Negut walked through the thick fog, feeling as though he had already lost his way.
The mist was too dense, and combined with the constantly falling snow, the ground was buried beneath a layer more than fifteen centimeters deep.
Even so, his body ached, especially his feet.
He was wearing only a thin set of clothes, completely barefoot. Even with a physique now three times stronger than the peak condition of a human, enduring this terrifying cold for long was nearly impossible.
Gruu!!
"Hm?!" Negut immediately stiffened at the sound, his eyes snapping toward its source.
The fog was so dense that even with his enhanced vision, three times that of a normal human, his line of sight was still limited to a radius of ten meters.
"A dog?!" Negut spotted the small shadow in the distance and made a guess, but he didn't dare underestimate it.
In the Ice Age Apocalypse, animals mutated into monstrous predators, far more savage and deadly than before.
Negut frowned. Although he was far stronger than before, he didn't want to take unnecessary risks and immediately turned toward another direction.
Gruu!
Gruu!
Graa!
Seeing three dark shapes emerging ahead, each roughly similar in size to a dog, Negut's expression turned cold.
'Damn it!' he cursed internally. 'Am I truly this unlucky?'
At home, he was deceived and killed. He revived thanks to the System and took revenge, only to be mistaken as a Mutated Human by the military and slandered by Alex.
Now, barely a hundred meters from his apartment, he was surrounded by monsters again.
Was he such an atrocious bastard in his previous life, violating a mother pig, pushing an old woman off a mountain, beating pregnant women, that he had earned this level of misfortune now?
Negut glanced at the three shadows before him, then at the distant one behind him. He bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and then…
BAM!
His body erupted with full power, foot stomping into the ground so hard that the snow beneath him exploded outward in a spray.
Negut launched himself toward the distant mutated dog, moving like a fired cannonball.
In just one second, he covered seven meters. Now he could clearly see the creature.
It was only a tiny Pomeranian, about thirty centimeters tall, but its body was covered in patches of gray crystalline growths, like icy scales.
Its head showed severe necrosis, bits of skull exposed, and its two eyeballs emitted an eerie green light.
GAOO!!
The dog snarled the moment it saw Negut, jaw stretching wide as it pounced at him.
Negut was ready. He hurled the snowball in his hand at its face.
Smash!
Graa!
The dog couldn't dodge. The snowball struck directly into its face and then…
BANG!!!
Crack!
Negut's foot swung in a vicious arc, smashing into the dog's neck. The blow was so powerful that the already decayed neck tore apart violently.
Thud!
Its head and body fell onto the snow separately. The body twitched once, then went completely still.
Negut didn't dare stop. He stomped hard on the ground again.
BAM!
Snow erupted around him, forming a temporary cloud of white powder.
The three chasing dogs halted abruptly, looking around to locate him by scent.
"I'm right here!" Negut appeared in front of one of them, a ferocious grin on his face.
Graoo!
The dog jolted in surprise, jumping backward. It was a labrador, only slightly larger than the Pomeranian from before.
Negut sneered coldly and threw something at the creature.
Bam!
The object struck the dog's body, forcing it to stumble backward. Negut took advantage of the increased distance and lunged toward the other two dogs.
They instinctively retreated, but Negut was faster.
BANG!
He swung his leg, kicking one dog in the head. The kick was powerful, but he struck its forehead, its skull was tough, reinforced by the layer of gray crystal coating its exterior, absorbing most of the impact.
"Tsk! Damn it!" Negut clicked his tongue.
Graoo!!
At that moment, the other dog leapt at him, jaws wide open. Inside its mouth, there was no tongue, only rows of jagged fangs.
Negut gritted his teeth and swung his hand forward, clamping its jaws shut with perfect precision.
"You filthy beast!" he roared, grabbing its neck with his other hand and pulling violently.
Smash!
With that brutal tug, Negut tore the dog's head clean off its body, a length of spine dangling behind it.
GAOO!!!
"Ack!" Negut cried out in pain.
He quickly looked down and saw the other dog clamped onto his thigh.
Without hesitation, he swung his fist downward.
BAM!
The punch carried nearly all his strength, cracking the dog's skull, yet it refused to release his leg.
Graoo!!
