In Trouble

Pang Ren may appear timid and sneaky on the surface, but deep down, he possesses a fierce determination. In crucial moments, he can muster courage that goes beyond the ordinary. It's truly remarkable because anyone would need time to adjust. Living a peaceful life and suddenly encountering murderous monsters can be overwhelming. Even the bravest individuals might panic and fear initially. There are very few who would dare to confront these monsters right away. In the future, his transformation into the top warrior isn't mere coincidence.

Zhang Mu took a glance at Pang Ren's pants and remarked disdainfully, "A grown man getting scared to the point of wetting himself? All that weight is just for show!"

"Don't always point out my weak spots, alright? I never asked for this extra weight," Pang Ren replied with a mournful face. "Besides, are you even human? I can't compare with you!"

Zhang Mu decided to form a team and invited Pang Ren to join. While passing by a canine creature's corpse, Zhang Mu noticed a small object floating next to it—a miniature machete, only as long as a finger. It's rare for ordinary monsters to drop items; you might have to eliminate hundreds or thousands before obtaining even one item. But in just a few minutes, an equipment appeared. Truly a stroke of luck.

The moment Zhang Mu touched the mini machete, it vanished from the ground and reappeared in his backpack.

Players start with a backpack containing five slots, only able to hold items with attributes.

Zhang Mu took the equipment out of his backpack, now holding a hefty knife in his hand. The knife, about a yard long and slightly heavy, has a bent tip resembling a cleaver. Its spine is thick and dark, while the blade is bright and shiny, albeit with signs of wear and tear.

[Crude Canine Cleaver] (Inferior Black Iron Tool), Attack +5, Durability 15/15.

The quality of equipment is divided into nine levels: Hei Tie (Black Iron), Qing Tong (Bronze), Bai Yin (Silver), Huang Jin (Gold), An Jin (Dark Gold), Shi Qi (Epic), Chuan Shuo (Legendary), Qi Ji (Miracle), and Shen Hua (Myth). The higher the quality, the stronger the attributes. Black Iron is the lowest quality, but it's still a priceless treasure compared to a fire axe, at least for now.

Pang Ren exclaimed, "This knife is so cool!"

Zhang Mu tossed the fire axe to Pang Ren, saying, "Stop talking, let's go!"

As they left the bridge, they found that a dog-man had dropped 2 coins - a pitifully small amount, but still better than nothing.

"Boss, wait for me! Don't run so fast!" Pang Ren, lugging a suitcase and the axe, panted as he called out.

Turning around, Zhang Mu realized he had left Pang Ren far behind. "Haven't you chosen a profession yet?"

Once a profession is chosen, one undergoes a strengthening process. Even someone as heavy as Pang Ren, weighing over 200 pounds, shouldn't be running this slowly.

"Profession?" Pang Ren remembered the prompt he received when he killed the monster, and the information about professions that appeared in his mind. "There are so many; which one should I choose?"

"Just choose one yourself!" Zhang Mu responded irritably.

Pang Ren gave a wry smile and said, "I had hydrocephalus as a child, and my brain has never worked very well. You decide for me."

"All that weight can't be for nothing. Choose Berserker," Zhang Mu suggested.

"What does this have to do with my weight? Why does everything have to be about how heavy I am?" Pang Ren protested, but he took Zhang Mu's advice and chose the Berserker profession right away.

Profession: Berserker

Health: 30 (100%)

Mana: 10 (100%)

Strength: 10

Constitution: 6

Agility: 6

Spirit: 3

Experience towards next level: 0%As a Berserker, one of the strongest physical melee classes, Fatty boasted an attack power that was the highest in his category, with explosive force second only to Assassins and overall output just below that of Elemental Mages. Upon choosing this class, Fatty felt an endless divine power coursing through him, instilling a towering confidence strong enough to knock out a buffalo with a single punch.

The two men sprinted towards the bus station. The five or six kilometers ahead of them were nothing with their enhanced physiques—fifteen minutes would be more than enough.

"I don't get it. Why are we heading to the bus station?" Fatty, lugging his 200-plus pounds and a massive suitcase, panted as he ran. "With monsters everywhere, shouldn't we be finding a safe place to hide?"

