Equipment Swap Slot

Rumble~

Lightning tore across the sky, serpents of electricity weaving through the heavy storm clouds.

The dozen or so suns that had originally hung in the sky were all hidden behind clouds. Beyond the window, everything was a murky gray, repeatedly lit up by lightning.

Bolts struck the towering trees in the primeval forest, and thunder liquid could even be seen raining down through the air. It was a fantastical sight.

Perhaps because of the Earth Will's protection, the thunderstorm never descended on the apartment complex, only circling its outskirts. Otherwise, given the apartment building's height, it would have been a perfect lightning magnet.

Torrential rain poured down, reducing visibility to less than twenty meters.

Standing at the window of apartment 1005 on the tenth floor, Lin Hao watched the barely visible tropical rainforest outside and listened to the radio's crackling interference, his expression calm.

It had been almost a month since they fell into the Abyss, and this was their first rainstorm. Many survivors were holding containers out their windows to collect rainwater.

Zhao Xiaowen had tied up her hair and was repeatedly reaching outside with a basin, her clothes soaked through.

Nie Yi kept pouring the collected rainwater into the bathtub they used for storage.

"This rain is really heavy. If it keeps up, we'll probably get a flood."

Zhao Xiaowen brought back another full basin and emptied it into the portable bathtub.

Her already snug Yoga Outfit had become somewhat see-through after being drenched by the rain.

Water trickled down Zhao Xiaowen's cheeks, over her chin and collarbones, and into her deep cleavage.

Although Lin Hao devoted most of his energy each day to training, as his body grew increasingly accustomed to it, some of the worldly desires he had previously burned away seemed to return.

"It doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon. We could take a bath."

Lin Hao reached out to catch some rainwater, a subtle note in his voice.

"We could."

Zhao Xiaowen was delighted too. Women tended to have higher standards when it came to cleanliness, but she usually couldn't bear to use the water and simply wiped herself down.

After bathing, they could refill the tub. Nothing would go to waste.

"Together?"

Lin Hao extended the invitation to Zhao Xiaowen with a perfectly straight face. Beside them, Nie Yi immediately stammered when she heard him.

"I-I'll go tidy my room."

With that, she darted into her room and shut the door.

Zhao Xiaowen froze as well. So direct?

During the training sessions she had guided him through lately, there had been plenty of sparks between them. But Lin Hao had always prioritized training, burning away his desires and turning them into fuel for his improvement. The two had remained in a strange state of flirtation.

After living together for a month, they had grown accustomed to each other's presence. With neither shying away from physical contact, Zhao Xiaowen actually found Lin Hao's invitation rather natural!

"All right. I'll massage your back..."

"Mm."

Passion blazed. Four Black Gold 001 used up.

Lying with the soft, sweet-smelling Zhao Xiaowen in his arms, Lin Hao felt an indescribable ease throughout his body. His mind was so lively that he felt he could solve a few math problems on the spot.

The smooth, creamy softness beneath his hand left his mind clear and tranquil.

Does this count as an improvement in my overall attributes too? I've got a third equipment point for my equipment slots...

Completely at peace, utterly relaxed, and relieved of all his stress, Lin Hao noticed the change in his equipment slots.

Through his tireless training lately, Lin Hao had gained two equipment points in his Equipment Slot.

He could choose how to use them: either add a replacement slot for one body part, allowing instant equipment swaps and storage, or add an extra accessory equipment slot for things such as wrist guards, jewelry, belts, and accessories that originally had no dedicated equipment slots.

The first extra accessory equipment slot cost one equipment point, the second cost two, the third four, and so on. Replacement slots, however, only cost one point each, and he could add multiple replacement slots to the same body part.

For convenience during training, Lin Hao had spent his previous two points on his upper and lower body. He hadn't expected that after holding Zhao Xiaowen through five consecutive rounds, even abandoning protection for the last one, the cleansing and growth of his spirit would unlock another point.

Looks like equipment points aren't too hard to get, but choosing how to use them is tricky...

As his hand kneaded her soft curves, Lin Hao pondered.

They're all pretty good!

The benefits of replacement equipment went without saying: less hassle when changing gear, plus direct storage for spare equipment. Extra equipment slots were useful too, allowing him to equip things like wrist guards and rings.

