2: Chapter 2 Myriad Races Blind Box System

A massive impact sent Lin Fan flying, crashing heavily into the rubble-strewn ruins. His internal organs felt displaced, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Before he could struggle to his feet, a foul wind rushed toward him.

The injured alpha wolf had already pounced in front of him. Its massive claws pinned Lin Fan's chest down, and its sharp fangs aimed at his throat, slowly pressing down.

The stench of decay was nauseating.

The sensation of death instantly enveloped Lin Fan.

Lin Fan could even clearly see the bits of shredded meat stuck between the Rot Wolf's teeth.

Is this how it ends? As expected, no matter how hard I try, I can't change anything. This is the sorrow of those at the bottom.

Like a joke, dying in an unknown corner of the wasteland, while my sister waits alone in the hospital to die, and my own corpse is scavenged by wild dogs...

No!

I refuse to accept this!

Lin Fan's pupils constricted violently. His right hand groped frantically through the pile of rocks until he grabbed a half-broken piece of rebar. Using the last ounce of his strength, he stabbed it fiercely toward the Rot Wolf's softest part—its abdomen.

Puchi.

The rebar sank into the flesh.

The Rot Wolf went berserk from the pain. Its fangs snapped shut instantly, about to bite through Lin Fan's neck.

At that very instant between life and death.

A cold, electronically synthesized voice abruptly echoed in Lin Fan's mind.

[Detected host is in a near-death state, soul fluctuations are intense...]

[Activation conditions met.]

[Myriad Things Blind Box System, binding in progress...]

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Time slowed down at this instant, as if it had been paused.

The Rot Wolf's foul-smelling saliva hung suspended half an inch from his nose, and those fangs, capable of crushing a skull, maintained their downward pressure.

Lin Fan could even see himself reflected in its cloudy eyeballs—a face covered in blood and grime, struggling in despair.

The skin on his neck had already been pierced by the sharp wolf fangs, and the cold aura of death was flooding wildly through his veins.

[Myriad Things Blind Box System successfully activated]

[Host: Lin Fan]

[Current Status: Near-death (multiple fractures throughout the body, excessive blood loss, organ damage)]

[Detected host's first binding, issuing Newbie Gift Pack: Full Health Recovery ×1 (Passive Trigger), Blind Box Encapsulation Technique.]

The cold mechanical voice lacked any emotion, yet it was more pleasant to hear than any sound Lin Fan had ever known.

In the next second, the frozen world shattered.

Boom!

An indescribable warm current exploded out of thin air deep within his heart. It was domineering and searing, like a rushing river of magma, instantly washing through Lin Fan's already overdrawn and depleted body.

His broken ribs snapped back into place with a series of cracks, and the torn muscles in his thighs writhed and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Those wounds that were originally fatal now sent waves of tingling itchiness through him.

Power.

A long-lost power, even more violent than when he was at his peak, refilled every cell.

Lin Fan's originally dull and dilated pupils suddenly constricted, then burst forth with a terrifying glint.

Want to eat me?

As if you're worthy!

"Get the hell... off me!"

He let out a violent roar, like a sudden clap of thunder.

The Rot Wolf pinning him down clearly hadn't expected this near-death prey to suddenly explode. It only felt a massive, overwhelming force transmit through the rebar in its abdomen that had previously posed no threat.

Puchi!

Under the terrifying explosive force, the rusty rebar pierced straight through the Rot Wolf's abdomen and emerged from its back!

"Awooo!"

The shrill wail had only just begun before it was abruptly cut short.

Lin Fan gripped both ends of the rebar tightly. Using this momentum, his core strength exploded, and like flipping over a mountain, he slammed the three-hundred-pound Rot Wolf violently against a nearby ruined wall.

Bang!

Dust rose and rubble flew everywhere.

The alpha wolf twitched twice, and blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed from its mouth and nose. It clearly wasn't going to survive.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The remaining two Rot Wolves, which had been preparing to step forward and share the meal, were completely stunned.

Their low intelligence couldn't fathom why this 'two-legged sheep'—who had been emitting an enticing scent of blood and was clearly about to draw his last breath—would suddenly erupt with such powerful strength.

"Huff... huff..."

Lin Fan slowly stood up from the ground.

He looked down at his hands. His originally pale and bloodless skin now showed a healthy flush, and the calluses on his palms were as hard as iron.

The blood and qi surging within his body felt like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. This thrill of controlling life and death made him want to throw his head back and roar.

This is power!

In this godforsaken world, it's the only thing one can rely on to survive!

"Roar!"

Although the remaining two Rot Wolves were wary, their bloodthirsty instincts overcame their fear. A slightly smaller Rot Wolf on the left launched an attack first, its hind legs kicking off the ground as it turned into a blur, pouncing toward Lin Fan's throat.