Zhang Mu glanced at him. "Don't ask so many questions."

Suddenly, a series of strange cries rang out from up ahead, causing them to slow their pace. Fatty, anxiety written all over his face, gripped his axe tightly.

The ground was littered with chunks of flesh and innards, fresh blood still flowing. It was evident that a brutal attack had occurred not long ago. Four or five grotesque creatures had torn several humans apart and were now dragging the corpses into the bushes in the middle of the road, munching on the remains with apparent relish.

The monsters were roughly one and a half meters tall, covered in yellow fur with spotted patterns, possessed a pair of cat-like ears, long tails, and frequently emitted sharp, howling cries.

Having player privileges, the duo could see some information about the creatures. When they focused their attention on a monster, text would appear alongside it.

​1​, Level 2 common monster, HP 25 (100%), MP 10 (100%), Attributes ???, Skills ???

"Damn, these things are eating people!" Fatty exclaimed, a nauseous expression on his face as he shrunk back. "Let's sneak around before they notice us."

However, Zhang Mu spotted two blue skill orbs in the bushes—likely valuable skills. Ignoring Fatty's protests, he confidently gripped his knife and headed straight for the bushes.Cat-People are speed-type monsters with exceptionally sharp reflexes. Their acute hearing allows them to detect intruders instantly, prompting them to stand up immediately. Their eyes emit a ghostly light, and from mouths stained with blood and flesh, they let out a loud "meow-roar!" as they pounce, using all four limbs. These creatures' weapons are their sharp claws. Though not highly destructive, they strike with incredible speed.

Zhang Mu's speed was slightly inferior to the Cat-People, but his timing was impeccable. Dodging an attack at the last moment, his cleaver sliced into a Cat-Person's abdomen. The sharp blade cut through the fur, spilling guts and viscera, and in an instant, its health points plummeted from 25 to 7, a nearly 70% drop. Zhang Mu kicked the severely wounded creature down and ruthlessly finished it off with a strike of his blade.

Another Cat-Person lunged at him from the side. Zhang Mu was quick to respond, but his body couldn't quite keep up. Sidestepping to avoid a fatal blow, he wasn't able to evade a swipe that left five deep wounds across his chest. The creature's elongated claws caused a tearing pain that nearly blacked him out. His health, freshly topped off from a recent level-up, dropped to 79%.

Using his arm like a sword handle, Zhang Mu made a swift, cold sweep across the next Cat-Person's neck, nearly severing it. The stroke was both vicious and precise, instantly killing the creature at full health. He then engaged a third Cat-Person, dodging its attacks and seizing an opening to finish it off with three swift blows.

"Help me!"

Pang Ren, targeted by one of the Cat-People, lacked combat experience. Despite his fierce determination, his fire axe swung six or seven times without even grazing the creature's fur. After a couple of swipes from the monster across his shoulder and back, pain almost knocked him unconscious.

Zhang Mu rushed forward and, in a straightforward confrontation, neatly slew the Cat-Person with his blade.

"That was a close call," said a still-shaken Pang Ren. "Your skills are incredible... Were you a special forces soldier in the past?"

Zhang Mu couldn't be bothered with him, picking up the two gold coins dropped by the cat-person. He also collected two blue skill orbs from among the flowers. One skill was called [Healing Hand], and the other, [Savage Charge]. He handed over [Savage Charge] to Fatty.

[Savage Charge Lv1] was a D+ level skill, with the highest attainable level being Lv5. It allowed an attack from a maximum distance of 30 meters, charging at the target with 200% movement speed and causing 100% attack damage plus 5 points of extra damage. It had a certain probability of stunning the target for one second, consumed 5 mana points, and had a cooldown time of 3 minutes.

In the early stages, a D-level skill was quite rare and precious. Although it couldn't compare with Zhang Mu's A-level skills, it was, after all, an attack skill and quite practical under the current circumstances.

Fatty was overjoyed. "There are skills inside the light orbs!"

