"Living people?!"
Jin Da bao slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes bulging in shock as he stared down the stairwell.
Amid the cacophony of snarling monsters and clashing steel, he too had caught faint traces of human voices.
He turned to Li Yun in disbelief. Just how sharp was this man's perception, to pick out something so subtle in all that chaos?
"Living people? Could it be rescue?!"
Su Zhiyi's face lit up with joy. She almost dashed downstairs before Jin Dabao yanked her back hard.
"Use your brain, will you?!" he hissed, sweating buckets. "What kind of rescue could be in a hellhole like this?! It's other players! The system said 'random matching'! How do you know they're not enemies?!"
Li Yun ignored their naive squabbling.
His hand closed around the cold hilt of the Life-Devouring Tang Blade – Blood Glutton. The suffocating bloodlust woven into the blade seemed to rein in his own killing intent, condensing it into a blade-like sharpness.
In a game like this, so-called "allies" were often deadlier than monsters.
The best way to survive—was to eliminate potential threats before they could sprout.
"Stay here. Don't make a sound."
His voice was calm, cold, and commanding. Without so much as a backward glance, he melted into the stairwell's shadows like a lurking predator.
"B-Boss!" Jin Dabao stammered, but his feet wouldn't move. After a moment's struggle, he exhaled in relief—truth be told, he was glad he didn't have to go down there.
Su Zhiyi silently tightened her grip on her dagger, eyes fixed on Li Yun's fading silhouette. Slowly, determination settled into her gaze.
She understood. In this brutal world, the only one she could rely on—was him.
The stairwell was quiet except for Li Yun's soundless steps. The air reeked of iron and rot, the cracked walls etched with scorched claw marks left by gods-knew-what.
The whole floor felt like a tomb, moments away from collapsing.
Li Yun pushed his newly acquired [Auditory Perception] talent to the limit, filtering through noise like sonar.
Clashing weapons. Labored breaths. Snatches of conversation…
Clearer and clearer.
Two floors below.
"Got 'em! Damn, these green-skins are disgusting!"
"Hah! Brother Li, you're the man! That [Weapon Shaping] talent is awesome. Everyone armed with spears? Goblins don't stand a chance!"
"Cut the crap. Loot the boxes! Gather more mats so I can craft something nastier."
Three men. Young, fit. Well-armed. Well-coordinated.
Li Yun's eyes narrowed like a hunting tiger's.
Then the next words chilled them to ice.
"Loot fast, then head upstairs. Time to wipe out that 'charity case' squad."
"Ha! Those rookies are probably still curled in a corner pissing themselves!"
"Doesn't matter if they found supplies first—we'll just kill them and take it!"
At that exact moment, a cold system message flashed across Li Yun's vision:
[Map]: Special intel item. Contains locations of high-tier supply caches ('Guaranteed Drops'), evacuation points, and the initial spawn points of other teams. Only half of all squads are given this item.
Li Yun exhaled slowly.
So that was it.From the very start, his team had been in the "sheep to the slaughter" half—the ones without a map.
Downstairs, the three laughed with cruel arrogance.
"Liangzi's got [Muscle Berserk], Wang's got [Beginner Heal], and I can craft weapons. With this comp, we'll stomp anyone!"
"Haha! Just wait till we go upstairs. I wanna see the look on those poor bastards' faces when they realize it's over!"
Li Yun's decision was made.
He drew the Tang Blade. Its blood-red patterns shimmered in the dim light like a predator baring its fangs.
Three vs. one? No—this was a hunt.
In his creed, once someone was confirmed an enemy, there was no mercy.
But just as he prepared to strike—
"ROAR—!"
A beastly roar thundered from deeper in the lobby below, followed by the survivors' panicked shouts and frantic clashing of weapons.
"What the hell is that?!""Hold it off! Aim for the head!""We can't stop it—ahhh!"
Li Yun's eyes gleamed.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Using the chaos as cover, he ghosted to the first-floor landing.
From the shadows, the scene unfolded clearly before him.
The three were locked in a desperate fight against five or six goblins. The green-skinned creatures snarled, swinging crude blades and clubs, their eyes burning with bloodlust.
The men's fronts were guarded—but their backs were wide open.
A fatal weakness.
Li Yun raised his silenced pistol.
Thup! Thup! Thup!
Two neat bursts.
Bullets punched into skulls and hearts. Two men crumpled like puppets with cut strings, dead before they could scream.
"Who?!"
Hot blood splattered the last man's face. He spun in horror, only to meet a pair of cold, merciless eyes staring at him from the stairwell shadows.
Terror seized his throat.
Survival instinct flared. A white shimmer of energy coated his body in a thin barrier.
Ping! Ping!
Li Yun's bullets sparked uselessly off the glow.
"Haha! Guns don't work on me!" the man roared, fear twisting into rage. "I'll kill you myself!"
Li Yun's brow furrowed. Defensive-type talent.
But no defense was absolute.
He holstered the pistol, smoothly slinging out the AKMS rifle.
Click. Chambered.
BRRRRRT!
The rifle screamed, spewing a storm of lead.
Clang! Clang!
Bullets hammered the barrier, unable to pierce, but each hit made the glow tremble. The man howled like a pig at slaughter, his shield thinning fast.
"Bastard! I'll tear you apart!"
He charged through the hail of fire, spear thrust straight at Li Yun's chest!
Li Yun's gaze was ice. A hint of mockery flickered in his eyes.
Shing—!
The Tang Blade sang.
CRACK!
The spear snapped like kindling.
The man froze in shock. Too slow.
A crimson arc flashed upward, severing flesh and bone alike.
Splurt!
His head soared skyward. The body collapsed with a dull thud.
[Player killed!][Talent "Heaven's Mandate Plunder" activated!][Plunder successful! Acquired Talent: C-rank – Energy Armor!]
Power surged into Li Yun's body. His breathing steadied, eyes colder than ever.
The goblins still shrieked in the hall, the stench of blood and smoke thick in the air, a scene straight from hell.
Yet Li Yun stood among it like a killing god.
"As I thought… players are worth more than monsters."
He flicked blood from the blade. His gaze shifted to the glowing blue chest beside the corpse.
The spoils of a fallen predator.
Li Yun reached out. His fingers trembled—not with fear, but with the icy hunger born of utter calm.
"Let's see what surprises the map-holder has for me."
He whispered, hand closing around the pulsing glow.