"Better to stay here, join a faction, and serve as their doctors and nurses."
"Street brawls became more and more frequent. On top of that, many Enhanced People, and even Awakeners, were returning from the front lines and had entered Jin City, trying to establish their own rule."
"So for a while, friction between the major factions intensified, and food grew scarcer by the day as the leaders squandered it."
"Zhang Xuan wanted to stay. He knew his position would soon become very awkward—he would be worthless back in the safe zone. And my grandfather, seeing my aunt’s condition, would never have allowed them to stay together."
"So, I convinced them we should leave the Jin City District first to avoid getting caught up in gang wars."
"But on the very night we planned to escape, as we opened our door and went downstairs..."
"Zhang Xuan appeared below with a group of gang members. He ’invited’ us to go with them."
"Coerced by those thugs, I became their enforcer, while my mom and aunt provided medical treatment."
"And for this ’service,’ Zhang Xuan successfully became one of the leaders of this several-hundred-person faction, and a trusted subordinate of their boss, who was an Awakener."
"The situation was terrible, but at least food wasn’t a major issue. The Awakener leader even took us to places where Red-Armored Beetles roamed so we could kill them and get a chance to advance."
"I thought things would be fine if they just continued like that, but then everything suddenly changed..."
"It was all because of that treacherous bastard Zhang Xuan, that animal who betrayed his own."
"As I grew stronger, I earned the leader’s trust, and he began to see Zhang Xuan for who he truly was. Feeling threatened, Zhang Xuan started colluding with our rival faction—a gang of escaped convicts..."
"There were no Awakeners among them, but every single one was ruthless, a vicious and desperate criminal."
"With Zhang Xuan as their inside man, the convicts quickly found an opportunity to ambush and kill our leader. I barely managed to escape... and that’s when the real tragedy began."
"They had no plan whatsoever. Everyone was just indulging their darkest impulses and desires, and the whole camp quickly devolved into a living Hell..."
"By the time my wounds healed and I snuck back into the camp, my grandparents had been killed—they claimed it was for wasting food. My mother was covered in festering wounds, barely breathing, unable to even stand..."
"At her desperate plea... I ended her suffering with my own hands."
"Later, I killed Zhang Xuan. Then I took my aunt, who was out of her mind, and fled. We’ve been barely surviving in the towns and suburbs North of the River ever since."
After a moment of silence, Liu Yueqi, trembling, fought back her tears. She took a deep breath, sniffled, and tried her best to compose herself. Looking at Lin Feng’s grave expression, she continued.
"Here, I found some small survivor settlements. They were all former villagers. Since they could harvest rice from the fields and pick vegetables, they weren’t short on food for the time being, so things were relatively peaceful."
"During that time, to prepare for when those convicts came after me, I kept traveling to other cities in the far north to kill stray Red-Armored Beetles on the fringes of Zerg Race territory."
"Once I became a Late-Stage Enhanced Person and had already grasped my Superpower, I got lucky and killed an injured Black Spine Zerg. That triggered my Awakening, and I evolved, advancing to a Tier One Awakener..."
As she spoke, Liu Yueqi placed her right hand on the hilt of the saber at her left hip. Concentrating, she then swung, unleashing a flash of red and silver light at a terrifying speed of nearly one hundred meters per second.
A glint of gold flashed from the saber’s tip, cutting through the air and stirring up a gust of wind.
Only thanks to his Tier Two Peak strength could Lin Feng clearly see her instantaneous draw and slash.
And now, as Liu Yueqi displayed her Superpower, a more detailed Identification appeared before his eyes:
「Liu Yueqi, LV 11/19」
「Life Value: 70, Physique: 70, Spirit: 70」
「Superpower Awakening—Molecular Cut」
「Molecular Cut: By concentrating the body’s Energy into a single point, the resulting power can sever intramolecular bonds, ignoring the defensive structures of all complex, biological lifeforms.」
「Note: This Superpower can fuse with objects the user touches, adhering to a weapon’s surface to increase its sharpness. This method also causes the weapon to consume double Durability. Use with caution!」
Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. He could sense the Superpower’s extraordinariness from its two-word name alone.
The detailed description confirmed it.
A power that could sever molecular structures would undoubtedly ignore any defense below Tier Four.
Even the rock-solid Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandible was made of biomolecules, just with added metal atoms to enhance its structural strength and hardness.
