Part 1: Survivors in the Science Building
Carrying Su Wen on his back, Wang Dapao charged into the lobby of the Science Building like an out-of-control tank.
"Haa... haa... I'm dying..." Wang Dapao dumped Su Wen on the floor and collapsed onto his butt. His [Reflective Cotton T-Shirt] was soaked in sweat, clinging tightly to his trembling flab.
The interior of the Science Building was much quieter than outside, though the air was thick with the pungent smell of chemicals. Broken glass and several pools of blood were scattered across the lobby floor, signs that a battle had taken place here as well.
Su Wen leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest for a few minutes until the sensation of his brain being hollowed out subsided slightly.
"Dapao, go block the main entrance," Su Wen opened his eyes and ordered in a low voice.
"Block it with what? It's empty here."
"Over there." Su Wen pointed to two vending machines not far away.
Although exhausted, Wang Dapao obediently followed orders. After reaching Level 2, his Strength attribute had increased. Combined with the weight advantage from [Thick Fat], he managed to push the two heavy machines to the entrance, forming a makeshift barricade.
"Su Wen, look at this!" Wang Dapao suddenly shouted, pointing at one of the machines.
Su Wen walked over. The glass panel on the vending machine didn't display prices but lines of red text:
[Beginner Supply Station]
[Mineral Water: 1 Logic Point]
[Compressed Biscuits: 2 Logic Points]
[Minor Health Potion: 10 Logic Points]
[Current Stock: Plentiful]
"The currency has changed," Su Wen mused. "Old money is useless. The universal currency now is Logic Points obtained from killing monsters."
He checked his balance. Having killed two Goblins (one of which granted a First Kill bonus), he currently had 4 Logic Points.
"Buy two bottles of water." Su Wen operated the machine, deducting 2 points.
Two bottles of mineral water rolled out.
[Pure Mineral Water]
[Effect: Restores a small amount of Stamina, relieves thirst.]
Su Wen unscrewed the cap and took a sip. The cool liquid slid down his throat, revitalizing his spirit.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell, followed by a cold, sharp shout:
"Who's there?!"
Su Wen and Wang Dapao looked up simultaneously.
Standing at the corner of the second-floor stairs was a tall girl in a white lab coat. In her hand, she held a... test tube? No, blue frost swirled inside the tube; it clearly wasn't a normal chemical reagent.
The girl was beautiful, with a sharp, icy elegance. Right now, she was staring at them warily, her eyes revealing a mix of exhaustion and resolve.
Su Wen recognized her.
Lin Xi. The "Department Beauty" of the Chemistry Department at Jiang City University, also known as the Ice Queen. Rumor had it she had an incredibly high IQ but was socially withdrawn.
"We're survivors. We mean no harm." Su Wen calmly raised his hands. "I'm Su Wen from the Computer Science Department. This is Wang Dapao."
Lin Xi's gaze lingered on Su Wen for two seconds, seemingly assessing his threat level, before shifting to the vending machines blocking the door.
"You blocked the door?" She frowned. "If monsters break in, we won't even have an escape route."
"If monsters break in, running is a dead end anyway," Su Wen said indifferently. "Better to turn this place into a fortress."
Before he could finish his sentence, a barrage of heavy thuds came from outside the Science Building.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two vending machines shook violently, as if a pack of wild beasts were ramming them from the outside.
"Gah gah gah!"
Goblins. And judging by the sound, there were at least a dozen of them.
"Damn it! They smelled us!" Wang Dapao's face went pale as he gripped his dagger and stood in front of Su Wen.
Lin Xi's face turned white, and the frost in her test tube flared up. "Did you lead them here?"
"Don't panic." Su Wen pushed up his glasses. Through the gap between the vending machines, he saw a dense mass of green figures outside.
Ordinary physical defenses wouldn't hold back this many Goblins. He had to use unconventional means.
Su Wen walked to the side of the vending machine and placed his palm on its casing.
[Sturdy Vending Machine]
[Contents: Coke, Sprite, Fanta...]
These carbonated drinks were essentially pressurized liquid canisters.
A crazy curve appeared at the corner of Su Wen's mouth.
"Lin Xi, if I recall correctly, you have an Ice-type Talent, right?" Su Wen suddenly asked.
Lin Xi was taken aback. "Yes, [F-Rank Talent: Frost Touch]. I can only generate a little cold air; it has no killing power."
"That's enough." Su Wen pointed at the vending machine. "When I say go, release all your cold air into this machine."
"What are you planning?"
"Making a bomb."
Su Wen took a deep breath and activated [The Logic Editor].
This time, his target wasn't the machine itself, but the attributes of the cans inside.
His vision penetrated the metal casing, locking onto the label [Carbonated Drink].
Delete [Carbonated]. Input [Explosive].
[Warning: Batch modifying attributes. 15 Mana deducted.]
[Warning: Mana critically low!]
Su Wen's vision went black for a second, and he nearly fainted. But holding onto the last shred of consciousness, he shouted at Lin Xi:
"Now! Freeze it!"
Although confused, in this life-or-death moment, Lin Xi chose to trust this overly calm boy. She rushed forward, pressed both hands on the machine, and poured out her meager Mana.
Zzzzt—!
