"Tier One Infection Crystal?"
Chen Gang learned the name of the gray crystal from Yin Yao's mouth.
"Is it very precious?"
Chen Gang asked with confusion.
"..."
Yin Yao's face darkened.
"Senior?"
"Why do you look so unwell?"
Chen Gang continued to ask.
Crack—
Yin Yao couldn't help but clench her fists once again.
"Where did you get this?"
Yin Yao almost ground her teeth as she asked.
Upon hearing this, Chen Gang was somewhat puzzled. Hadn't he already explained?
But out of respect, and a slight fear of Yin Yao's identity, Chen Gang honestly replied:
"Well... someone handed it to me..."
"I just logged in not long ago..."
"Then... as soon as I logged in, some big guys walked towards me. I thought they were going to mess with me, but instead..."
"They just stuffed this thing into my hand, saying it was a welfare from the New City Lord, telling me to remember the Lord's kindness, and shouted 'Loyalty!'..."
The more Chen Gang spoke, the darker Yin Yao's face became.
In the end.
Chen Gang's voice became as faint as a mosquito, like a child who had made a mistake.
Yin Yao's fists cracked as she tried to calm her emotions, her gaze moving away from Chen Gang.
Soon.
From the mouths of people passing by, she overheard—
Half an hour ago, the New City Lord distributed welfare, giving each of the thousand refugees in the city a piece of Tier One Infection Crystal!
The number of refugees obviously far exceeded a thousand, and who received them was said to be completely random.
And Yin Yao...
Due to going out of the city to hunt Mutant Beasts, she happened to perfectly miss it!
Huff—
Yin Yao kept inhaling and exhaling, her chest rising and falling.
As a dignified lady of the Yin Family and also a Reincarnator, she inexplicably felt a bit aggrieved right now!
If staying in the city would have allowed her to collect the crystal for free, then why did she go out with bodyguards, going to such lengths, enduring so much hardship, and suffering many injuries?
Thinking of this.
Yin Yao inexplicably felt her nose sour and a bit itchy.
"Uh, Senior..."
"You haven't told me what this thing does yet..."
Yin Yao turned around and walked away, towards a dim alley.
Chen Gang, watching her distant back, suddenly felt a bit anxious.
But...
He dared not really provoke this important person, only calling out softly twice.
And it was just these two calls.
That made Yin Yao, who had already walked far, stumble and clench her fists even tighter!
...
...
An hour later.
Yin Yao successfully absorbed the 'Tier One Infection Crystal.'
Although her Tier was not promoted, all her attributes and her 'Sandstorm' ability improved significantly.
"Just a few more Tier One Crystals, and I can advance to Tier Two!"
Yin Yao clenched her fists, cheering herself on.
On both sides of the alley.
Ye Fan and the other three appeared here once again.
The benefit of beta testing was that even if you died, you could restart on the spot.
Their refresh points were all in the Buffer Zone of Dawn City, not far from Dawn City, so they quickly returned after restarting, continuing to act as Yin Yao's bodyguards.
Meanwhile.
After hearing the news of 'New City Lord distributing crystals,' the four's expressions turned as dark as the soles of shoes.
"Ah—"
"Oow—!"
From the alley next door.
A series of heart-wrenching, ghostly howls and screams reverberated.
"Ah, damn—"
"They all told me this thing could evolve you, but no one mentioned how painful the process would be—"
"It's killing me, damn—!"
The owner of the screams was none other than Chen Gang.
After learning the use of the Infection Crystal from other refugees in Dawn City, he was overjoyed and immediately found a deserted place to 'evolve.'
The result was...
Now the whole person was rolling on the ground in pain, convulsing repeatedly!
"Hmph—"
Yin Yao snorted as she watched.
Although the awakening probability of a Tier One Infection Crystal was much higher than that of a Pollution Crystal, the pain during the process was still not reduced.
To truly achieve 'painless awakening,' it would require using Tier Two or higher pure Energy Crystal!
Of course.
If the Tier One Infection Crystal awakens successfully, the advantage compared to using a Pollution Crystal was that it could directly activate an attribute.
"Seems like he's going to fail?"
Ye Fan looked at the convulsing Chen Gang in the alley, then at Yin Yao.
Yin Yao said nothing.
Half an hour later.
Chen Gang lay on the ground, silent.
"Death and restart?"
Ye Fan asked curiously.
"No, he successfully awakened."
Yin Yao's tone was complex, her expression inexplicable.
"..."
Ye Fan and the other three exchanged a glance, falling into silence.
In principle, if a 'familiar' of the Miss awakens, their subsequent outings to hunt Mutant Beasts would be smoother.
But emotionally...
It's really heartbreaking!
They had dug crystals day and night for two or three days to help Yin Yao awaken.
Just now, to get an Infection Crystal, they even risked their lives!
Though beta testing allowed for deletion and restart, the feeling of death was still incredibly painful and real!
"I wonder what attribute he can activate..."
Ye Fan and the others at this moment knew the importance of attributes, watching Chen Gang on the ground, observing carefully.
After a few minutes.
Sizzle—
Sizzle sizzle—!
Weak electric currents lingered around Chen Gang.
"Hiss—"
Ye Fan sucked in air.
"Thunder Attribute?"
Yin Yao's beautiful eyes also narrowed slightly.
But soon, she shook her head: "It's not pure Thunder Attribute, more like 'Electric Current' Attribute."
'Thunder' and 'Electric Current,' though they seem close, are actually worlds apart!
The former is one of the top offensive attributes in the Wasteland, the latter...
Though not weak, it certainly isn't very strong either.
After a few more minutes.
The electric current disappeared.
Chen Gang muddily climbed up from the ground.
He looked down at his hands.
Sizzle sizzle—
Electrical currents frolicking at his fingertips, tingling slightly.
"Hahaha!"
Chen Gang laughed heartily.
"I succeeded!"
"I am the God of Thunder and Lightning from Ancient Greece!"
The appearance of Superpower made Chen Gang excited beyond measure, even shouting a bit geekily.
But...
In the next moment.
Boom—!
Rumble—!
A ground-shaking loud noise echoed throughout Dawn Sanctuary City!
"That is..."
Yin Yao, Ye Fan, and even the still excited Chen Gang all froze, subconsciously looking towards the sound.
With just one glance.
They all became baffled!
That was...
The central area of Dawn City.
A dark purple lightning pillar, dozens of meters wide, descended!
Crash—
Meanwhile.
An indescribable terror pressure swept down from the lightning pillar, enveloping Dawn City in an instant!
Thud—!
Under this pressure.
Yin Yao's knees uncontrollably hit the ground.
Of course, it wasn't just Yin Yao.
Through the entirety of inside and outside Dawn City, tens of thousands of inhabitants all kneeled like wheat.
"New City Lord..."
"Loyalty!"
"Dawn City..."
"Loyalty!"
Tens of thousands of citizens called in unison.
In this perilous Wasteland World, the stronger the City Lord of the Refuge City, the safer the citizens within the city and refugees in the buffer zone!
In the alley.
Chen Gang, also kneeling, looked at the weak electric current flickering around his hands, feeling a bit pained.
"Damn!"
"Ran into a real Thunder God..."