The God-Level Scavenger: Infinite Evolution System

Chapter 9: The Billion-Credit Scavenger

The silence in Sector 7 was absolute. The choking purple haze had been sucked dry, leaving behind an impossible sight: a three-kilometer radius that had once been littered with the remains of the Abyssal Behemoth was now spotlessly clean. Not a single bone, drop of blood, or shard of crystal remained.

Lucian Thorne stood in the center of the crater, his cloak fluttering softly. In his mind, the System notifications chimed relentlessly, sounding like a slot machine hitting the jackpot.

[Ding! 'The Great Harvest' has concluded.] [Total Mana Shards Recycled: 2,500,000!] [Gained: 1x Heart of the Behemoth (S-Rank Material).] [Gained: 1x Skill Book: 'Void Step' (Rank S).] [Gained: Permanent Stat Boost: +40 Strength, +45 Agility, +50 Intelligence.]

[Level Up! Level 28 -> Level 45!]

Lucian closed his eyes. The heat rushing through his veins wasn't just energy anymore—it was raw, unadulterated power capable of crushing steel with a mere squeeze. His vision could now pierce through concrete, and his senses could feel the frantic heartbeat of Elena Vance, who stood frozen a hundred meters behind him.

"Lucian..." Elena’s voice was hoarse. She stepped closer, her ice rapier shattered, her beautiful face smeared with soot. "What did you just do? That loot... the Boss... where did everything go?"

Lucian turned slowly. The aura radiating from him now was so heavy that Elena—an A-Rank Hunter—felt her shoulders being pressed down by an invisible ton of weight.

"I was just cleaning up the trash, Elena," Lucian replied flatly. "Isn't that my job?"

"Cleaning up the trash?!" Elena screamed, her shock finally turning into fury. "That was a national-level resource! The core of that Behemoth could have powered a city for ten years! You can't just take it for yourself!"

Lucian took a step forward. A single step, yet it felt like the earth itself shuddered. "I have it because I took it. While your team was cowering behind the ruins, I was the one holding back that thing’s claws. When you were about to die, I was the one who created the opening."

"The Vanguard Guild won't let you go. The Association will hunt you down!"

"Let them try," Lucian looked at the silver C-Rank badge on his chest, then with a single flick, he ripped it off and crushed it into metallic dust. "I’m done playing by your rules."

[Ding! 'Marketplace of the Abyss' has evolved to Level 2.] [New Feature Unlocked: 'Artifact Restoration'.]

Ignoring Elena’s protests, Lucian activated his new skill: 'Void Step.'

In an instant, his body faded into a shadow and vanished, leaving Elena screaming in frustration at the empty night sky.

---

Three hours later, in a derelict warehouse on the edge of Sector 4—the slums forgotten by the government.

Lucian sat cross-legged on the fragile wooden floor. Before him, a pile of broken artifacts he had scavenged from Sector 7 glowed dimly. There were shattered swords from the first era of war, cracked shields, and rings missing their gems.

"System, open the Marketplace. Purchase 'The Tome of Void Smithing: Volume 2'."

[Purchase Successful! Cost: 500,000 Mana Shards.] [Remaining Balance: 2,000,000 Mana Shards.]

New information flooded his brain. His hands moved with instinctive precision. He picked up an ancient, rusted sword—an artifact once owned by a fallen S-Rank Hero. In the eyes of a collector, it was garbage. In Lucian’s eyes, it was a foundation.

"Restore," he whispered.

[Restoration Initiating... Using 'Heart of the Behemoth' as fuel.]

Black flames erupted from Lucian’s palms, engulfing the rusted blade. The corrosion peeled away, revealing a metal darker than the void. Muscle fibers from the Behemoth’s heart crawled onto the hilt, fusing with the metal like a nervous system.

[Created: 'The Behemoth’s Spine' (Rank S - Greatsword).] [Special Effect: 'Gravity Well' - Every swing increases the weight of the surrounding area by 10x.]

"A weapon to bring down guilds," Lucian muttered.

Suddenly, his system sensors flashed red.

[Warning: High-Energy Signatures detected surrounding the warehouse.] [Identification: 'Black Viper' Executive Team & 'Vanguard' Strike Force.]

Lucian stood up. He wasn't surprised. He knew Elena would track him, and he knew the Black Vipers wouldn't let the death of their mage go unpunished. The city’s two greatest powers had converged just to catch a "scavenger."

Outside, hundreds of Hunters surrounded the warehouse. Association gunships shone floodlights onto the old building.

"Lucian Thorne!" a voice boomed through a megaphone. It was Director Han from the Association. "Come out with your hands up! Hand over all the materials stolen from Sector 7, or we will use lethal force!"

Beside Han, Elena Vance stood with a cold expression, while on the other side, a man with a massive snake tattoo on his neck—the leader of the Black Vipers, an A-Rank Berserker named Kaelen—laughed bloodthirstily.

"Give the brat to me!" Kaelen yelled. "I'll recycle his bones one by one!"

The warehouse door opened slowly.

Lucian stepped out alone. He was no longer wearing his tattered cloak. He wore the Vestments of the Silent Sovereign, now shimmering with a deep purple aura. On his back, a massive greatsword radiated a gravitational pressure that cracked the asphalt beneath his feet.

"Director Han," Lucian spoke, his voice calm yet echoing in everyone’s ears as if he were whispering right next to them. "I was just about to sleep. You’re disturbing me."

"Lucian, don't be a fool!" Han shouted. "You can't fight the whole city!"

"The whole city?" Lucian smirked, a predatory grin that made the C-Rank Hunters in the front row tremble. "You’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to fight you."

Lucian slammed 'The Behemoth’s Spine' into the ground.

BOOM!

A wave of black gravity exploded in all directions. The gunships in the air suddenly plummeted like they were pulled by giant magnets. The B and C-Rank Hunters were instantly brought to their knees, their lungs feeling crushed as their own body weight increased tenfold.

Only Han, Elena, and Kaelen remained standing, though their knees were shaking.

"I am here," Lucian stepped forward, letting his aura—now equivalent to an S-Rank—explode fully. "To tell you... that from this day forward, the trash you discarded is the new ruler of this city."

Lucian pointed at Kaelen of the Black Vipers. "You said you wanted to recycle my bones?"

In a flash, Lucian vanished. Void Step.

He appeared directly in front of Kaelen. Before the Berserker could even raise his axe, Lucian’s hand was already clamped around his throat.

"Let’s see," Lucian whispered, "who gets recycled first."

[Target: Kaelen (Rank A). Condition: Suppressed.] [Would you like to 'Extract' his life force? (Y/N)]

"Yes."

Black light swallowed them both, while Elena Vance could only watch in horror as her greatest rival was absorbed like common trash by the man she had once looked down upon.