surface, and Su Ye immediately probed it with his consciousness.
The original ten-cubic-meter space had expanded into a vast space of thirty cubic meters.
"Now I can finally store all those supplies."
Su Ye immediately opened the trading interface.
"Withdraw everything!"
At Su Ye's command, light flashed repeatedly across the trading interface.
Pile after pile of supplies appeared out of thin air, then entered his newly expanded thirty-cubic-meter Storage Ring.
The vast, empty space filled at a visible pace.
Once he had stored all the supplies awaiting withdrawal, roughly four-fifths of the Storage Ring's capacity was occupied.
With the supplies taken care of, Su Ye turned his attention back to the four remaining glowing orbs on the ground.
Two contained square metal blocks-the Function Modules.
Su Ye picked them up and examined their descriptions.
[Function Module · Hard Armor] [Effect]: When installed on a vehicle, increases its overall defense by 20% and forms a nearly imperceptible energy-buffering layer across its body, reducing physical collision damage. [Description]: It won't turn your ride into an armored vehicle, but at least you can ram back when you face a wild boar.
[Function Module · High Speed] [Effect]: When installed on a vehicle, increases its base speed by 20%. [Description]: Speed is life. Don't even let those monsters taste your exhaust.
Su Ye nodded in satisfaction at the two modules' effects.
"The Hard Armor module gives me more room for error, and this High Speed module is practically tailor-made for my current situation."
He was currently pushing for a place on the highway mileage leaderboard.
With this extra 20% speed boost, his chances of taking first place rose again.
He put both modules into his Storage Ring, intending to upgrade his vehicle with them shortly.
Next, Su Ye looked at the last two faintly glowing pieces of equipment on the ground.
One was a garish, multicolored headband with a rather eccentric look.
The other was a green vest with an enormous turtle-shell pattern printed on the back.
[Flashy Headband] [Tier]: Tier 0 [Stats]: Spirit +1 [Description]: Put it on, and you'll be the best-looking guy on this highway. Its flashy colors stimulate your cerebral cortex, keeping you mentally energized.
[Turtle Vest] [Tier]: Tier 0 [Stats]: Physique +1 [Description]: Wearing it grants you the tenacious vitality of a turtle. It may be ugly, but it can really take a beating.
Su Ye's mouth twitched as he looked at the two pieces of equipment and their questionable designs.
"Whatever. The stats matter."
Su Ye spoke.
In this Survival Game, staying alive and growing stronger were all that mattered. Who cared if something was a little ugly?
As long as the stats were good enough, even a pair of stockings would... actually, he would have to think about that one.
Su Ye put on the Turtle Vest as his innermost layer, then covered it with his short-sleeved shirt.
Then he tied the garish headband around his forehead.
The instant both pieces of equipment were in place, a change occurred.
A strange warmth and a cool sensation surged through Su Ye's body at the same time.
[Player]: Su Ye [Nickname]: Never Checks the Fuel Gauge [Race]: Humanity [Status]: Healthy [Tier]: Tier 0 [Physique]: 5.9 (base 4.9 + vest 1) [Spirit]: 5.1 (base 3.1 + necklace 1 + headband 1) [Talent]: Unawakened
Looking at the improved numbers on his panel, Su Ye smiled and touched the headband on his forehead.
Both stats had finally broken five.
Feeling the powerful strength within his body and his extraordinarily keen senses, Su Ye clicked his tongue in wonder.
"So this is the Fivefold Race's starting line?"
"They really are strong."
Su Ye clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking sharply.
With these stats as his foundation, he definitely would not pass out the next time he used Sprint.
After sorting out his gains, Su Ye turned and headed toward the abandoned factory.
Li Xin had said earlier that the supplies they had gathered were already sorted and stored inside.
The factory was dimly lit, and the air smelled of machine oil mixed with mildew.
Su Ye immediately spotted two enormous cardboard boxes in the open space at the center of the factory.
The two boxes stood neatly arranged, clearly having been packed with care.
Su Ye strode over and opened the first cardboard box.
Before you continue