And according to the Identification, when Liu Yueqi’s Superpower was infused into a weapon, it could easily sever the tough Giant Mandible of a Tiger Spine Zerg!
Lin Feng had originally planned to let Liu Yueqi decide for herself whether to stay or go, but his opinion was gradually changing.
’If I let someone with such a special and high-potential Superpower just walk away, I’d be kicking myself for it later.’
The Identification then produced a result for the reddish Long Saber in Liu Yueqi’s hand:
「Thousand Slash Saber, LV 10/19, Red Quality」
「Durability: 7, Damage: 100, Status: Defect」
「Extra Attributes: Thousand Slash Stacked Saber, Sword Qi Cultivation」
「Thousand Slash Stacked Saber: 11451/400 (Each swing can store 1 point of Damage. The next attack will unleash a secondary, doubled Critical Strike for up to 400 Damage.)
Sword Qi Cultivation: When not in use, infusing the blade with the wielder’s Superpower can restore a certain amount of Durability.」
「Evaluation: This is a Legendary Knife, born from its user’s diligence and fearless courage. Unsheathe your blade! Strike at the unbeatable. Slay your target and receive Upgrade Points.」
「Note: Due to long-term infusion of external Energy, this weapon’s quality has been upgraded from White to Red.」
To see that the Level 4 Thousand Slash Saber he had once upgraded had, through Liu Yueqi’s constant use, grown into a rare, Red Quality Treasure Saber...
Lin Feng was deeply moved.
Before he’d found the Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword, he too had wanted to obtain a superior Close Combat Weapon through continuous Upgrades.
Unfortunately, humanity’s fundamental materials science wasn’t advanced enough to forge a single-material melee weapon of Orange Quality.
There were many cases of white-quality Alloy Long Sabers failing their Upgrades to Red Quality; their blades couldn’t withstand the higher-intensity modifications and would simply shatter.
The same happened even when infused with Zerg Race materials.
Upgrading a simple melee weapon to a higher tier required a much greater price.
It wasn’t until Ding Chenghai developed the Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword, creating an Orange Quality weapon right off the bat, that Lin Feng found an alternative solution.
Its Orange Quality rating came from the Rapid Cutting effect produced by its motor, so it wasn’t a pure melee weapon, but it was more than enough to deal with attacking Tiger Spine Zergs.
But this Thousand Slash Saber, infused with Liu Yueqi’s Molecular Cutting Superpower, was a true melee weapon.
Paired with Liu Yueqi’s Superpower, its potential was not to be underestimated!
Though Lin Feng was greatly tempted, he kept his expression calm and replied nonchalantly:
"That group you mentioned—every last one of them has been... cleaned up by my subordinates. They received the punishment they deserved. Inside the Jin City Biological Research Institute, they’ve been reduced to living piles of flesh, making one final contribution to humanity’s survival..."
"You don’t have to worry about any so-called revenge anymore."
Liu Yueqi nodded, her brow furrowing.
"I know. Over the past half-month, Miss Han dispatched a large number of Awakeners to sweep through the entire Jin City District. But many gangs couldn’t hold on and fled to the suburbs on the outskirts of Jin City, where they’re now lying low, just trying to survive."
Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed.
"Then do you know about a group that ran to the towns over here, North of the River?"
"They’re a bunch of charlatans. Their three leaders are a fake monk, a real Daoist, and a blind fortune-teller."
Hearing Lin Feng’s description, Liu Yueqi’s expression changed. She spat out her words with hatred.
"It’s them!"
"Those people have only been here for a few days, and they’ve already thrown the peaceful life North of the River into chaos!"
Lin Feng sharply perceived something.
"Did they take Liu Ruojiao?"
Liu Yueqi sheathed her Thousand Slash Saber and nodded helplessly.
"Their powers are terrifying! Survivors with low Spiritual Power or even slightly weak Willpower are deluded and deceived by them, becoming so-called ’doomsday disciples’..."
"It’s just like the pyramid schemes of the old world..."
The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth curved up slightly.
"Perfect. I came here myself this time not only to find you, but also to see if this ’doomsday judgment’ and ’prophesied one’ these charlatans are spouting is all just smoke and mirrors, or if there’s actually something to it!"
Lin Feng then slowly rose to his feet and looked at the young woman.
"Let’s go. Take me to them!"