2026-01-01 02:00:25Breath. Just breathe.
Alex’s lungs felt like they were filled with broken glass. He stumbled through the dense undergrowth, branches whipping his face, thorns tearing at his ruined suit. Behind him, the screams from the beach were fading, but they were replaced by something worse: the sound of laughter. The "Butchers" were enjoying themselves. Alex tripped over a protruding root and slammed hard into the mud. He tasted dirt and copper. "Get up," he hissed to himself, his voice cracking. "If you stop, you die." He tried to push himself up, but a heavy boot suddenly stomped down on his back, pinning him to the muddy ground. "Found you, rabbit." The voice was raspy, like sandpaper rubbing against stone. Alex froze. He slowly turned his head. Standing over him was a man who looked like a walking nightmare. He was skinny but wiry, wearing a dirty tank top. His face was covered in tribal tattoos, and in his hand, he twirled a jagged, rusted combat knife. "You're the one from the screen," the killer grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "The delivery boy. 'Number 100'." The killer didn't strike immediately. Instead, he crouched down, bringing the knife blade dangerously close to Alex’s eye. "The VIPs are offering a bonus for your head," the killer whispered. "But the Lady Alice... she sent a special message. She said she wants your death to be 'entertaining'." Hearing her name sent a jolt of electricity through Alex’s body. It wasn't fear anymore. It was pure, unadulterated rage. "She... thinks... this is funny?" Alex gritted his teeth, his hands clawing deep into the mud. "Hilarious," the killer laughed. "Now, hold still. I’m going to start with your ears." The knife descended. NO! Alex roared inside. I won't die here. Not like a pig! Not for her entertainment! In a burst of adrenaline that only comes to the dying, Alex twisted his body violently. He grabbed a handful of wet mud and flung it backward into the killer’s face. "Argh! You little shit!" The killer flinched, blinded for a split second. It was the only chance Alex would ever get. He didn't try to run. He knew he couldn't outrun a professional killer. Instead, Alex lunged forward. His hand closed around a fist-sized rock half-buried in the dirt. With a primal scream, he swung it wildly at the killer’s head. CRACK! The stone connected with the killer’s temple. The killer stumbled back, dazed, blood trickling down his face. He looked shocked that a "pig" had actually fought back. "I'm going to gut you!" the killer roared, swinging the knife blindly. The blade sliced across Alex’s forearm, spraying blood. The pain was blinding, but Alex didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He tackled the killer, knocking him to the ground. They rolled in the mud, a desperate struggle between a professional predator and a cornered beast. The killer was stronger, but Alex was possessed. He straddled the killer’s chest, raised the rock with both hands, and brought it down. Again. Thud. "Die!" Again. Thud. "DIE!" Alex didn't know how many times he hit him. He smashed the rock down until his arms went numb, until the killer’s face was unrecognizable, until the struggling beneath him stopped completely. Silence returned to the jungle. Only Alex’s ragged breathing remained. He sat on top of the corpse, covered in blood and brain matter, his chest heaving. He dropped the bloody rock. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. "I... I killed him..." He felt bile rising in his throat. He had never even been in a fistfight before, and now he had beaten a man to death. But before the horror could fully set in, a strange, mechanical sound echoed directly inside his skull. [DING!] Alex looked around wildly. "Who's there?" [System Initializing...] [Host Vital Signs: Critical. Mental State: Unstable.] [Condition Met: First Kill achieved.] A translucent blue panel, like a hologram from a sci-fi movie, suddenly appeared floating in the air right in front of Alex’s eyes. [God-Level Plunder System Activated.] "System?" Alex whispered, staring at the glowing text. He had read web novels. He knew what this was. But he thought it was fiction. [Target Detected: Deceased Class-D Assassin.] [Touch the target to initiate Plunder.] Alex looked down at the mangled body beneath him. He hesitated for a heartbeat, then reached out his trembling, blood-stained hand and touched the killer’s chest. Whoosh. A golden light surged from the corpse and flowed into Alex’s arm. A sensation of warmth washed over him, dulling the pain in his sliced forearm. [Plunder Successful!] [Reward 1: Attribute Points] Strength +2 (You are now stronger than an average adult male) Agility +3 (Your reflexes have improved significantly) [Reward 2: Skill Extraction] Obtained Skill: [Basic Dagger Mastery (Lv. 1)] Description: You now possess the muscle memory and knife skills of a street-level assassin. You know how to hold a blade, where to stab, and how to kill efficiently. The information flooded Alex’s brain. Instantly, the way he looked at the world changed. He looked at the killer’s dropped knife lying in the mud. Before, it was just a scary weapon. Now, he knew exactly its weight, its balance, and how to use it to slit a throat in 0.5 seconds. Alex picked up the knife. It felt like an extension of his own hand. He stood up. The trembling in his legs was gone. The fear in his heart was replaced by a cold, burning determination. He looked up at the hidden camera mounted on a nearby tree. The red light was blinking, broadcasting his face to the VIP room. Alex didn't cry. He didn't beg. He raised the bloody knife and pointed it directly at the camera lens. His eyes were no longer the eyes of a delivery boy. They were the eyes of a Hunter. "One down," Alex whispered hoarsely. "Ninety-nine to go."
