Thank you [Dark_Xion_] for your gift - Massage chair (^_^) Will give the bonus chapter tomorrow :D
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In the room, Rover finally woke up. He clenched both fists, then let out a sigh and muttered, "I really used this kind of power the wrong way."
That's right. After entering the [Power Awakening] space, he finally understood why his skill was rank A, yet felt so weak that it made no sense to him.
It wasn't because this ability was weak, but because there were two reasons.
First: The range of influence of this ability was too wide, and he didn't know how to narrow that range, so it was almost impossible to bring out its true power.
Second: His spirit points were still far too low. To unleash this power at its maximum, he needed spirit points of 100 or above. But his current spirit points were only 29.
However, after successfully awakening it, he also realized how to use this skill properly.
"Heh?!" Suddenly, he sensed Nanoe and Selina's gazes. His head filled with question marks as he looked at them in confusion. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Nanoe then recounted everything. After Rover heard it, he frowned.
'Damn it! Such a coincidence?' he cursed inwardly. 'I was only unconscious for one hour, and in that one hour some idiot actually came to pick a fight with me. How lucky do I have to be to be this unlucky? Even buying lottery tickets isn't this unlucky.'
Before, when he was still awake, no one came looking for trouble. The moment he went unconscious, within just one hour, someone came for him.
Even if the other party was a higher-level Survivor, he wasn't some lump of mud that anyone could step on.
"You're saying… a woman named Leng Yan helped us?" Rover asked.
"Yes." Nanoe said. "She said this area would be under her management. She seems very strong. She was able to drive that man named Ryu away immediately."
Rover nodded.
That man could use his saber to damage the door, which proved he wasn't weak. But that woman could drive Ryu away instantly, which further proved she wasn't an ordinary Survivor either.
"Good. I understand. After we finish phase 3, I'll go meet her." Rover said softly.
Nanoe and Selina both nodded.
At this moment, Rover took a chain out of his backpack and held it in his hand.
[Load-Bearing Chain]
[Type: Item]
[Durability: 25/25]
[Level: 0]
[Description: A 5-meter chain with a load capacity of up to 300kg.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 50 Omni Points.]
"Upgrade!"
[50 Omni Points deducted successfully. Remaining: 628.5 Points.]
[Load-Bearing Chain]
[Type: Item]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Level: 1]
[Description: A 5-7 meter chain with a load capacity of up to 600kg. It can be retracted to 1 meter or extended up to 7 meters.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 200 Omni Points.]
"Upgrade again!"
[200 Omni Points deducted successfully. Remaining: 428.5 Points.]
[Please choose one of the following upgrade paths:
Death Chain: Micro-spikes along the chain that can cut even metal, increasing its ability to latch onto enemies. (Requires an additional 100 Omni Points) Super Load-Bearing Chain: Hardness and load capacity increased by 150%. Soul-Binding Chain: Can bind and damage the soul. Can absorb souls to grow stronger. (Still retains the physical properties of [Load-Bearing Chain] Level 1.)
Please make your choice.]
Rover thought for a long time, then decided to choose option (3).
Why?
Because right now, he already had Selina and Nanoe for physical offense. But what if a soul-type monster appeared? In this world, nothing was certain.
So he decided to choose soul-based offense. On top of that, this chain could absorb soul energy to become stronger, which was also an advantage that reinforced his choice.
[Choice confirmed.]
The chain in Rover's hand began to change. The links became smaller and slimmer, like a narrow strip of fabric, less than 2cm wide and about 5 meters long, yet he could retract it to only about 1 meter.
From that chain, a chill seeped out, making Rover feel a little uneasy, as if it didn't belong to this world.
[Soul-Binding Chain]
[Type: Arcane Artifact]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Level: 2]
[Description: A 5-7 meter chain with a load capacity of up to 600kg. It can be retracted to 1 meter or extended up to 7 meters. It can bind and damage the soul.]
[Effect 1: (Requires absorbing 100 Soul Points to unlock)]
[Upgrade Requirement: 500 Omni Points.]
Rover looked at the chain in his hand, feeling a bit strange that this thing had no rank. But he didn't care too much. As long as he could upgrade it, everything else didn't matter.
He began using his skill to control the chain, getting familiar with it.
Meanwhile, Nanoe and Selina started cultivating their Strength Cultivation Method, preparing for phase 3.
Nearly two hours later, a notification panel appeared before Rover, Selina, and Nanoe.
[Notification: Phase 3 is about to begin. Please prepare.]
[Info: Phase 3 – Resentful Souls.
In this phase, the souls of the dead will coordinate with Mutated Zombies to attack everyone. Note: Souls can pass through doors. Please be cautious.]
When Rover saw the notification panel, he immediately froze. His surprise wasn't because this event would involve souls, but because he had just upgraded the [Soul-Binding Chain], and the very next phase really did force him to face soul-type monsters.
He felt like the goddess of luck was standing on his side. Still, he didn't dare to be careless. After all, he still didn't know how strong these souls were, or how they attacked.
"Rover!" Nanoe spoke up. "Look at the [Survival Guide]."
As she spoke, she handed the [Survival Guide] paper to him.
There was an additional new line at the bottom. Naturally, everyone's attention locked onto that newly appeared line.
[Resentful Souls: The souls of those who died will come for the one who killed them. Find items that can attack souls, or upgrade your door for better safety.
However, if you have no way to deal with souls, then go to an area with many zombies. Souls have one trait: if they touch a zombie, they will merge into it. You only need to kill the zombie.]
After reading the guide, Rover nodded slightly, feeling that this phase was harder than the previous two.
But it wasn't impossible to clear.
[Ding! You received a message from Leng Yan.]
When Rover saw that name, he frowned, but he still accepted her message. After all, she had helped him once, and he didn't want to owe her that favor.
[2703 – Leng Yan: Do you have any information about this phase?]
[2705 – Rover: You're a level 2 player. You've never experienced an event like this?]
[2703 – Leng Yan: No! I can use items to trade.]
[2705 – Rover: No need. To thank you for helping me earlier, I can provide this information for free. But can I ask… how did you know I had information about this phase?]
[2703 – Leng Yan: You're first on the leaderboard. I believe you definitely have the [Survival Guide]. Otherwise, you couldn't have brought two women with you, and the three of you wouldn't be holding the top three positions.]
[2705 – Rover: I understand. Here's the information about this phase. (Image).]
After sending the image to Leng Yan, he felt a little more relieved. After all, Leng Yan couldn't share this information, unlike before, when Nanoe had sold information to others.
This time, he considered whether he should sell this information as well. After all, there were now level 1 and level 2 Survivors in this building, and they could easily surpass him on the leaderboard.
But those Survivors also had plenty of resources and game currency for trading.
He asked Nanoe for her opinion. She replied, "We can sell the information to them. The more people survive, it isn't necessarily a disadvantage for us. Rover, I believe we can still lead. Besides, what we need most is resources."
Rover nodded and let Nanoe sell this information to the higher-level players.
A moment later…
[Notification: Phase 3 will begin in 30 seconds.]
Rover took a deep breath and stood up. His eyes fixed on the door, the chain hovering in front of him.
Nanoe and Selina also pressed their lips together, waiting for the countdown to hit zero.
[Rest period ended. Phase 3, Begin!]
AGH!!!
At that instant, a terrifying scream rang out. But the moment Selina heard that scream, her face turned deathly pale.
A wisp of fog slipped straight through the door, rushed into the room, then condensed into a figure Selina knew all too well.
"You… Billy?!"