2026-04-09 05:35:32Li Ming moved quietly through the darkening alleys of Qingyun City. The streetlights were mostly dead now, either smashed or flickering weakly. Only the occasional blue glow from the global system panels lit the way. Screams had become constant.
He kept his breathing steady. The new Desperate Survival Instinct helped dull the edge of fear, turning it into something colder, calculation.
His current stats after the park gains:
Strength: 12
Agility: 13.5
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 13
Mana: 8
Luck: 8
Skills:
• Knife Proficiency (Passive Lv.1)
• Street Brawler’s Instinct (Passive Lv.1)
• Scuttler Carapace Fragment (Passive Lv.1)
• Basic Leatherworking Fragment (Passive Lv.1)
• Crude Bat Mastery (Passive Lv.1)
• Basic Cooking Skill (Passive Lv.1)
• Desperate Survival Instinct (Passive Lv.1)
Still weak overall, but the pieces were adding up. He needed better active skills soon. Passives helped survival, but offense would keep him from dying too cheaply.
A group of five scuttlers scuttled across the street ahead, chasing a lone woman. She screamed and ran straight into a dead-end alley. Li Ming followed at a safe distance, staying just inside what he judged was fifty meters.
The scuttlers swarmed her. Claws tore. Her screams cut short fast.
Four deaths, no, five if the monsters killed each other in the frenzy. Only the human died. The monsters turned on the corpse.
Li Ming stopped at the alley mouth, thirty meters away. The absorption hit clean and strong.
[Throne Absorption triggered.]
[Absorbed: Basic Sprint (Active Lv.1) – Short burst of speed, 10-second cooldown.]
[Absorbed: Fear Resistance (Passive Lv.1) – Minor reduction in panic effects.]
[Stat bonuses: +1 Agility, +1 Vitality]
A useful active skill at last. Li Ming tested it immediately in the empty street. His legs surged with energy for a few seconds, carrying him ten meters in a blink. Good for escape or closing distance.
He smiled thinly. The woman’s death had paid for his upgrade.
The scuttlers were still feeding. Li Ming weighed the risk. Five monsters, all around level 4. He could probably take one or two now with his new sprint and bat mastery, but all five? Stupid.
Instead, he picked up a loose brick and hurled it hard at the group. It cracked against one scuttler’s carapace. The creature hissed and charged him, leaving the others behind.
Perfect.
Li Ming sprinted into the next alley, leading it away. When it lunged, he used the new burst of speed to dodge sideways and brought the pipe down on its head. The bat mastery helped, his swing landed cleaner, cracking the skull on the second hit.
[You have killed a Spined Scuttler (Level 4).]
[Experience gained: 55]
[Basic Loot: 1x Minor Healing Pellet, 10 Copper Coins.]
[Throne Absorption triggered – close range.]
[Absorbed: Scuttler Venom Resistance (Passive Lv.1)]
[Stat bonus: +1 Strength]
Four more scuttlers still back at the body. Li Ming circled around using the buildings as cover and approached from the other side. He stayed at forty meters and waited.
One scuttler wandered closer while feeding. Thirty-five meters. He threw another brick. It charged. He killed it the same way, sprint dodge, pipe smash.
Another absorption. Another small passive and +0.8 Strength.
By the time he finished the last one the same way, luring them one by one, the night had grown deeper. His arms ached, but his stats had climbed again.
Strength: 14
Agility: 15
Vitality: 12
He dragged all five corpses into a pile behind some dumpsters and looted them fully. More coins, a few pellets, and one rusty dagger that felt better than the pipe.
Li Ming wiped sweat from his forehead. The 50-meter range had forced him to be smart, positioning, kiting, never fighting fair. Exactly how he wanted it. If the range had been bigger from the start, he might have gotten lazy.
A new global message flashed.
[Safe zones will shrink in 60 minutes.]
[First Monster Tide begins at dawn. Prepare or perish.]
Li Ming checked his anchor. Still stable. He decided to move closer to it, setting up for the night. On the way, he passed the park again. The four loudmouths from earlier were still there, now with two more recruits. Six total. They had built a small barricade with benches and were roasting something over a fire, probably scuttler meat, thanks to that useless cooking skill he’d absorbed.
The leader was bragging again. “By morning we’ll be level 10. Then we form our own guild. Call it Qingyun Kings.”
Li Ming stayed hidden across the street, fifty meters exactly. He could feel the edge of the range. One of the new recruits wandered a bit closer while taking watch.
Twenty meters now? Close enough.
Li Ming waited.
An hour passed. The safe zone warning flashed again. The group started arguing about who would take first watch. Tensions rose. One guy accused another of hoarding pellets.
A fight broke out. Fists, then the bat, then the knife.
Two died in the scuffle before the others pulled them apart.
Li Ming felt the strong pulls.
[Throne Absorption triggered.]
[Absorbed: Group Coordination Fragment (Passive Lv.1) – Slight boost to working with others, but useless alone.]
[Absorbed: Brutal Intimidation (Active Lv.1) – Short shout that can stun weaker enemies for 2 seconds.]
[Stat bonuses: +1 Strength, +1 Intelligence]
He almost laughed. The intimidation skill could be useful. And they had killed each other for him.
The remaining four patched up and went quiet, suddenly more careful.
Li Ming slipped away toward his anchor at the fountain. He was tired, but satisfied. No big risks tonight. Just steady gains.
He sat against the fountain base, ate one of the healing pellets, and rested. The night air carried distant howls. The first tide was coming at dawn, bigger monsters, bigger chaos, bigger deaths.
He planned to be there, not in the front, but close enough, so he can harvest, and also, every death would feed the Throne.
