95: Chapter 95 Ready-made tactical test subjects, might as well use them.

The creaking of the door hinge still echoed in his ears, and Hu Jinsi had already stepped down the first step.

The stairs were metal, covered with a layer of anti-slip rubber matting, but the edges were worn away, revealing the steel plate underneath. Every step he took produced a crisp "clack-clack" sound.

The air was filled with a mix of machine oil and rust—not pungent, but enough to make one frown. The further down they went, the clearer that annoying noise from last night became. It wasn't just simple mechanical roaring, but the rhythmic trembling sound characteristic of a conveyor belt in operation, mixed with the clatter of metal friction and cardboard boxes colliding.

"This sound…" Su Wan muttered quietly behind him. "Was this what was making all that noise last night?"

"Obviously." Hu Jinsi didn't even turn his head. "It kept me from meditating properly all night."

Lin Rui followed at the back. His heavy armor boots hit the metal steps with a much duller sound than the previous two. He didn't complain, only occasionally steadying himself by touching the wall. The paint on the wall was peeling, revealing the red brick and cement underneath, which felt damp and cold to the touch.

There were about twenty steps. At the end, there was another double-leaf iron door. Hu Jinsi reached out and pushed it; the door was lighter than expected, and the hinges were better maintained than the one above, emitting only a low, hoarse friction sound.

The door opened.

The space before them made all three of them stop in their tracks.

The first basement level was larger than any of the levels above. The ceiling was at least five or six meters high, with dense pipes and cables hanging overhead, their surfaces covered in a thick layer of dust and grease. Several rows of exposed fluorescent tubes were embedded in the metal racks on the ceiling, emitting a buzzing electrical sound. The light cast alternating stripes of light and shadow into the air, slicing the entire space into distinct zones of light and dark.

Running through the entire first basement level was a massive conveyor belt. No, not just one.

The main conveyor belt was like a rigid metal river, extending from the dark depths on the left to the edge of their vision on the right, wide enough for two small cars to drive side-by-side.

It was piled high with various cardboard boxes, wooden crates, and containers strapped with sheet metal, moving slowly and occasionally colliding with a muffled "clank." Several narrower branch lines forked off from the sides of the main conveyor belt, some sloping upward, others curving downward, segmenting this huge underground space into dozens of independent zones like capillaries.

Standing around the conveyor belts were warehouse workers in blue uniforms. They wore canvas work caps, their expressions blank, their eyes hollow, like rows of machines that had been paused.

In the deeper shadows, one could see figures in leather jackets with tattooed arms—those were the gang thugs. They were also in a standby state, bodies leaning slightly forward, hands hanging at their sides, like a pack of hounds ready to launch at any moment.

The source of the noise had been found. That intermittent roaring from last night was the sound of these conveyor belts running.

"Good grief," Hu Jinsi muttered to himself. In the game he played in his past life, the first level did indeed feature a battle on a conveyor belt.

But that was a 2D pixelated screen, with a few little characters fighting on a conveyor belt just a few pixels wide, the background as simple as a child's doodle. This 3D version before him—the scale of the conveyor belts, the depth of the space, the number of enemies—would be an understatement even if called an ultra-high-definition remastered enhanced version.

"Pear Garden Squad didn't mention this." Lin Rui lowered his voice, his eyes scanning those blank-faced workers. "They only said there were many enemies on the first basement level, not that there was this thing."

"But they did say conveyor belt combat is terrible," Su Wan replied. "They told us to avoid getting on them if possible."

"We definitely shouldn't go up there." Hu Jinsi nodded. Fighting on a conveyor belt meant you could lose your balance at any moment, get pulled off course by the moving ground, and have to dodge boxes falling from above. They didn't have the masochistic habit of voluntarily increasing their own difficulty.

"Let's cheese it," Hu Jinsi decided directly.

Su Wan understood. She raised her staff and began to chant softly. The gem at the top of the staff glowed with a pale golden light, and two threads of light drifted out, wrapping around Lin Rui's and her own ankles respectively.

"[Spider Climb]." Su Wan recited the spell name.

"Are you alright?" Hu Jinsi noticed Lin Rui's face was pale.

