Ever since the two groups had their standoff at the entrance, Liu Yueqi had been utterly disdainful of Zhang Xuan's actions.
How could her aunt marry a man like this? Thankfully, they had only recently gotten engaged and weren't officially married yet.
Now that the apocalypse had begun, Zhang Xuan was bound to gradually reveal his true nature. When that happened, she would tear off his hypocritical mask in front of everyone.
Watching Zhang Xuan be the first to scramble onto the rooftop, completely ignoring her aunt behind him, Liu Yueqi gripped her bent long saber, wishing she could just go up and stab him to death.
And once on the rooftop, Zhang Xuan walked directly toward his engineering colleagues who were debugging the communication equipment, not giving a damn about his fiancée, Liu Ruojiao, who was still behind him.
As Liu Yueqi helped her aunt climb onto the rooftop, she noticed the situation and couldn't help but mock,
"Your wonderful fiancé is in a hurry to make a run for it. Does he even see you as his fiancée anymore? You should have seen it. The way he was introducing that 'Senior Sister Chen' or whatever... The look in his eyes... tsk tsk, it was like he wanted to…"
The fair-skinned, beautiful, yet timid Liu Ruojiao trembled at her niece's words and quickly cut her off.
"What nonsense are you spouting! Your uncle-to-be is completely devoted to me. He's in a hurry to find the engineering professors to help everyone, to confirm when the rescue will arrive…"
"Hurry up and get on, I'll pull you."
Liu Yueqi rolled her eyes at her. A woman blinded by love was truly a lost cause.
Just then, two more women came up from behind them. They were the two that guy named Lin Feng had brought along.
Liu Yueqi looked at the equipment in their hands. The red and silver shield was far more refined than her own Crimson Back Armor, and the sharp long saber in Chen Yanyan's hands made Liu Yueqi's eyes light up.
These things must have been given to them by Lin Feng.
At this thought, Liu Yueqi's eyes focused. A plan instantly formed in her mind. She immediately shouted back the men on either side and strode forward enthusiastically.
"Ladies first! Here, you're Senior Sister Chen, right?"
"Let me help you up!"
"It's fine, I'm strong!"
As she spoke, Liu Yueqi even flexed her arm, showing off her biceps to the two women.
Now at Level 4, her Physique had reached 18 points, second only to Lin Feng. Her arm strength was naturally far greater than that of those cowardly professors and students.
Chen Yanyan nodded, and together with the girl, they hoisted Zhang Yurou up.
After the woman was on the rooftop, Liu Yueqi stared at her own five fingers, clenching them in the air. A look of shock crossed her face as she muttered to herself,
"So bouncy. How is it like a rubber ball?"
Chen Yanyan cleared her throat lightly. Liu Yueqi snapped back to reality and continued to enthusiastically hoist Senior Sister Chen onto the rooftop.
After helping the two women up, Liu Yueqi dusted off her hands, picked up her beloved but bent long saber, and walked out from the crowd to stand behind Lin Feng.
"Hey, you broke my saber, so you have to take responsibility!"
She said, holding out her hand.
"Compensate me with a new one!"
Lin Feng turned his head to look at the high school girl. Liu Yueqi had a natural, youthful vivacity that, combined with her large eyes, made her seem full of energy.
It was a different feeling from Sister-in-law Yurou and Chen Yanyan. They had hints of it, but their auras were dominated by the maturity gained from life experience and navigating society, like refined young women.
But Liu Yueqi radiated genuine youth. At seventeen or eighteen, she was in the prime of her life.
With the capital of youth, even without makeup, the plump texture of her skin was naturally better than that of the older women.
Meeting her reminded Lin Feng of the most popular girl in his class, whom he'd had a secret crush on back in middle school. It was a pity he was too busy with his studies back then. Looking back now, it all felt like a dream.
At this moment, the warm current inside Lin Feng's body gradually dissipated. He had successfully advanced to Level 6.
「Lin Feng, lv6/9」
「Life Value 35, Physique 30, Spirit 31」
There wasn't a huge change, but his Physique and Spirit were now nearly double that of the Level 4 girl before him.
Lin Feng had seen her help hoist Sister-in-law Yurou onto the balcony earlier, so his impression of her had improved slightly. He offered a word of advice.
"The Swarm will reach the tenth floor in ten minutes."
"Aren't you leaving? They've almost all gone."
"Your saber is already bent. It's a piece of industrial garbage. You can find tons of them online for a hundred-something yuan…"
Liu Yueqi snorted, raising the bent long saber in her hand to introduce it.
"This is my treasure. I sharpened it myself. It's perfect for killing giant bugs, one slice at a time. Incredibly satisfying to use."
"Either you fix it, or you compensate me with a new one."
"I was counting on it to keep killing bugs and get stronger…"
A look of doubt appeared in Lin Feng's eyes. He waved his hand.
"Come here and let me see it."
Liu Yueqi walked over and handed him the bent long saber.