Li Ming closed his eyes for a short rest, pipe across his lap.
Tomorrow he would test how much power one good tide could give him.
And if he died in the process?
He’d simply come back stronger.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Through the Gate
The Central Plaza was a battlefield of shifting alliances and desperate screams. Factions clashed over control of the Ascension Gate while scattered monsters from the lingering tide still prowled the edges. Li Ming crouched behind an overturned bus, supporting his father with one arm while his mother pressed close on the other side.“We’re too exposed here,” Li Ming muttered, eyes scanning the chaos. “The Gate is two hundred meters ahead, but three factions are fighting over it right now.”His father grimaced, trying to stand straighter despite the pain. “Then we wait for an opening, son. You’ve kept us alive this far.”His mother touched Li Ming’s bloodstained sleeve. “Ming’er… you’re hurt too. That penalty you mentioned — is it making things worse?”Li Ming shook his head. “It’s manageable. Just stay behind me and run when I say. No hesitation.”A massive explosion rocked the plaza as two rival guilds collided near the Gate. Li Ming saw his chance.“Now!”He surged forward, half-car
Descent
The Ascension Gate spat Li Ming out onto the blood-soaked ruins of Qingyun City’s Central Plaza like an unwanted memory. The moment his feet touched Floor 0 ground, the penalties slammed into him like a physical blow.His body felt heavier. Slower. Weaker.[Floor Descent Penalty Active: All Stats -15% for 72 hours. Throne absorption quality -60%. Cross-floor range further restricted.]Li Ming staggered for half a second, then forced himself upright. The familiar cracked blue sky overhead looked almost comforting after the oppressive crimson of Floor 1. But there was no time for nostalgia.He moved.The plaza was still a graveyard of the Second Tide. Piles of monster corpses rotted under the sun while survivors picked through the remains. Li Ming kept the Shadow Veil Cloak active and his head low, slipping through the chaos like a ghost. Even with the penalties, his base power was still far above most Floor 0 survivors.He headed straight for the residential block, heart pounding harde
Echoes from Below
Zhao Feng winced as he leaned against the rocky outcrop, clutching the fresh bandage Li Ming had tied around his torso. The crimson sun hung low, casting long bloody shadows across the wastes. They had been moving for hours, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the collapsed cave.“You should have left me,” Zhao Feng muttered, voice rough with pain. “I was dead weight back there.”Li Ming scanned the horizon before answering. “Dead weight doesn’t complain this much. Save your strength. We still have a long way before we can rest.”A weak chuckle escaped Zhao Feng. “You know… when you first saved us, I thought you were just another strong loner looking for cannon fodder. But you pulled me out. Twice now.” He paused, studying Li Ming’s face. “Why do you fight like this? Most people with your power would’ve built a big group by now. Ruled something.”Li Ming remained silent for a long moment, eyes distant. “Big groups attract attention. Attention brings betrayal. I
Fractured Alliances
Zhao Feng slammed his axe into the ground, still buzzing from the latest ambush. “Did you see their faces when the wolves hit? Lin Mei looked like she wanted to kill her own men!”The group had gathered in their newest temporary shelter — a shallow cave system hidden behind a collapsed tower. A small crystal lantern cast flickering red light across their faces. Su Ling was bandaging a cut on one man’s arm while the others counted loot.Li Ming leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, listening.“We’re actually doing it,” said a wiry man named Guo Wei, grinning as he weighed a pouch of Floor Coins. “Three supply convoys in five days. They must be bleeding resources by now.”“Keep your voice down,” Su Ling warned. “We got lucky today. If that wolf pack hadn’t shown up—”“Lucky?” Zhao Feng laughed. “That was the boss’s timing. He always knows when to strike.”All eyes turned toward Li Ming. He met their gazes steadily but said nothing at first. The praise felt hollow. Praise often prec
Hunter and Hunted
Li Ming moved through the narrow crimson ravine like a wraith, his Shadow Veil Cloak making him nearly indistinguishable from the jagged rock walls. Three days had passed since Captain Lin Mei began her personal hunt. The Scarlet Vanguard had increased patrol frequency and started offering bounties for any information on the “Crimson Shadow” and his small band. His group of six had become surprisingly effective. They struck fast, looted efficiently, and vanished before major reinforcements arrived. Li Ming’s leadership — cold, precise, and always one step ahead — had raised their average levels and given them renewed purpose. But the pressure was mounting. “Boss,” Zhao Feng whispered from behind a boulder as they observed a Vanguard supply route. “They’ve reinforced this convoy. At least forty guards. Lin Mei might be with them.” Li Ming studied the formation below. The carts were heavier, protected by shield-bearers and crystal mages. Captain Lin Mei was indeed present, her silver
Slow Bleed
Li Ming crouched on a narrow ledge overlooking a winding ravine, Shadow Veil Cloak rendering him nearly invisible against the crimson rock. Below, a Scarlet Vanguard supply patrol of eighteen soldiers moved in tight formation, escorting three heavily loaded crystal carts. His six followers were positioned according to his instructions — Zhao Feng and two others on the far side, Su Ling and the rest ready with ranged support. “Patience,” Li Ming whispered, though none could hear him. “Wait for my signal.” This was their third ambush in two days. The strategy was working. Small, precise strikes against supply lines and isolated patrols were slowly draining the Vanguard’s resources without provoking an all-out hunt. Yet. The patrol entered the kill zone. Li Ming activated Brutal Intimidation. The shout echoed through the ravine, stunning the front and rear guards simultaneously. He descended like a crimson ghost — Spiked Charge slamming into the lead cart’s guards, short sword flashin
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