"I'm fine." Lin Rui gritted his teeth, his voice muffled under his helmet. "Just a bit… dizzy."

Hu Jinsi patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Hang in there, this level shouldn't be long."

The three of them moved along the side of the wall, step by step, toward the direction of the second basement level.

The enemies were activated.

Those warehouse workers who had been blank-faced suddenly seemed to have a switch flipped, their eyes instantly lighting up with fierce malice.

They were no longer sluggish, instead stiffly grabbing tools lying around near the conveyor belts—wrenches, iron rods, wooden boxes—and some even hoisted a plastic crate full of parts, swarming toward the three of them.

The gang thugs in the shadows also moved. They were faster, wielding daggers, short sticks, and bicycle chains, some even pulling switchblades from their waists.

"Here they come." Hu Jinsi stopped and pressed against the wall, looking down.

The segmentation of the conveyor belts actually helped Su Wan. Because the ground was cut into multiple independent zones by the conveyor belts and metal racks, the enemies were trapped in different areas and couldn't swarm them all at once.

They could only roar across the conveyor belts or search for paths through the gaps between them. Some tried to step over the slowly moving conveyor belts but couldn't keep their balance, stumbling and falling onto the metal edges.

"Perfect." Su Wan curled her lips. She had intended to take a short rest before the next level to recover spell slots, but since the fight had started, there was no need to hold back.

"I'll clear the field, you guys handle the cleanup."

She closed her eyes and began to channel all the magical energy within her. Six spell slots—this was all the available resources she could muster at the moment. She poured them all into the same spell: [Shattering Sonic Wave].

The first [Shattering Sonic Wave] spread through the air, blasting toward the nearest zone on the left.

Where the shockwave passed, the air trembled violently. Cardboard boxes on the conveyor belt were sent flying, the lids of wooden crates were shattered, revealing scattered screws and washers inside.

The workers who had just rushed to the edge of the conveyor belt were hit head-on. As if swept by an invisible giant hand, they flew backward, crashing into the shelves behind them. The shelves toppled over, and parts spilled everywhere with a clatter.

"Boom!"

The second [Shattering Sonic Wave] swept toward the front right immediately after.

The group of gang thugs hadn't even managed to cross the gap of the conveyor belt before being hit head-on by the shockwave. Some screamed while clutching their ears, others were flipped over directly, rolling off the edge of the conveyor belt and falling between the metal racks below, making a series of clattering sounds.

The third, the fourth, the fifth…

Su Wan's throat gradually grew hoarse. Continuously casting high-frequency sonic magic placed a real burden on her vocal cords.

Beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, but her hands were steady, and each cast accurately hit an independent zone.

With all six spell slots emptied, the burning pain in her throat had not subsided; even swallowing saliva felt stinging and dry.

The entire first basement level fell into a brief silence. Only the conveyor belts remained, running tirelessly and emitting a monotonous roar.

Six spell slots, six zones. Most of the enemies had been shaken to the core by this baptism and had lost their ability to fight. But there were always a few with good constitutions still struggling, wobbling as they tried to climb up, iron rods still clutched in their hands.

"My turn." Hu Jinsi leaped down from the wall.

His body flipped in the air, the iron-wrapped wooden staff rotating half a circle in his hand before he gripped it firmly. As he landed, his legs bent to absorb the impact, and then he dashed into the nearest zone like a shadow.

A worker had just stood up by holding onto a shelf when he was struck on the head by the staff. Hu Jinsi gave him no time to react; the staff shadows were like the wind, the second strike sweeping across the side of his knee, the third jabbing into his chest. The worker groaned, and his body dissipated into points of light.

Another thug nearby tried to sneak an attack from the side, holding a rusty wrench. Hu Jinsi didn't even turn his head; pivoting on his left foot, he rotated his body, the staff sweeping a semicircle with the force of the rotation, accurately striking the man's wrist.

The wrench flew out of his hand, spinning a few times in the air before "clanging" into the gap of the conveyor belt, carried slowly away into the distance by the belt.

