He had leveled up.
The remaining villagers froze. They stared wide-eyed, unsure what this sudden glow meant.
When the light faded, Feng Zi's wounds and exhaustion were gone. Even more terrifying, the once frail youth now carried the bulging muscles of a fighter.
His lips curled upward. His eyes flashed with lethal brilliance. His figure blurred, leaving afterimages in the air. His speed erupted to monstrous levels.
In the blink of an eye, he crushed the villagers with overwhelming violence. Screams rang, fists fell like iron, and one by one they collapsed into darkness.
Panting heavily, Feng Zi stood over the fallen...He had reached Level 2.
"These monsters give too little experience. Time to change the map." His gaze swept over the unconscious villagers without a hint of pity. He stepped over their bodies and walked out of the farm.
From the village, he scavenged food and clothing. Then he set out, determined to find stronger prey to grind.
…
West City. The largest metropolis on Earth, a beacon of prosperity far surpassing all others.
On its bustling streets, a slender young man walked. Passersby turned their heads, drawn by his striking presence.
Purple hair cropped short framed a cold, sharp face. His black eyes gleamed with cutting intensity. Yet his patched linen clothes marked him as an outsider, a villager amidst urban elites.
This youth was Feng Zi, who had followed the highway into the city. His gaze drifted across the crowds, searching.
"Such a vast map. Why are there no monsters?" he muttered under his breath, puzzled. Neither the roaring jet-cars nor the strange beast-headed people bore the red marks that denoted enemies.
Feng Zi soon discovered that aside from the flying cars darting through the streets, there were no monsters to fight at all. He looked over the bustling city crowds with disdain. Almost everyone still lingered at the novice level, not much stronger than the villagers he had left behind. In Feng Zi's mind, only strength ruled. The fist was the ultimate authority.
He wandered like a drifting soul. Yet the more he roamed, the more this world unsettled him. The settings, the maps, everything was unlike the world he had come from, overturning everything he thought he knew. Without realizing it, the environment was changing him. He was no longer just data. He was becoming human, with thoughts and feelings shaped by this reality.
A sharp scream split the air. Feng Zi's eyes flashed and he sped toward the sound. Citizens gasped as they witnessed an impossible sight. A blur of purple streaked past, faster than the cars racing through the streets. To them, such monstrous speed could only belong to something inhuman.
Feng Zi stopped before a narrow alleyway. His eyes lit up, joy rippling through them. Finally, monsters that could give him experience. In the shadows, a group of punks with dyed hair surrounded a girl weighed down with shopping bags.
Feng Zi ignored the girl's appearance. His gaze fixed instead on the glowing red names hovering above the punks' heads: Despicable Robbers. Even more enticing were the numbers beside them. The weakest was Level 6. The strongest was Level 9.
"Be good, sweetheart. Hand over all your valuables." The leader, a Level 9 thug, twirled a sharp knife in front of the girl's chest with a vicious grin.
The girl showed no fear. Calmly she set her bags on the ground, pulled a leather wallet from her coat, and handed it over without hesitation. The thug frowned, suspicious at her easy compliance.
He flipped open the wallet. His face darkened. It held countless cards, but not a single bill. "Are you playing with me?" he snarled. To him, cards were useless trash.
The girl gave a helpless shrug. "I don't usually carry cash."
The punks scowled like they had swallowed flies. Whispering among themselves, the leader finally smirked. "If you have no money, then you'll have to keep us company…"
The girl flinched back instinctively. She knew exactly what he meant.
But before the punks could act, Feng Zi appeared behind one of them like a ghost. His hand rose and chopped down on the man's neck. The thug crumpled. In Feng Zi's mind, the p rompt appeared. Experience +12.
"Ah!" The others shouted in alarm. They had fought countless street battles, but this was different. The stranger's cold smile and phantom-like movements sent shivers racing down their spines.
Before they could react, they felt an explosion of pain in their chests. Feng Zi's fists, packed with terrifying strength, hammered them mercilessly. His style was brutal, formless. His only aim was to hit.
These punks were far tougher than the villagers, hardened by years of fighting. Even after taking several blows, they refused to fall, their resilience shocking.
Snarling, they drew their hidden knives and lashed out. Feng Zi's brows furrowed. They were harder to deal with than he expected, but they were still no match for him.
He fought like a beast, fists whirling, blood splattering. Even when their blades cut his flesh, he didn't flinch. His ferocity cowed them, his power crushed their spirit.
Five minutes later, the thugs lay sprawled across the ground. Feng Zi cursed under his breath. "If there had been a few more monsters, I would have leveled up. Then all these wounds would have healed."
Spitting blood, he stomped on one thug's chest in frustration. "When you wake up, I'll beat you again."
"You're not hurt too badly, are you?" A sweet voice reached his ears. Feng Zi turned, startled. It was the girl he had unknowingly saved. Until now he had barely glanced at her, focused only on gaining experience.
Her long pale-blue hair spilled down her back. Her stylish clothes accentuated her graceful figure. Makeup touched her face lightly, yet her natural beauty and youthful glow could not be hidden.
Feng Zi nodded stiffly. He looked straight at her. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches."
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Bulma." Her eyes softened as she looked at his bleeding wounds. "You're still losing blood. You saved me. Let me take you to my house so we can treat those injuries."
"Saved you?" Feng Zi blinked in surprise. Then he realized. In his mind, he had only been fighting monsters. But at the same time, he had saved this woman called Bulma.
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