"AGH!!" Negut clenched his teeth so hard the veins on his neck swelled. Pain and fury twisted his face.
The remaining dog had already leaped onto his back, biting deep into his shoulder.
"Damn it!" Negut snarled.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
He hammered three blows into the neck of the dog clamped onto his thigh, tearing its neck apart and dislocating its jaw, sending it collapsing onto the snow, limbs twitching violently.
Negut reached back, grabbed the dog biting his shoulder, and hurled it to the ground.
Thud!
A heavy, sickening impact echoed.
But Negut didn't stop. He immediately raised his foot and stomped down on its head.
BAM!
Its head burst like a smashed melon, spraying green fluid mixed with pale white slime in all directions.
"Ha… ha… ha…" Negut panted heavily.
He scanned his surroundings, and seeing no further danger, slumped onto the snow-covered ground.
He looked at the bite wounds on his thigh and shoulder, fresh blood seeping nonstop. Anger and anxiety churned in his chest.
"Damn it! Am I going to turn into a zombie?" Negut muttered.
He didn't know how zombies were created or how infection spread, but in every movie, even the smallest scratch meant certain transformation.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang out inside his mind.
[Ding! Severely damaged biological entities detected. Would you like to recycle them?]
Negut was startled. Above the corpses of the dogs he had just killed, he saw red arrows hovering in the air, visible only to him.
He frowned and asked, "If I recycle them, what will I get? Can it help me recover my wounds?"
[Ding! Recycling damaged biological entities or special items will grant you the corresponding amount of Repair Points.
You may use Repair Points to repair anything, including your wounds or even the dead.]
Hearing this, Negut brightened immediately and said, "Then recycle them all."
[Ding! Please stand within five meters of the target to begin recycling.]
Negut forced himself to stand and moved closer to the corpses.
[Ding! Beginning recycling.]
The dog's body on the ground quickly turned gray, cracks appearing across its surface before it crumbled into ash. The wind blew the ashes away, scattering them into the air.
[Ding! Recycling successful. You have obtained 3 Repair Points.]
Negut frowned in frustration. "Three points? I almost died fighting it, and I only get three Repair Points?"
[Ding! The Recycling System is completely fair. That dog was merely a low-grade mutated monster. It did not even generate an Energy Crystal, so it cannot be exchanged for many Repair Points.]
Negut sighed and continued recycling the remaining three corpses.
In the end, he obtained a total of 12 Repair Points.
"System, can 12 points repair my wounds?"
[Ding! 12 Repair Points can only stop the bleeding and prevent the mutational toxin from spreading further. You may survive for three days.]
"Tsk!" Negut clenched his teeth, but he had no other choice. Finally, he accepted. "Fine! Use the 12 Repair Points."
[Ding! Repair successful. Your current Repair Points: 0.]
Negut watched his wounds scab over, the pain fading away. But he knew it was only temporary.
In three days, the mutational toxin would activate.
In seven days, his own lifespan would run out.
Simply put, if he didn't quickly find more Repair Points, he would definitely die.
"System, aside from recycling monster corpses, is there any other way to earn Repair Points?"
[Ding! You may earn Repair Points through the following methods:
Recycle monster corpses or energy-containing items to obtain Repair Points. Repair other living beings to acquire allies. Creatures repaired by you will possess a certain degree of loyalty. Each day, these repaired creatures will provide a set amount of Repair Points.
Note: This method is limited to creatures with developmental potential permitted by the System to aid the Host in surviving the apocalypse.
Recycle energy.
Whenever something recyclable is detected, the System will notify you. The Host may survive the apocalypse with peace of mind.]
Negut let out a long breath. Even though everything around him was buried in snow, he felt as if he could see a faint ray of hope.
He frowned and asked, "System, I still have items from the Newbie Gift Pack that I haven't used yet, right?"
[Ding! You still have: 1 Random Free Repair Card; 1 Random Talent Awakening Card.]
Negut decided not to use the free repair card yet, he would save it for when he truly needed it.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Use the Random Talent Awakening Card."
[Ding! Activating Random Talent Awakening Card.]
[Ding! Random Talent Awakening successful. You have acquired Rank C Talent – Armament Hardening.]