Hu Jinsi's movements were fast. His figure leaped between the various zones, using the climbing ability granted by [lickers leg bind], allowing him to jump directly from a zone to the wall and slide into another zone.

Every leap, every swing of the staff, carried a crisp and clean efficiency, with no unnecessary flashy moves. The iron-wrapped wooden staff was like a flexible viper in his hands, accurately striking the enemies' joints, throats, and temples.

Lin Rui guarded Su Wan. His position was in the zone near the door, which was also the direction from which enemies might flank them.

A worker swung an iron pipe, smashing it against the shield with a dull thud. Lin Rui's arm went numb, the numbness traveling from his shoulder to his fingertips. But he didn't retreat.

The shield followed through with a forward thrust, knocking the worker back staggering. Immediately after, Lin Rui drew the [sigons saber] from behind the shield and slashed. The edge of the saber carved an arc in the dim light, slicing the worker directly into two points of light.

The battle ended quickly. From the moment Su Wan cast the first [Shattering Sonic Wave] to the last enemy dissipating, it took less than eight minutes in total.

But the exhaustion after the battle surged up immediately.

Su Wan slid down against the wall, her staff resting horizontally on her lap. With all six spell slots emptied, she felt as if her throat had been sanded with sandpaper, dry and astringent.

She took a water bottle out of her backpack, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp. The water temperature was no longer cool, carrying a faint metallic taste.

Lin Rui took off his helmet and leaned against the door frame, gasping for air. The nausea caused by moving quickly on the wall earlier erupted completely after the battle ended.

He felt dizzy, as if a hand were churning his stomach, and his temples were throbbing. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to let his inner ear's vestibular system return to normal.

"Are you alright?" Su Wan looked up at him.

"I'm fine." Lin Rui's voice was a bit weak.

The combat was saved, but the loot couldn't be.

The conveyor belts cut the ground into independent zones. Although they had avoided being swarmed on the ground by using the cheesing tactic, they still had to go back to those small, individual zones to collect the loot.

Hu Jinsi began his lonely journey of collection. He ran along the edge of the wall, using his agility to leap between the zones. The gaps between the conveyor belts weren't large, making it easy for him. He jumped from one zone to another, bent down to pick up the loot on the ground, stuffed it into his backpack, and then moved on to the next.

This job was more tedious than the battle itself. Some zones were surrounded by conveyor belts, requiring him to step on metal racks to jump over; some zones were piled with toppled shelves, requiring him to crawl through; and some loot had Fallen into the gaps of the conveyor belts, forcing him to reach in and fish it out, nearly getting his fingers pinched by the slowly moving conveyor belt.

He ran for about ten minutes before collecting the loot from all the zones.

During this process, he found some interesting things.

A red and white baseball jacket, loose-fitting, with two blue stripes on the sleeves. It had no attribute bonuses, purely clothing. Next to it was a matching red baseball cap, the brim slightly curved. There was also a pair of dark blue jeans, also just clothing.

Hu Jinsi looked at this outfit, and a thought popped into his mind.

In a certain fighting game he played in his past life, there was a character named Terry who seemed to have this exact style: baseball cap, jacket, and jeans.

Although the details weren't exactly the same, the overall look was very close.

On a whim, he changed into this gear.

He put the red and white jacket over his [Tiangang Qi Refining Robe] and wore the cap backward.

He swapped his original training pants for the jeans.

He checked himself out against the surface of a metal crate; while the surface wasn't perfectly flat, he could roughly see his reflection.

"Not bad." He nodded in satisfaction.

This outfit was actually quite normal on Water Blue Star; even if he walked out onto the street after leaving the dungeon, it wouldn't attract too much attention.

After all, baseball jackets and jeans were common casual wear.

After finishing the collection, Hu Jinsi jogged a few steps along the edge of the wall and returned to where the two of them were.

Su Wan was leaning against the wall taking a short rest to recover her spell slots.

Hearing footsteps, Su Wan opened her eyes.

Seeing Hu Jinsi's new look, she was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"Wow! Jinsi, this outfit is pretty handsome!" She suddenly perked up, abandoning her short rest, and jumped up from the ground, circling Hu Jinsi, "Red and white paired with blue, this color combination is great! And wearing the cap backward... that's interesting!"