I'll unlock an extra accessory slot first. After all, the first one only costs one point.

Compared with changing shoes or the weapon in his hand, putting on clothes really was more of a hassle.

That was why he had added replacement slots for his upper and lower body to make training easier. Now, he could switch between the [Mink Coat] and [Natural-Scent Yoga Outfit] with a thought.

After opening an accessory slot, Lin Hao casually placed one of the wrist guards seized from Brother Ji into it.

Still, wrist guards were convenient enough to wear normally, so there wasn't much of an obvious difference.

I think there was a white-grade ordinary protective knee pad last time, something to reduce injuries. I can swap that in later. No sense wasting it...

In his postcoital clarity, Lin Hao considered his gains over the past few days.

"Nie Yi, come change the water."

Having made his decision, Lin Hao called out lazily. He didn't want to move a muscle now, only hold the beauty in his arms and sleep for a while.

While it was still raining outside, he would have Nie Yi replace the bathwater.

Whoosh~

Hearing Lin Hao call, Nie Yi tiptoed in from outside, then opened the bathtub's drain in the bathroom before resuming her trips back and forth to collect water.

Listening to the rain's white noise and Nie Yi huffing away as she cleaned and changed the water, Lin Hao drifted off with the fragrant beauty in his arms.

His schedule had been packed, every moment spent either training or going out to hunt Madmen. This rain had finally given him a genuine break.

Held in Lin Hao's arms, Zhao Xiaowen's hazy eyes were still moist, but the anxiety hanging over her finally eased.

She had already made some preparations and knew where her strengths lay. She was also deeply taken with Lin Hao's looks, abilities, and personality.

As Lin Hao's prestige grew and more people gathered around him, a few flirtatious vixens had begun entertaining ulterior motives.

Although none of them were as attractive as she was, they still gave Zhao Xiaowen a sense of urgency.

If one of them got to him first, I'd lose out badly.

Before-

Although Lin Hao's uninhibited passion had surprised her, and that last round had nearly sent her soul flying, she could finally relax now. Once Lin Hao was sound asleep, Zhao Xiaowen fell asleep against his chest as well.

Only poor Nie Yi was still collecting water...

"Lin Hao, the flood's almost receded. At its highest, it reached the second floor. The clubhouse probably flooded too. This is an opportunity."

After the storm, Yi Feng and the others came over to update Lin Hao on the situation.

Eight people were gathered in the room for the meeting.

Besides Zhao Xiaowen, Nie Yi, Yi Feng, and Zhou Feng, there were four others who had seemed fairly reliable over their recent interactions.

Three men and one woman: Qian Tong, a forty-year-old military veteran; Zeng Yi, a firefighter of twenty-seven or twenty-eight; Wang Cheng, a delivery guy in his early twenties; and Sun Qian, a married accountant of twenty-five or twenty-six.

Sun Qian, Nie Yi, and Zhao Xiaowen mainly handled inventory records and logistics. The others were all action-oriented, each supported to some extent by gray- and white-grade equipment left over after Lin Hao had taken his pick.

Over the preceding days, with those present serving as the core group, they had established a few basic rules for the survivors living above the tenth floor of the apartment building.

Taking things by force was forbidden, but supplies could be traded.

They hadn't formed an organization, but they had a loose set of rules, and a rudimentary order had emerged.

Still, the apartment building's total supplies were limited. In an environment where survival came first, Lin Hao couldn't possibly run a charity.

After Lin Hao dealt with the Madmen, however, the building's basic safety problems were at least resolved, and people could move around relatively freely.

Over the course of the month, plenty of people had run out of food and had nothing left to trade. They either risked going downstairs and entering the Teleportation Point or ventured toward the forest.

But the harsh conditions of the tropical rainforest were far beyond anything city dwellers could imagine. Leeches and thorny plants drove them back almost as soon as they stepped outside. In the end, most residents with nowhere else to turn had reluctantly handed over their last remaining possessions as a toll and entered the Teleportation Point.

Far fewer people remained in the apartment building now. Counting the days, the weeklong Regular Evacuation period would begin again in a few days, making this a good time to enter.

Even if they ran into trouble and couldn't stay long, they would only have to endure a few days before Regular Evacuation offered them a way out.

And on the other side of the Teleportation Point lay Great Qi...