White frost rapidly covered the entire machine.
The Goblins outside finally smashed through the first vending machine, revealing their hideous heads. A Goblin Warrior in the lead was about to roar when he saw the frost-covered machine in front of him suddenly glow with an intense red light.
Under the stimulation of extreme cold, the gas pressure inside the [Explosive Drinks] instantly breached physical limits, triggering a violent chemical reaction.
Thermal expansion and contraction? No, this was a logic collapse.
"Get down!" Su Wen grabbed Wang Dapao and Lin Xi's heads and tackled them to the ground.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion shook the sky.
The vending machine detonated like a high-explosive grenade. Countless metal shards, wrapped in blue frost and red flames, formed a devastating shockwave that instantly swallowed the Goblin horde at the door.
Part 2: A Waltz of Ice and Fire
The aftershock of the explosion shattered every glass window in the Science Building's lobby.
As the smoke cleared, the entrance had turned into a slaughterhouse.
A dozen Goblins had been blown to pieces, their severed limbs scattered everywhere. Even more eerie was that half of the charred remains were burnt black, while the other half were covered in thick frost.
[Killed Goblin Warrior (Lv. 4)]
[Killed Goblin Warrior (Lv. 3) x5]
[Killed Goblin Scout (Lv. 2) x8]
[Experience Gained: 320]
[Logic Points Gained: 45]
A golden light enveloped Su Wen.
[Congratulations Player Su Wen, leveled up to Lv. 2]
[All Attributes +1]
[Free Attribute Points Gained: 2]
[Spirit Cap increased to 20. Current Status: Fully Restored]
The warmth of leveling up instantly dispelled the agonizing pain and exhaustion in Su Wen's brain. He stood up and dusted himself off.
"Did... did my Talent cause this?" Lin Xi stared blankly at the carnage before her, looking at her hands in disbelief. She had only released a bit of cold air!
"Not entirely." Su Wen walked over and picked up a green orb that had dropped on the ground. "This is called an elemental reaction. Although the physical rules of this world have changed, some basic logic still applies."
Actually, Su Wen was purely bullshitting. It was because he had changed the drinks into explosives, and Lin Xi's frost talent acted as the fuse, adding freezing damage to the explosion.
Su Wen handed the green orb to Lin Xi.
"This is your loot."
[Skill Book: Frost Nova (Green)]
[Effect: Releases a ring of ice centered on the user, freezing enemies within 5 meters for 2 seconds and dealing Frost damage.]
Lin Xi took the skill book, looking at Su Wen with complex eyes. "Why help me? This is valuable."
In this apocalypse, the value of an AoE crowd-control skill was immeasurable. Su Wen could have easily kept it for himself.
"Because I need teammates." Su Wen looked her straight in the eye. "A tank (he pointed to Wang Dapao, who was still playing dead on the floor), a control mage (he pointed to Lin Xi), and me... the tactical commander."
"What exactly is your Talent?" Lin Xi couldn't help but ask.
"Just think of me as a programmer," Su Wen shrugged. "I specialize in fixing bugs in this world."
At this moment, Wang Dapao finally scrambled up, drooling over the loot scattered on the ground.
"Holy crap! We're rich! Su Wen, look, there's a blue one!"
Wang Dapao dug out a ring emitting a ghostly blue glow from a pile of minced meat.
[Goblin Warrior's Bloodthirst Ring (Blue)]
[Strength +3]
[Effect: Attacks have a 10% chance to steal Health equivalent to 20% of damage dealt.]
Top tier!
In the early game, lifesteal attributes were practically a perpetual motion machine.
"Dapao, it's yours," Su Wen distributed it without hesitation.
"Huh? But this is blue gear!" Although Wang Dapao wanted it, he felt unworthy.
"You're the frontline. We can only deal damage if you're alive." Su Wen dumped all 2 Free Attribute Points into [Spirit], bringing his Spirit to a staggering 23.
"Lin Xi, are you joining us?" Su Wen turned to ask.
Lin Xi was silent for a moment, clutching the skill book tightly, then nodded. "I'll join. But I have a condition."
"Speak."
"I need to go to the laboratory on the top floor to get something. My mentor left some... special samples there." A trace of worry flashed in Lin Xi's eyes.
"Special samples?" Su Wen raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Before the cataclysm, my mentor was researching an unknown virus extracted from a meteorite. I suspect... that thing might be related to this disaster."
Su Wen's heart skipped a beat.
Meteorite? Virus?
It seemed the backstory of this "game" was more complex than he imagined.
"Deal." Su Wen pushed up his glasses. "Perfect. I also want to see what kind of affixes these so-called 'special samples' will display in my Logic Editor."
The three-person squad was officially formed.
Just then, the Science Building's PA system suddenly turned on automatically. After a burst of harsh static, a raspy, crazed human voice spoke:
"Zzz... zzz... Dear students... Welcome to... the Evolution Paradise..." "If you can hear this broadcast... please come to the top floor... I have prepared... a gift for you... Hehehe..."
Lin Xi's face changed drastically. "That's my mentor's voice! But he... sounds insane."
Su Wen looked up at the ceiling, his gaze seemingly piercing through the floors.
"It looks like the BOSS of this first dungeon is already waiting for us."