"It's alright." Hu Jinsi shrugged, "It doesn't have any stats anyway, just wearing it for fun."

"Are there any more?" Su Wan grabbed his arm, "Get me a set too!"

"Big sister," Hu Jinsi rolled his eyes, "Didn't you notice there are no female enemies in this level at all? All the drops are male-style; even if you want one, this is the only set available."

"Male-style is fine!" Su Wan waved her hand, looking indifferent, "I'll just take it back and have my mom help me alter it.

She's skilled; altering clothes is no big deal.

The main thing is that this style has such a vibe—cool and casual.

Why didn't I hear the Pear Garden Squad mention that the clothes in this dungeon could be this good-looking before?"

Hu Jinsi rummaged through the drops as he replied, "Do you think the aesthetic of those three from the Pear Garden Squad could accept these strange clothes?

They usually wish they could sit in class wearing costumes and robes; if you made them change into this kind of pure casual wear, I think it would be even more painful than killing them."

"Especially Mo Ming; if he put this on, I bet he wouldn't be able to play any sorrowful tones when playing the erhu.

Imagine playing 'Erquan Yingyue' while wearing a baseball jacket?"

"Hahaha, that image is indeed a bit weird." Su Wan couldn't help but laugh.

Hu Jinsi rummaged through the drops for a while and found another matching set in blue and white: a blue jacket, white baseball cap, and jeans, which he handed to Su Wan.

Then he found a brown and white one for Lin Rui.

"You two probably won't have a chance to wear these in the dungeon," Hu Jinsi said, "You can try them out as your daily OOTD after we leave.

They're just white-tier items anyway, no stats, just wear them for fun."

Lin Rui took the clothes, looked at them, and stuffed them into his backpack: "We'll see after we get out."

After dealing with the non-combat attire, Hu Jinsi took a grey, dusty skill stone out of his backpack and handed it to Lin Rui.

Lin Rui took it and held it in his hand.

The surface of the stone was rough, and he could faintly see the phantom of some skill sealed inside.

He focused his mind to check its attributes:

[Skill Stone: Brute Force Charge]

[Effect: After use, you can learn this skill, or integrate its characteristics into other similar skills.]

[Brute Force Charge: After a short Charge-up (1-3 seconds), dash in a straight line forward.

You cannot change direction or stop midway.

Deals bludgeoning damage to the first enemy target hit based on your own body weight (Total Weight / 20).

If the weight of the hit target is lower than yours, they are forced to fall to the ground.]

Hu Jinsi asked from the side, "How is it? Isn't it perfect for you?

We were just talking about your skills being a bit lacking yesterday, and today we found one.

If we finish this dungeon, I bet everyone will have something to show for it."

Lin Rui looked at the skill stone and shook his head, "That's not what I'm thinking about.

I'm wondering if this [Brute Force Charge] fits my attack style.

A Charge that requires charging up and can't change direction is a bit uncontrollable.

Moreover, in terms of effect, compared to [Tactical Roll] and [Charge], it doesn't have any unique, irreplaceable value."

Hu Jinsi said, "Doesn't it say right there? It can be fused into similar skills.

Just fuse this skill stone with [Charge], and you're done, right?

Anyway, this skill doesn't have any negative traits, so after it's fused, you definitely won't be at a loss overall."

Lin Rui listened, thought about it, and nodded.

He stood up, held the skill stone in his hand, and brought it close to his forehead.

The skill stone began to emit a faint light, turning into a stream of information that surged into his mind.

[Please select a fusion target: Charge / Tactical Roll]

"[Charge]." Lin Rui confirmed in his mind.

The light intensified.

A moment later, the fusion was complete.

Lin Rui opened his skill panel to check the description of [Charge].

Sure enough, there was a new trait:

[Weight Impact: Deals additional bludgeoning damage to the first enemy on your Charge path based on your own body weight (Total Weight / 20).

Requires physical contact or indirect contact via a shield.]

"It's done." Lin Rui lowered his hand and rolled his shoulders.

"How does it feel?" Su Wan asked curiously.

"We'll find out when we test it in a bit."

