10.000x Doomsday Survival

10. Clash of Systems: Rebate vs. Steal

The Reapers' armada arrived in the Cyber-Vane bay. Their leader, a man possessing a "1,000x Steal" system, laughed raucously at the sight of the completely devastated city. But his laughter stopped abruptly the second he looked up at the clouds. A gigantic city was hovering directly above his head.

Axel's Floating City glided smoothly above the cloud layer. From the main balcony, the view of the Cyber-Vane Bay was perfectly clear. Thousands of pitch-black warships lined up neatly across the ocean surface. It was the armada of "The Reapers," an infamously ruthless colonizing faction from the Western Continent.

"Master, the enemy armada has locked onto our position. Their leader, Kenji, is detected to possess a high-tier system: the 1,000x Steal System," Anya's voice echoed throughout the room.

Axel, having just finished his steak, casually wiped his mouth. "A Steal System? So he can steal items belonging to other people?"

"Correct, Master. He can steal weapons, skills, and even the system points of his enemies. He has already destroyed five other system owners on his home continent," Anya explained.

Axel smirked widely. "Highly interesting. He likes to steal, and I absolutely love giving things away. Let us see who suffers a loss first."

Down below, aboard The Reapers' colossal flagship, a blonde man wearing a fur coat stood holding a futuristic telescope. It was Kenji. He stared up at the clouds with a look of pure, unadulterated greed.

"Insane! A floating city? That has to be a god-tier system asset! If I can steal that city, I will become the absolute king of this world!" Kenji laughed hysterically. "Activate skill: Global Steal!"

Instantly, a giant, shadowy hand erupted from the ocean, rocketing straight toward Axel's Floating City. The hand attempted to forcefully grasp the foundation of the hovering metropolis.

"Boss! Something is trying to pull our city down!" Scarlett yelled in a panic from the control room.

Axel stood calmly at the edge of the balcony. He stared down at the shadow hand. "Anya, open the fortress shield. Let him grab it."

"Master? That is incredibly dangerous," Maya warned immediately.

"Relax. I have a flawless plan," Axel replied, pulling a gold coin from his inventory. That coin was a "Cursed Coin" he had acquired from looting the zombie nest earlier. "System, if I give this coin directly to that shadow hand, does it count as gifting an item?"

[Answer: Yes. As long as the item transfers ownership to another party, the Rebate System will activate.]

Axel tossed the coin straight down toward the shadow hand that was currently gripping his fortress. The exact second the coin touched the shadow, Axel's system exploded with a deafeningly loud notification.

[Ding! You have given a Cursed Coin to the Steal System Owner!]
[Triggering 100,000x Super Critical Rebate!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: 100,000 Divine Gold Coins and the Skill: System Jammer!]

Instantly, Kenji's shadow hand turned a dark, sickly purple and violently exploded. Down below, Kenji immediately vomited a massive mouthful of blood.

"AARGH! What the hell just happened? Why did my system just receive a curse notification?!" Kenji shrieked, clutching his head in agony.

[Steal System: You have received a cursed item. The Steal Skill is completely frozen for 24 hours!]

"It is time for us to head down," Axel announced, turning his head toward his goddesses. "Seraphina, bring the Phoenix-01. Valerie, Maya, lead the laser vanguard. We are leveling their armada right now."

Axel leaped straight off the Floating City. He did not fall, but glided gracefully using majestic, silver-white lightning wings. He landed squarely on the deck of Kenji's flagship. The sheer explosive force of his landing instantly obliterated dozens of smaller ships surrounding them.

"Hey there, robber! You just accepted a coin from me, so now it is time for me to collect the payment," Axel mocked, aiming his spear directly at Kenji.

"You insolent bastard! Forces! Kill him right now!" Kenji screamed in absolute terror.

Hundreds of The Reapers' soldiers swarmed Axel. But suddenly, from the sky above, hundreds of plasma missiles rained down upon them. Seraphina, piloting her Phoenix-01, slaughtered the enemy armada with absolute ease. On the other side, Valerie and Maya led the laser troops descending via jetpacks, turning the flagship's deck into a complete bloodbath.

Axel casually walked past the corpses of the enemy soldiers. He focused entirely on a massive steel door located below the ship's deck.

"Anya, locate the eighth SSS-Grade target on this ship," Axel commanded.

