16: Chapter 16: Procurement Mode Activated

As the first light of dawn broke, the fifty-meter-high alloy city walls of Jianghai City cast a massive shadow through the mist, resembling a slumbering steel behemoth.

Lin Fan stood before the mirror, adjusting his combat suit.

It was a second-hand F-Rank protective suit with several visible repair marks, but that didn't affect his current state of mind.

After a night of rest, the physical transformation brought about by his B-Rank Talent, [Vajra Skin], was completely finished.

His once somewhat thin frame now boasted well-defined lines, every muscle containing explosive power compressed to the extreme.

“Before, it was for survival; today, it's to get rich overnight.”

Lin Fan picked up the E-Rank alloy battle saber from the table, his fingers lightly sliding across the cold spine of the blade.

This was his restocking tool.

In his vision, this blade wasn't a weapon, but the key to opening a vault.

“Brother Fan, you ready? I'm all set!”

Fatty Zhang Hao's raspy voice rang out from outside the door.

This guy was dressed even more heavily than Lin Fan, wearing a thickened riot suit and clutching a newly purchased alloy mace, looking like a human tank.

“Let's go.”

Lin Fan pushed the door open, his eyes as calm as a placid lake, with only two faint blue flames flickering deep within his pupils.

Target: The outskirts of Rift Zone No. 1 outside the city.

That was a paradise for F-Rank and E-Rank alien races, and the first "breeding ground" he had selected.

...

The city exit checkpoint was bustling with people.

This was the dividing line between the safe zone and the death zone. Countless mercenary squads gathered and resupplied here, the air thick with the smell of cheap tobacco, engine oil, and adrenaline.

“Yo, isn't this our big boss Lin?”

Just as Lin Fan was about to swipe his card in line, a piercing voice abruptly cut in.

In the shade near the checkpoint, a few thuggish youths were squatting. The speaker was a scrawny guy in a gaudy leather jacket, playing with a folding knife.

Hou San.

One of Wang Teng's lackeys, specifically responsible for keeping an eye on things in the West District for the Wang family.

Hou San stood up and sauntered over to Lin Fan, his gaze sweeping unscrupulously over their gear before he let out a sneer.

“Tsk tsk, second-hand protective suits and a rusty mace. You dare head out of the city with this gear? What, couldn't scam any more money in the city, so you're planning to deliver yourselves as takeout to the aliens?”

The surrounding mercenaries burst into laughter.

In their eyes, two high school students who hadn't even graduated heading to the Rift Zone was no different from suicide.

“Get lost.”

The fatty took a step forward, slamming his mace heavily onto the ground, leaving a white mark on the concrete.

Though he was nervous inside, this guy never lost his nerve in front of outsiders.

“Oho, the dead fatty’s got quite a temper.”

Hou San took an exaggerated step back, then his face darkened. He lowered his voice so only the three of them could hear: “Lin Fan, Young Master Wang asked me to give you a message. Kneel and beg for mercy now, hand over the secret of the blind boxes, and maybe you'll get to keep an intact corpse. If you go through those gates... accidents happen very often out there.”

A threat.

A blatant death threat.

A cruel smile hung on Hou San's face; he knew these students all too well. They might act tough in school, but once they faced true life and death, they’d definitely piss themselves.

However, he was disappointed.

Lin Fan didn't even spare him a glance.

Beep.

The ID card swiped through the turnstile, and the green light flickered on.

Lin Fan walked straight through the gate with a steady pace, as if Hou San were merely invisible air, or a pile of dog shit on the roadside.

This kind of disregard was more infuriating than a direct insult.

“Fuck! Ungrateful brat!”

Hou San felt like a clown. He spat viciously at Lin Fan's back, “Fine, you've got guts! I'll watch you die! The Black Snake people are already waiting outside. This time next year will be your death anniversary!”

Lin Fan's footsteps paused slightly.

But he didn't look back.

Black Snake?

Since they were rushing to their deaths, he might as well pack them up as stock too.

...

Rumble.

As the massive alloy gates slowly rose.

Beyond the high walls was another world.