---

The three of them finished resting and continued to push forward.

They pushed open the iron door at the end of the first underground floor and arrived at the second underground floor.

The space on the second underground floor was significantly smaller than the first.

Old industrial pendant lights hung from the ceiling, casting dim, yellow light and swaying shadows in the air.

The area was piled with wooden crates, iron barrels, and discarded shelves.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, the kind peculiar to basements that never see sunlight.

Dalton did not occupy the entire floor.

According to the intelligence provided by the Pear Garden Squad, this boss was deep in the second underground floor, with a circle of henchmen guarding the room outside.

This was the reason they chose to clear the perimeter first.

"Watch out for that elite monster that uses a flying knee strike." Hu Jinsi warned, "The Pear Garden Squad's intel says that when that guy is about five meters away from you, he will directly unleash a long-range flying knee strike.

Wang Jingshan didn't pay attention during his first encounter and lost a third of his health in one hit, getting knocked all the way against the warehouse wall."

"That brutal?" Lin Rui frowned.

"Fortunately, they later observed an obvious telegraph," Hu Jinsi continued, "Before he unleashes it, he needs to half-squat on one knee in place.

When you see this action, immediately retreat and get out of the five-meter range."

"Understood." Lin Rui and Su Wan nodded simultaneously.

After verifying the information, the three of them began to clear out the henchmen guarding the entrance.

Lin Rui took the lead.

He raised his riot shield and [Charge]d toward the nearest minion.

His sturdy body, wrapped in heavy armor, rolled forward like a mobilized chariot.

"Bang!"

The edge of the shield slammed hard into the minion's chest.

By this morning's standards, this enemy would have needed at least one more [Heavy Strike] or a saber slash to be completely eliminated.

Lin Rui had habitually drawn the [sigons saber], preparing to finish it off.

But this time, the moment his Charge hit the target, three damage numbers floated up above its head in succession:

[-10] (Base damage of Charge)

[-16] (Additional damage from Load Expert)

[-20] (Additional damage from Weight Impact)

The three numbers popped up almost simultaneously.

The minion didn't even grunt, its body directly dissolving into points of light and dissipating into the air.

Lin Rui's momentum was wasted because the target disappeared; he stumbled a bit before steadying himself.

The saber swung through empty air, the blade letting out a whistle.

"...Dead?"

He looked at the empty air in front of his shield, somewhat incredulous.

The three team members were all stunned.

It wasn't that they hadn't experienced one-shotting enemies before.

But that was at least half a year ago, when they were attacking those low-level [Fallen] in the [Cold Plains] dungeon.

Back then, Lin Rui's level and equipment already crushed those minions, so one-shotting them was normal.

But the enemies they were facing now were standard minions from the first level of [Double Dragon III].

Based on their experience fighting them this morning, it took at least two skills to kill this enemy.

Yet now, a single [Charge] had one-shot it?

"How did your damage get so much higher?" Su Wan looked at him in disbelief.

"After fusing [Brute Force Charge], I got [Weight Impact]." Lin Rui looked at his panel, "My gear combined... the total weight is quite substantial."

Hu Jinsi was also taken aback.

He knew there would be an improvement after the fusion, but he hadn't expected it to be this significant.

Lin Rui's heavy armor, shield, and saber combined for a huge total weight.

This extra impact multiplied the damage several times over.

"Looks like that skill stone was worth fusing." Hu Jinsi grinned.

"But don't get careless." Lin Rui quickly regained his composure, "The damage is high, but [Charge] still has a cooldown; it's impossible to use it continuously."

The three of them continued to clear out the remaining minions.

With Lin Rui's violent Charge paving the way, the clearing efficiency was much faster than expected.

Hu Jinsi cut in from the flank, his iron-wood wrapped iron staff accurately striking the enemies attempting to bypass Lin Rui.

Su Wan used her hand crossbow to finish them off from a distance.

Soon, the henchmen at the entrance were cleared, leaving only the elite monster.

The three of them began to consciously keep their distance from him.

The elite monster was a burly man wearing a black tight-fitting vest and cargo pants, with bulging muscles and a pair of heavy metal knee pads on his knees.

