Chapter 6: I Need More Power

Illusory red runes slowly hovered in the palm of his hand.

Zhou Yan examined them for several seconds.

Then, he gently pressed them to his chest.

[Would you like to attach “Rune Factor: Physique” to your Fate Gear (can be detached at any time)?]

Confirm!

In the next moment, the illusory rune was absorbed by the Fate Gear.

Zhou Yan clenched his fist tightly, distinctly feeling a small surge in his strength, his expression somewhat intoxicated.

This sensation of growing stronger was truly addictive.

...

After briefly savoring his newfound power, Zhou Yan crouched down and, with some effort, pried the kitchen knife from the hand of the weapon-wielder.

[Dangerous Kitchen Knife]

[Type: Weapon (Cookware)]

[Rating: 0-star, 0-tier]

[Description: Omitted]

[Note: If it can cut pork, chicken, and fish, it can naturally cut...]

Hmm...

Its rating wasn’t higher than the axe, and its shape was unsuitable for combat.

He deemed it pure junk.

He ignored it completely.

On to the next!

Zhou Yan turned and left.

This time, he moved much faster than before, striding briskly to the next apartment door within seconds, reaching out his wicked hand toward the security door.

His newfound boldness was easily explained.

After his recent fight with the second “weapon-wielder,” he had gained a preliminary understanding of these opponents’ combat abilities.

These lunatics, aside from their madness and fearless ferocity, possessed only slightly above-average strength.

Essentially, their physical prowess was just that of ordinary people.

But Zhou Yan, with a physique surpassing human standards, well-practiced close-quarters combat skills, and equipped with a full set of “armor” and an “axe-shield,” was fighting them with overwhelming superiority.

It was, in fact, easier than dealing with regular people.

After all, ordinary folk, when outmatched, knew enough to flee.

These weapon-mad lunatics, however, only charged forward recklessly, undaunted by death.

As long as Zhou Yan remained cautious, he could easily achieve flawless, instant kills one-on-one.

Even with two opponents, he could dispatch them with ease.

And he still had the Fate Gear’s “shared damage” effect to reduce injury.

If he really went all out, disregarding the consumption of Spirit, even facing three at once, so long as he moved nimbly and avoided being pinned down, he could probably kill them one by one.

This wasn’t overconfidence.

In ancient times, the existence of warriors who could take on ten, even a hundred, was precisely because those warriors were strong, skilled, and, protected by fine armor, crushed armorless weak soldiers with ease.

*

After confirming his opponents’ abilities, Zhou Yan no longer acted cautiously, and his efficiency soared.

In just a few minutes, he had tried opening every security door on both sides of the corridor on this floor.

Out of sixteen remaining apartments, he managed to open the doors of five.

Inside each room, a grim-faced, weapon-wielding madman attacked him in a frenzy.

All of them fell instantly to his “shield charge” and “axe cleave” combo, handing him a wealth of Spirit Points.

His Spirit Points now totaled “167.”

Growing ever richer.

He couldn’t help it—the enemies were simply too generous!

He should have been able to reach nearly “200,” but during each break, Zhou Yan, for safety’s sake, replenished the Fate Gear’s durability lost in combat with Spirit.

A veteran gamer, he had cultivated the good habit of always keeping himself at peak condition.

He also estimated the rate at which Spirit converted to durability—about ten points per second.

Yet, to his disappointment, even after killing five weapon-madmen, he hadn’t received another coveted “Rune Factor.”

Aside from Spirit Points, nothing else dropped.

Zhou Yan realized—the previous minion dropping a “Rune Factor” was pure luck.

Hoping to quickly grow stronger just by hunting small fry was wishful thinking.

In that case...

He looked at the eleven unopened apartments.

Small fry shouldn’t be wasted—at least they dropped Spirit.

The next moment, he chose a suitable open room and stepped inside.

From his coat pocket, he took a bundle of shoelaces, tying them together one by one to create three longer ropes.

With his left hand crippled, this took some time.

He then fixed both ends of the three ropes to the shoe cabinet and dresser on either side of the door frame.

Each rope was spaced twenty centimeters apart.

A simple “linked tripwire” trap was thus fashioned.

Zhou Yan smiled, stepped out into the corridor, and tapped the nearby metal security door with the side of his axe—firmly, but not too hard.

“Clang—”

In the quiet floor, the sudden metallic knock, though not loud, was jarringly sharp.

He stood silently in the corridor, waiting.

...

A few seconds later, a series of security doors opened.

Of the eleven unopened rooms, six doors swung open, and grim-faced lunatics wielding a variety of weapons poured out.

Scissors, hammers, wrenches, kitchen knives, fruit knives...

They looked around silently, and each spotted Zhou Yan standing quietly at the far end of the corridor.

Grinning with feral excitement, the weapon-wielders rushed toward him.

Zhou Yan immediately turned and dashed back into the room.

He stepped precisely over the three ropes, retreating one meter behind the door frame, shield raised, axe ready.

He left the door wide open instead of closing it.

Now, he just had to wait for the “horses” to gallop in.

Two seconds later, the fastest man appeared at the doorway.

Without hesitation, he charged at Zhou Yan.

The next instant, his foot caught the tripwire, sending him tumbling forward, landing face-first near Zhou Yan.

A perfect fall.

“No need for such courtesy!” Zhou Yan quipped.

Seeing the simple trap work so well, he nearly laughed aloud.

Yet his hands moved swiftly; as the man sprawled before him, Zhou Yan brought his axe down on the back of his head.

A clean kill.

He wasn’t finished. As he withdrew the axe, two more men barged into the room together.

Both tripped and flew forward...

Zhou Yan welcomed them gladly.

And then came a fourth, then a fifth...

Within seconds, Zhou Yan secured five consecutive kills.

He stood up quietly, not relaxing yet, and readied his shield once more.

He remembered clearly: six doors had opened at the sound.

Soon, the sixth opponent appeared at the iron door—a burly man.

Unlike the other weapon-wielders, his entire right hand and forearm were visibly covered in blood vessels, which connected to his weapon.

His weapon was a metal bat, less than a meter long, black with golden patterns.

Its surface was entwined with black-red blood-soaked threads, as if wrapped in countless veins.

The blood crust on it throbbed slowly, almost alive, and looked disgusting.

This one was different!

***