The sky was a leaden gray, hanging so low it seemed reachable. The earth was a dark red, the result of being soaked in blood over many years.

Massive skeletons of alien beasts were visible everywhere, like white tombstones telling tales of the cruelty here.

In the distance, the faint roars of beasts echoed one after another, sending chills down one's spine.

“Gulp.”

The fatty swallowed hard, his hand gripping the mace trembling slightly.

“Fan... Brother Fan, this place looks a bit eerie.”

Even though he had awakened a C-Rank Talent and possessed the strength of a Martial Apprentice First Grade, this primal fear rooted deep in his genes still made his legs feel like jelly.

“Scared?”

Lin Fan took a deep breath.

The air, carrying the scent of decay and blood, flooded his lungs. Instead of making him uncomfortable, it made every cell in his body cheer with joy.

That was the instinctive reaction of the [myriad races blind box system].

Here, there were no laws, no morals—only the most primitive law of the jungle.

To him, this wasn't hell; it was a treasure vault paved with gold.

“Scared my ass!”

The fatty grit his teeth and forced himself to stand tall. “For Xiaoya's surgery fees, forget about aliens—even if the King of Hell himself shows up, I'm plucking a few hairs from his beard to sell for cash!”

“Good resolve.”

Lin Fan didn't venture deep yet.

He led the fatty along a dried-up riverbed on the outskirts of the city walls. This was the very edge of Rift Zone No. 1, where only the rejects pushed out by higher-order aliens roamed—perfect for practice.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Fan suddenly stopped and raised a hand in a signal to halt.

“What's wrong?” The fatty leaned in nervously, his breathing ragged.

Lin Fan didn't speak, simply pointing toward a rocky beach five hundred meters ahead.

In the display of his tactical goggles, several red light dots were moving slowly. The system quickly provided an analytical report.

【Target Locked: Iron-hide Pig (E-Rank Alien Beast)】

【Quantity: 3】

【Characteristics: Severely keratinized skin, extremely high defense, violent temperament. Weaknesses: White patches on the abdomen, eyeballs.】

【Recovery Value Evaluation: Medium. Although the meat is sour and inedible, its intact iron hide is a high-quality material for crafting defensive blind boxes. Especially that pair of tusks, which can be used to increase the critical hit rate of blind boxes.】

Iron-hide Pigs.

The beginner's nightmare of the Wasteland Zone.

Although these beasts had simple attack patterns—mostly just charging—their skin was as tough as steel plates, driving people to despair. Ordinary F-Rank weapons wouldn't even leave a white mark on them. Many fledgling squads were killed simply because they couldn't break through the defense and were eventually rammed to death.

But in Lin Fan's eyes, these were simply walking raw materials for blind boxes.

“Three pigs.”

Lin Fan held up three fingers, his tone as relaxed as if he were picking watermelons at a market. “Fatty, that's thirty thousand yuan.”

“Thirty thousand?”

The fear in the fatty's eyes vanished instantly.

The red light dots in his eyes were no longer terrifying monsters with ferocious tusks, but three thick stacks of bills smelling of fresh ink.

“Brother Fan, what's the plan? I tank, you DPS?”

At the mention of money, the fatty's IQ immediately reclaimed the high ground, and his legs stopped shaking.

“No need for that much trouble.”

Lin Fan shook his head, gripping the alloy battle saber in a reverse hold and crouching slightly, his entire body like a fully drawn longbow.

“Let's finish this quickly. Don't forget, there are rats following us.”

Before his voice faded, Lin Fan had already moved.

Bang!

The gravel beneath his feet instantly shattered.

He turned into a black blur, charging directly out of cover. No tactical flanking, no feints—just the simplest, most direct linear assault!

His Martial Apprentice Fifth Grade blood and qi erupted fully, combined with the power boost of his B-Rank Talent, allowing him to break the edge of the sound barrier the moment he started, trailing a piercing sonic whistle.

The Iron-hide Pigs in the distance clearly hadn't reacted yet.

It wasn't until the chilling killing intent closed within a hundred meters that the leading boar let out a terrified howl. It turned its head, and reflected in its small, murky eyes was a flash of lethal blade light.