Lin Feng hadn't looked at it closely when he'd first bent it. Now, holding it in his hand, the data from its Identification immediately appeared:
「Standard Long Saber lv1/9, White Quality」
「Upgrade Points: 72/10, Damage 5, State: Severely Damaged」
「Evaluation: This is an exquisitely crafted decorative knife that has been sharpened into a deadly Close Combat Weapon. Gain Upgrade Points by striking targets.」
「Note: Upgrading will automatically repair its State.」
Seeing the Evaluation, Lin Feng was flabbergasted. He never expected that this Standard Long Saber, with its slightly curved blade, could have such high Basic Damage at Level 1—even a point higher than his own long saber at the same level.
No wonder Liu Yueqi was able to kill so many Red-Armored Beetles with it, averaging six or seven strikes per kill.
Its innate quality was excellent. Lin Feng immediately decided to Upgrade it; he had plenty of Upgrade Points to spare.
Watching her precious treasure magically restore itself to its original state in the man's hands, Liu Yueqi's eyes went wide, her mouth agape enough to fit an egg. Her face was a picture of utter shock.
Not only that, but a cold glint flashed from the restored blade, making it seem even sharper.
Lin Feng gripped the upgraded saber. This thing upgraded much faster than the pistol, likely due to its simple structure. At Level 2, the Long Saber's Damage reached 10 points, as expected. After converting the remaining Evolution Points, he had 31 left, enough to continue upgrading it.
He held the saber in his hand, unable to put it down.
"Does this saber have a name?"
Seeing Lin Feng's expression, Liu Yueqi became wary. She nodded with a hint of worry.
"It's called Thousand Slash… the Thousand Slash Saber…"
Lin Feng gently caressed the flowing cloud pattern from the quenching process on the blade. Now at Level 3, the Thousand Slash Saber had a Damage of 15, with 14 Evolution Points remaining.
So he upgraded it again.
"Good name! Thousand Slash. Then let's use it to slay a thousand giant bugs."
As he spoke, Red-Armored Beetles were already crawling up the stairs, visible through the gap in the doorway. While admiring the gorgeous blade, Lin Feng raised his gun and fired, each shot a headshot.
The early morning sun had now risen, its light streaming through the corridor windows and falling upon Lin Feng and the Thousand Slash Saber. The Red Silver Shield Armor and the edge of the Thousand Slash Saber reflected the light, appearing as if they were forged as one.
Level 4 Upgrade complete!
「Thousand Slash Saber lv4/9, White Quality」
「Upgrade Points 4/10, Damage 20, State: Good」
「Extra Attributes: Thousand Slash Stacked Saber, 0/100 (Each swing can store 1 point of Damage)」
「Evaluation: This is a Legendary Knife, born from its user's diligence and Fearless courage. Unsheathe your blade! Strike down the undefeatable. Gain Upgrade Points by striking targets.」
After reading the data while fending off the Red-Armored Beetles,
even Lin Feng couldn't help but marvel at the insane Attributes of the Level 4 Thousand Slash Saber.
Thousand Slash Stacked Saber, the ability to continuously accumulate Damage, was just too overpowered. How was this any different from a cheat?
Although a hundred points of Damage wasn't too high at the moment—about five shots from his Legendary Pistol—this was only Level 4. Following the upgrade pattern of Extra Attributes, it was entirely possible for it to stack into the thousands or even tens of thousands later on.
At that point, a single strike would be comparable to a Nuclear Bomb!
However, considering it was a Close Combat Weapon, requiring the user to swing it at enemies far stronger than themselves, the risk was balanced by the reward. In that light, obtaining this Attribute Ability seemed reasonable.
"Th-that…"
"It's fixed, so… can, can you give it back to me?"
Liu Yueqi hid behind Lin Feng, partly because of the giant bugs squeezing through the door crack, and partly because she could see that her Thousand Slash Saber was no longer the same as before.
In Lin Feng's hands, it had transformed into a Divine Saber, radiating a cold light.
The covetous look on Lin Feng's face, like a connoisseur who'd found a treasure, set off alarm bells in Liu Yueqi's mind. This was a treasure she had used for seven or eight years; her attachment to it was deep.
If he decided to just take it and not give it back, there would be nothing she could do but cry in secret, filled with a lifetime of regret.
Fortunately, Lin Feng only held it long enough to swing at a bug that had slipped past, cleaving it in half.
Seeing the single point of accumulated Damage, Lin Feng smiled. He glanced at the high school girl staring at him with puppy-dog eyes, then handed the Thousand Slash Saber back to her.
"Be more careful with it from now on…"
"Swords have no eyes. Don't point it at people."
After speaking, he turned to face the distant main door. Several Giant Red Beetles were working together, their massive pincers smashing the door hinges.
BANG!
As the door crashed down with a deafening roar, the true Swarm crisis had finally arrived.
Countless Red-Armored Beetles, stacked layer upon layer, squeezed together. Smelling the scent of food, they charged madly toward the humans before them!
And at this critical moment, the Legendary Pistol in Lin Feng's hand finally completed its crucial upgrade from Level 6 to Level 7!