He stood in the center of the room, staring fiercely at the three of them, but didn't rush up immediately.

His hands hung naturally at his sides, fingers slightly curled, like a pair of iron hooks ready to strike.

Su Wan raised her staff and began to chant in a low voice.

Using her singing, she cast her [Plucking·Initial Movement] on the elite monster from afar.

It was a very strange feeling.

Su Wan's fingertips felt as if they had touched an invisible string, the other end of which was connected to the essence of the elite monster's existence.

Whenever the elite monster made a move: raising a hand, taking a step, turning its head, subtle vibrations would occur on the string.

Su Wan closed her eyes, carefully feeling the frequency and amplitude of these vibrations, trying to find a pattern in them.

"His string is very taut." Su Wan said softly, "Especially when he's preparing to exert force, the string will suddenly tighten, as if it's about to snap."

"That's the signal for the telegraph." Hu Jinsi said, "Watch out for when he half-squats."

Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi cautiously approached the elite monster, keeping a distance of about five meters.

Whenever the elite monster attempted to half-squat on one knee, the two of them would instantly step back, moving out of his attack range.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The elite monster was toyed with repeatedly, his expression becoming increasingly agitated.

He roared, trying to speed up the half-squat, but Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi's cooperation was already very tacit; they could always move out of range at the very last moment.

His knees slightly bent and then straightened, repeatedly squatting up and down, as if he were doing some strange exercise routine.

Finally, during one of the repeated squats, Su Wan seized the opening.

The elite monster attempted to half-kneel again, preparing to launch the flying knee strike.

His muscles tightened, his center of gravity sank, and his knees bent slightly.

In that very instant, Su Wan gently plucked that string.

"Hum!"

The elite monster's body suddenly stiffened.

His center of gravity should have landed steadily on his supporting leg during the half-squat, but the disturbance in the string caused his leg muscles to twitch in a way they shouldn't have.

His center of gravity shifted instantly; the half-squat failed, and instead, he lost his balance and sat heavily on the ground with a dull thud.

"Chance!" Hu Jinsi shouted.

Lin Rui had long been prepared. The moment that elite monster landed on its butt, he activated [Charge].

The heavy armor wrapped around his sturdy body, rolling forward like a mobilized chariot. The front of his shield slammed fiercely into the elite monster's chest.

With that one collision, nearly half of the elite monster's health was wiped out. It was knocked backward, the back of its head hitting the cement floor hard, emitting a teeth-grinding thud.

Lin Rui didn't give it any chance to catch its breath.

He took a step forward, bringing the edge of his shield down in one motion: [Shield Bash]! The elite monster tried to raise its hands to Block, but the weight and impact force of the shield smashed through its defense.

Immediately after, [sigons saber] was unsheathed, [Heavy Strike]! The blade slashed into the elite monster's shoulder, blood splattered, drawing a dark red arc under the dim light.

The elite monster shrieked and tried to roll over and stand up. Lin Rui took a large leap backward to create distance, then immediately activated [Tactical Roll], curling his body into a ball, and with the weight of his full heavy armor, slammed into the elite monster again.

The impact of the roll knocked the elite monster to the ground again. Utilizing the stance at the end of [Tactical Roll], Lin Rui quickly switched weapons, drew the [MS-15 "Steel Spike" Heavy Pistol] from his waist with his right hand, pressed it against the elite monster's chest, and pulled the trigger continuously.

"Bang! Bang!" Two gunshots rang out. The bullets pierced through the elite monster's chest, it twitched twice, and finally dissipated into points of light.

The battle ended.

Lin Rui stood in place, panting for a few breaths. This combo consumed quite a bit of his stamina. Releasing multiple skills in succession, for a Soldier with no extra class resources to consume, drained his own stamina completely.

The inside of his armor was soaked with sweat, and his base layer was sticking to his back, which was very uncomfortable. His arms were trembling slightly from the continuous shield and sword swings, and his fingers gripping the gun were somewhat stiff.

"Not bad," Hu Jinsi walked over and patted his shoulder. "I've never seen you use that combo in the dungeons before the Qingming Festival."