"The target is located in the basement of the flagship, Master. She is currently being used as a living battery to power this entire armada," Anya explained.

Axel kicked the steel door until it shattered completely. Inside, he witnessed an incredibly heartbreaking scene. A beautiful girl wearing deeply tattered priestess robes was tightly bound to the center of a giant machine. Her hair was pale blonde, and her eyes radiated a pure, holy white light.

[Scanning Target]
[Name: Reina - The Saintess]
[Age: 21 Years Old]
[Genetic Potential: SSS-Grade Holy Support]
[Status: Critical. Energy drained to 99%.]

"Please. Just kill me. I do not want to be a murder weapon anymore," Reina whispered in an incredibly weak, fragile voice.

Axel stepped closer. He completely destroyed the energy-siphoning machine with a single punch. He then gently lifted Reina into his arms. "I am not going to kill you. I need an excellent support for my team."

Axel pulled out a "Fruit of Life" he had obtained from the reserves of his automated logistics warehouse. The fruit glowed with an incredibly bright, vibrant green light.

"Eat this. It is going to restore all of your energy completely," Axel said, feeding a piece of the fruit directly into Reina's mouth.

[Ding! You have given the Fruit of Life to SSS-Grade Target Reina!]
[Triggering 500,000x God-Level Rebate!]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: The Garden of Eden - One Mini Continent, 1 Million Bottles of Holy Elixir, and the Skill: Infinite Resurrection!]

Instantly, Reina's body glowed blindingly bright. Her severe wounds vanished completely, and her tattered clothes transformed into a pristine white gown that radiated a holy aura. She opened her eyes, and the entire flagship, which had previously been dark, was instantly illuminated brilliantly.

"I. I feel completely alive again. This energy. It is far too pure," Reina whispered, staring at Axel with a gaze full of absolute adoration.

[Ding! Reina has sworn lifelong, absolute loyalty. Loyalty: 100% - Fanatical.]

"Now then, Reina. Give a little 'blessing' to our enemies outside," Axel requested, flashing an ice-cold smile.

Reina nodded gracefully. She raised her hand high into the air. "Holy Judgement!"

Instantly, from the sky above, thousands of pillars of pure light descended, brutally striking The Reapers' armada. The ships did not explode; they were instantly disintegrated into fine white dust. Kenji, who was desperately trying to escape on a lifeboat, was caught directly in a pillar of light, and his body was obliterated in a fraction of a second.

"Steal System detected as completely destroyed. Extracting enemy system fragments," Anya's voice echoed with deep satisfaction.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the Steal fragment. Your Rebate System can now automatically steal items from deceased enemies!]

Axel stood tall atop the remnants of the flagship, which was now beginning to slowly sink. His goddesses, Elena, Valerie, Scarlett, Maya, Seraphina, Aria, and Lyra, landed smoothly right beside him. Now, with the addition of Reina, Axel officially possessed eight women with god-tier capabilities.

"Boss, the enemy armada is completely wiped out. What is our next move?" Maya asked as she sheathed her laser sword.

Axel stared out at the vast ocean stretching endlessly before them. "The Reapers were nothing but the opening act. Lyra mentioned there are significantly larger enemies waiting in outer space. But before we get to that, I am going to completely take over the Western Continent. I want this entire world to become my absolute fortress."

Suddenly, the Floating City above them blared a highly urgent warning alarm. Anya materialized in a holographic form, her face incredibly tense.

"Master! A highly anomalous signal has been detected from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. An ancient gate just opened. Thousands of life signals, boasting power levels equivalent to the Sky Devourer, have been detected emerging from it!"

Axel tightened his grip on his spear. Blinding electricity exploded from his body once more. "An ancient gate? It seems this world hides far more secrets than I initially anticipated."

"Master, that gate is known as the Abyssal Gate. Furthermore, the ninth SSS-Grade Target has been detected at that exact location. It is the Queen of the Ocean, and she is currently imprisoned," Anya added.

Axel smirked widely. "The ninth target? Excellent. In that case, we are skipping the Western Continent for now. We are taking a quick detour to the bottom of the ocean to pick up a brand new goddess."

The Floating City abruptly changed its course, rocketing at high speed straight toward the middle of the ocean. The zombie apocalypse might have officially ended by Axel's hand, but the epic war against ancient monsters and alien invaders had only just begun.