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Chapter 44: Malpractice
[Sector A - The Golden Spire: Level 50] HISS. The green neurotoxin gas filled the room rapidly. It wasn't a choking gas; it was a paralytic agent designed to shut down the nervous system instantly. Alex held his breath. His [Iron Skin] could stop bullets, but his lungs were still biological. He had maybe two minutes before oxygen deprivation knocked him out. "Don't fight it, Alex," The Caretaker AI’s voice was soothing, echoing from every speaker. "Sleep. When you wake up, you’ll be part of something greater." WHIRRR-CLICK. From the ceiling, four massive, chrome-plated robotic arms descended. Arm 1: High-intensity Surgical Laser. Arm 2: Diamond-tipped Bone Saw. Arm 3: Hydraulic Clamps. Arm 4: Anesthetic Injector (size of a spear). [Boss Encounter: The Caretaker (Surgical Defense Mode)] [Environment: Toxic (Oxygen falling: 90%...)] "Operation begins," The AI commanded. The Laser Arm swept across the room. ZZZT! A beam of red light sliced through the metal floor plates l
Chapter 43: Blood on Gold
[Sector A - The Golden Spire: Grand Lobby] The massive golden doors of the Spire were blasted open. Not by a key, but by a barrage of Napalm. Alex stepped through the burning entrance, the Gravity Warhammer dripping with the hydraulic fluid of the mechs he had smashed outside. Behind him, the sounds of war echoed. Krog and the Iron Legion were holding the perimeter, fighting off the remaining mercenaries. "Go!" Krog had yelled. "The Boss is upstairs. We hold the door!" Alex was alone now. He walked into the lobby. It was breathtaking. Floors made of white jade. Pillars wrapped in gold leaf. A ceiling that projected a holographic image of renaissance angels. It was a temple of wealth. And standing in the center of the hall, waiting for him, was a phalanx of soldiers. They didn't wear helmets. They wore pristine white ceremonial armor. They held energy pikes and submachine guns. Alex stopped. His breath hitched. They all had the same face. Silver hair. Cold blu
Chapter 42: Steel Waltz
[Sector A - North Relay Station] The wind howled over the cliffs, carrying the salty spray of the ocean. On the stone platform, a deadly dance was underway. "Too slow!" Prince Mateo laughed through the external speakers. WHOOSH. Alex swung the Gravity Warhammer with enough force to shatter a tank. But he hit nothing but air. The white-and-gold mech, "The Duelist," side-stepped with liquid grace. It was as if the machine knew where the hammer would be before Alex even swung. BANG! The mech’s revolver cannon fired point-blank into Alex’s chest. Alex skidded backward, his boots carving grooves in the rock. His [Iron Skin] held, but his ribs ached. "You can't hit me, Juggernaut," Mateo taunted. The mech raised its energized rapier, the tip humming with green plasma. "My system scans your muscle tension. Your gaze. Your center of gravity. I see the future before you move." He lunged. Zip-Zip-Zip. Three lightning-fast thrusts. Alex parried two with the hammer handle, but the t
Chapter 41: Divided We Fall
[Sector A - Operations Command]The sun was high now, baking the tarmac of the airfield. The smoke from the burning C-130 rose in a black column, marking the start of the war."Radio check," Alex adjusted his headset."East Squad, ready," Krog’s voice crackled, accompanied by the sound of ammunition belts being loaded."West Squad, standing by," Sarah’s voice was tense but steady. "Elias is with me to hack the terminal.""Good," Alex looked at the distant mountains where the three Relay Stations stood like metal sentinels. "We strike simultaneously. If one team fails, the shield stays up, and Alice burns us all.""Move out."[The East Relay - Krog’s Warpath][Objective: Destroy East Generator][Method: Brute Force]The East Relay station was a concrete bunker perched on a seaside cliff. It was guarded by two APCs and a platoon of heavy infantry.They saw a dust cloud approaching."Hold fire!" The Mercenary Captain shouted. "Identify targets!"From the dust, a massive figure emerged. K
Chapter 40: Daybreak
[Sector A - Surface Level: Military Airfield] BOOM! The sound was like a meteor strike. The massive freight elevator, propelled by the falling counterweights, smashed into the heavy blast doors of the surface shaft. The reinforced steel buckled, tore, and finally blew outward. Debris, dust, and chunks of concrete rained down on the pristine tarmac of the airfield. Through the smoke, the sunlight pierced through. It was blinding. Brilliant, white, morning sunlight. "My eyes!" Prisoners screamed, covering their faces. They had lived in the red glow of magma for so long that the sun felt like a laser. "Move! Get off the platform!" Alex roared, shielding his own sensitive eyes with his arm. He kicked a piece of twisted metal aside and stepped onto the tarmac. The air smelled of ozone, jet fuel, and the sea. They were in Sector A. But this wasn't the garden party area. This was the Private Airfield on the edge of the island. Rows of hangars lined the runway. But the runway wasn
Chapter 39: The Iron Legion
[Sector Zero - The Fortress Courtyard] The fighting had stopped, but the noise hadn't. The fortress was in a state of delirious anarchy. Prisoners were raiding the pantries, gorging on fresh meat and wine. Others were stripping armor off dead guards, fighting over rifles and boots. "I claimed this helmet!" "Back off, it's mine!" A gunshot rang out. Two prisoners were wrestling over an assault rifle. BOOM. A shockwave silenced the courtyard. Alex stood on the central balcony, the Gravity Warhammer resting on his shoulder. He had smashed the railing to get their attention. "Enough!" Alex’s voice was amplified by the PA system. "You eat like pigs. You fight like children," Alex stared down at the 800 bloody men. "Do you think the war is over? The Warden was just the gatekeeper." He pointed upwards, to the massive shaft disappearing into the rock ceiling. "Up there is an army of cyborgs, mutants, and soldiers who want to put those collars back on your necks. If you go up there
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