"It's a new combination," Lin Rui put away his pistol and stretched his numb arms. "After getting hit by the Biker Gang yesterday, I went back and thought about it all night. My father also gave me some advice."

"Looks like that hit wasn't for nothing," Su Wan walked over with a smile. "Your little cosmos exploded, and you've awakened your combat talent."

"Give it a rest," Lin Rui rolled his eyes.

The small monsters didn't leave anything of value, but the elite monster dropped a piece of equipment. It was a pair of knee pads. Hu Jinsi picked them up to check the stats:

[Jim's Knee Pads]

[Type: Greaves]

[Attribute Requirement: Strength 15+]

[Iron Knee Crash: When you use this equipment to launch a melee knee attack (such as a flying knee or knee strike), deal an additional 3-6 points of blunt damage, and the target is expected to have a high probability of being knocked back 1 meter, with a small probability of entering a knocked-down state.]

[Item Description: Two curved protective plates cut from car steel plates, lined on the inside with rubber pieces cut from old tires, and welded on the outside with three rows of rivets and a horizontal reinforcement rib. The surface is full of dents and white scrape marks, clearly left by repeated knee impacts against hard objects. It is quite heavy when worn on the legs; with every step, a dull clanking sound is emitted between the metal and metal.]

"What a pity," Hu Jinsi shook his head. "If it were paired with the corresponding Flying Knee Strike skill, this equipment could produce an effect where one plus one is greater than three. But without the skill, it's just mediocre."

"The skill crystal for Flying Knee Strike didn't drop?" Su Wan said with some regret.

"No," Hu Jinsi put the knee pads into his backpack. "This equipment will likely have to wait in the shop for someone destined for it to collect both the skill stone and the knee pads before it can finally have its day to shine."

Since their current progress was much faster than expected, the three decided not to rush forward. They left Lin Rui twenty minutes to rest and adjust his condition.

Lin Rui found a relatively clean wooden crate to sit on, took off his helmet, and gasped for air. The recent battle had left him somewhat excited, and releasing multiple skills in a short time consumed a lot of his stamina. He felt as if his lungs were burning, each breath carrying a scorching sensation. The inside of his armor was soaked with sweat, and his base layer was sticking to his back, which was very uncomfortable. He unbuckled a few straps on his chest armor to let the air circulate.

Hu Jinsi looked at his panting appearance and signaled Su Wan to rest as well. Anyway, the trio's original plan was to reach the second stage before noon, but now it looked like they might even reach the second stage before ten o'clock, with plenty of time to spare.

"Drink some water," Su Wan handed a bottle of water to Lin Rui.

Lin Rui took it, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down more than half the bottle. Then he leaned against the wooden crate, closed his eyes, and let his heartbeat slowly calm down. About twenty minutes later, he put his helmet back on, stood up, and stretched his limbs. His stamina had recovered by more than half, his breathing had stabilized, and his hand gripping the shield was no longer trembling.

"Let's go."

The three organized their equipment and checked their status. They pushed open the door to the final boss room.

The door hinges emitted a heavy friction sound. The space behind the door was larger than expected, an empty central area of a warehouse. The overhead chandelier emitted a dim yellow light, illuminating the figure in the very center of the room.

Dalton was already standing there, having waited for a long time.

The three saw the full appearance of this boss for the first time.

Dalton was tall and sturdy, with the typical physique of a brute-force strongman. He wore a red baseball cap backward, black short hair sticking out from under the brim like hedgehog spikes, with a few strands sticking up stubbornly. His facial features were rugged and rough, with a shallow scar on his chin, and paired with those falcon-like eyes, he exuded an oppressive sense of street ruffianism.

He wore a loose blue short-sleeved work shirt on his upper body, with a simple pocket on the chest containing an unlit cigarette. The muscle lines on his arms were extremely prominent, his thick biceps gleaming with a bronze luster under the light, and veins bulging on his forearms like winding earthworms. His lower body was paired with dark blue trousers, the cuffs tucked into a pair of heavy work boots, the surfaces of which were stained with mud and oil.

His hands wore no protective gear, his ten fingers were thick, and his knuckles were covered in calluses and tiny cracks. According to the data, his fighting relied entirely on punches and kicks, without any weapons.