Zhang Mu explained, "These are special skills given by the system to prevent players from being wiped out. Each person is only allowed one, so don't even think about absorbing a second. Let's not waste any more time." He stuffed another silver orb into his backpack, and the two of them continued running towards the bus station.

Along the way, they encountered a few scattered monsters, but they reached the bus station safely without any real dangers. From afar, they could already smell a strong scent of blood.

Not far away stood several snowy white buildings — Jiangcheng University's affiliated hospital!

Continuing down this road, the main campus of Jiang Da was just a few miles away.

The bus station was closed for renovation, so there were no people around. However, whether it was the hospital or the university campus, those places were usually densely populated. The more crowded the area, the more monsters would appear. This made it an exceptionally dangerous place.

Zhang Mu, leading Fatty, sneaked into the parking lot of the bus station. Even from this considerable distance, they could clearly hear from the direction of the hospital the sounds of people's screams mingled with the roars of monsters. There were noises made by dog-people, cat-people, and many more that they couldn't distinguish.The hospital windows were stained red, as if blood were flowing down them. It... it must have turned into a real battleground there!

Pang Ren's legs were trembling. "Isn't it nice for us to just hide out in the suburbs?"

Zhang Mu glared at him. "No one forced you to follow me."

Pang Ren shut up, not daring to say more.

On the streets, there were all kinds of monsters they had encountered before - dog-people, cat-people, and many others they had never seen. However, some were familiar, often seen in video games or movies.

One such creature had greenish skin, a smooth body, a long nose, pointed ears, and it made noises like a frog.

"[Goblin]," a Level 3 common creature, with 30 health, 20 magic (100%). Attributes??? Skills???

There was also a humanoid monster, even shorter than the goblins, standing just over a meter tall. It had grey skin, a withered body, thin as a rake, almost bald, with pointed ears. Its eyes bulged outwards, its mouth full of sharp teeth, and its wrinkled grey skin resembled that of a nonagenarian.

"[Gnome]," a Level 3 common creature, with 20 health (100%), 30 magic (100%). Attributes??? Skills???

There were quite a number of these monsters.

Zhang Mu said to Pang Ren, "Let's head to the bus station, and try not to alert any monsters."

Swallowing hard, Pang Ren stammered, "Ye-yes!"

Zhang Mu headed towards the bus station, with Pang Ren shakily following behind. Zhang Mu calculated the monsters' awareness range, walking calmly in their visual blind spots, avoiding the dog-people with their keen sense of smell, and approached the bus station silently and unnoticed. Inside the iron gate was a parking area with more than a dozen buses, all empty and eerily silent, not a soul in sight.Zhang Mu shoved the suitcase under the iron gate, gesturing for Fatty to go first. Fatty began to climb through, and thankfully, after undergoing the berserker's physical enhancement, he could manage despite his hefty weight of over 250 pounds. Just as he was halfway through, however, an accident happened.

Fatty failed to grab the axe, and with a clatter, the fire axe fell to the ground. Nearby monsters immediately turned their attention to the noise.

"Could you possibly be any clumsier?" Zhang Mu cursed. He kicked the axe through the gate, leaped up, clambered over the gate in a few swift moves, surpassing Fatty, and was the first to enter the parking lot. "Get down quick!"

With a thud, Fatty's massive frame hit the ground, causing it to tremble. A horde of monsters, attracted by the noise, converged outside the parking lot, their roars incessant.

"We're done for; we're really going to meet our god now. Boss, it's all because of me!" Fatty lamented.

"Can't you just stop causing me trouble?" Zhang Mu was so frustrated he felt like kicking Fatty. "Come on, they can't get in for now."

Whether dog-people or cat-people, with physical strength almost double that of ordinary humans, the three-meter-tall iron gate was no barrier at all.

Fatty, a man with a rather simple mind who couldn't hide his confusion, opened his mouth to ask a question. But when he turned around, he saw an additional figure behind Zhang Mu. It was a tall man in a cloak, his face largely hidden by a black hood, revealing only a portion wrapped in white bandages. A pair of eyes glowed with a strange red light, and his presence was chillingly cold and unhuman. He was sitting on a large black van.

"Goodness, it's a ghost!" Fatty exclaimed.