His overall style was casual and unrestrained, paired with a heavy and burly physique, making him highly recognizable. This was the image of a strong man full of street thug temperament, but unexpectedly... very normal.

Compared to the strange and weird enemies they had encountered before: Abobo holding a trash can, the Biker Gang riding motorcycles and crashing around, the hoodlums holding bicycle chains. Dalton's image was simply ridiculously normal.

It was also the first time the three had encountered such a normal-looking boss. Compared to the Dalton in front of them, the three members of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad might actually look more like the villains. A fully equipped Soldier, a strange girl wearing an unknown collar around her neck, plus a teenager in a baseball uniform. Compared to the Dalton in front of them, such a combination really made one wonder who was on the side of justice.

"...He looks more like the good guy than we do," Su Wan muttered softly.

"Indeed," Lin Rui rarely agreed.

Hu Jinsi couldn't help but sigh. In the game from his past life, Dalton was just a 2D pixel character, his movements were stiff, and the names of his moves were even more outrageously bizarre: things like "Mans Power", "Mans Blade", "Mans Ki Blast".

But in this 3D dungeon world, Dalton's image was much better. Just based on his current look, as long as he didn't shout those mind-blowing move names during the fight, he would have no problem going to Hollywood to play a tough guy. At least in many action movies, being the number one villain or the second or third male lead would not be a problem.

This was the first time their squad had fought such a martial artist. Hu Jinsi organized his thoughts in his mind. First of all, no matter what, Dalton was a normal human Boss. As a martial artist, his agility, strength, and reaction speed were much stronger than an ordinary person's.

The three couldn't adopt a kiting strategy just because he was a strength-oriented martial artist. Among the three in the squad, perhaps only Hu Jinsi's speed was faster than his. It would already be pretty good if Lin Rui and Su Wan weren't the ones being kited by Dalton.

Judging from the data provided by Pear Garden Squad and many high school sophomores online, when dealing with this kind of humanoid martial artist Boss, the battle should focus on crowd control. Therefore, the main force of this battle was clearly placed on Su Wan's side.

The squad's battle plan was very simple. Su Wan would use [Crown of Madness] to control Dalton throughout the fight. Then Lin Rui would stand next to Dalton to act as a punching bag.

Under the influence of [Crown of Madness], Dalton could only launch normal melee attacks at the nearest enemy beside him. In this way, as a martial artist, he would be unable to use any of his combat skills, which was equivalent to disabling most of his offensive capabilities.

And Hu Jinsi's task was very simple, yet very important. Su Wan only had six spell slots, and [Crown of Madness] could last for a maximum of six minutes, but Su Wan couldn't guarantee that it would last for the maximum duration every time. Therefore, Hu Jinsi had to unleash his maximum potential from the start of the battle, striving to end the fight as quickly as possible, or to disable Dalton's combat capability at the fastest speed.

"Actually, even in a normal fight, the three of us should be able to deal with Dalton quite easily," Hu Jinsi said. "But we want to use this opportunity to practice this tactic. After all, the strength of these martial artists later on will gradually increase."

"It's not easy to catch a relatively weak one," Su Wan continued. "If we can verify the pros and cons of this tactic on him, it'll be easier to make improvements later on."

"And I'm level 14 now, so I have one more chance to swap out a spell slot," Su Wan added. "If appropriate, I might replace it with another control spell to enhance our control over martial artists."

Before the battle, Lin Rui finally made up his mind. He took the [swill lid] into his hand, carried the [SWAT Heavy Riot Shield] on his back, and put the [Solid Rock Tower Shield] into his backpack, preparing to switch the shield in his hand at any time according to the situation.

"Are you sure you want to use this?" Su Wan looked at the rusty trash can lid, her expression somewhat strange.

"Jinsi is right," Lin Rui's expression was very serious. "These martial artists have very keen senses. The stench eruption from the [swill lid] might have a greater impact on them than imagined. Even if it doesn't look good, as long as we can win, that's all that matters."

Hu Jinsi smiled and said nothing. Everything was ready. "Let's go."