Fast.

But not fast enough.

To the Lin Fan who had an F-Rank Talent, this movement might have been hard to track. But now, having just undergone a baptism of life and death and being in a state of soaring adrenaline, his five senses were sharp to the extreme.

The flow of the wind, the contraction of muscles, and even the trajectory of the Rot Wolf's sharp claws slicing through the air were all clearly presented in his mind.

Lin Fan did not retreat.

He took a half-step back with his right foot and lowered his body slightly, like a fully drawn longbow. The moment the Rot Wolf pounced before him, he didn't dodge. Instead, he threw a simple and brutal straight punch, slamming it fiercely into the Rot Wolf's most vulnerable area—its waist.

It was a move he had practiced countless times in his basic combat classes at school.

Only this time, it was infused with all of his fury and newfound life.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bone rang out.

The Rot Wolf didn't even have time to scream before its entire waist collapsed inward. Its massive body flew backward even faster than it had come, crashing heavily into a nearby pile of rocks, where its limbs twitched before it went silent.

One punch, an instant kill!

Lin Fan maintained his punching posture, his chest heaving violently.

Exhilarating!

This is so damn exhilarating!

Is this what it feels like to be a martial artist? That thrill of fist meeting flesh and controlling violence is more addictive than any drug.

Seeing this, the last Rot Wolf tucked its tail and turned to flee.

"Trying to run?"

A sharp glint flashed in Lin Fan's eyes. He casually picked up the half-broken rebar stained with beast blood and hurled it with all his might.

Swish.

The rebar streaked through the air like a dark red phantom, accurately piercing through the Rot Wolf's hind leg.

"Awooo!"

The Rot Wolf wailed as it tumbled to the ground. Lin Fan rushed forward in a few strides. Without any nonsense, he picked up a piece of concrete with a sharp edge and slammed it down hard on the wolf's head.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He only stopped when the hideous wolf head had turned into a mess of blurred flesh and blood, and the system prompt sounded again.

Lin Fan tossed aside the concrete block and sat down on the messy ground, panting heavily. The smell of blood filled his nostrils, but he felt incredibly at peace.

I survived.

I really survived.

He touched his chest. His heart was beating powerfully, each throb reminding him that this wasn't just a rebirth, but the beginning of a new life.

"System."

Lin Fan called out in his mind.

A translucent screen instantly appeared on his retina, visible only to him.

[myriad races blind box system]

[Host: Lin Fan]

[Realm: Quasi-Martial Apprentice (blood qi value: 0.9 ↑)]

[Spirit: 1.1 (Average person: 1.0)]

[Talent: F-Rank]

[Current Ability: Encapsulation Technique (Can encapsulate corpses of myriad races into blind boxes; current limit: Servant Rank (Martial Artist))]

[Blind Box Points: 0]

[System Space: Not Opened]

My blood qi value increased by 0.2!

Lin Fan was shocked. One had to know that he had trained hard for three full years just to barely reach a blood qi value of 0.7. This one life-and-death struggle was actually worth several months of training?

No, that wasn't the main point.

Lin Fan's gaze was fixed on the [Encapsulation Technique] column.

Blind boxes?

Turning corpses... into blind boxes?

What kind of skill is this?

[Detected available targets for encapsulation nearby: 'Rot Wolf Corpse' ×3.]

[Proceed with production?]

The system prompt sounded at the right time, carrying a hint of inducement.

Lin Fan looked at the three mangled, foul-smelling wolf corpses around him. In the past, the corpses of such low-level exotic beasts were worth nothing. Other than the pelts which could be sold for a bit of money, the meat was sour, stinking, and slightly toxic—even stray dogs wouldn't eat it.

"Produce."

Lin Fan gritted his teeth.

No matter how macabre the skill, if it's from the system, it must be high quality.

As he gave the command, a magical scene unfolded.

A strange white light suddenly flickered over the surfaces of the three massive wolf corpses. The light wasn't blinding, but it carried a suction force that seemed to warp space. Flesh, bone, fur, and even the blood spilled on the ground were rapidly decomposed, reorganized, and compressed within this light.

In just three short seconds.

The ground was completely empty; not even a trace of blood remained.

In their place, three palm-sized, quaint wooden boxes lay quietly amidst the ruins.

The boxes were a deep dark brown, made of a material that looked like wood but wasn't. Their surfaces were carved with complex and obscure patterns. On the front of each box, a dark gold pigment outlined a ferocious wolf-head totem, so lifelike it seemed it might leap out to devour someone at any moment.

[Rot Wolf Blind Box (Common Edition)]

[Quality: White]

[Source: Wasteland Zone 1 Rot Wolf]

[Description: Since it's a blind box, it could contain a piece of trash like 'Postpartum Care for Sows', or it could contain a rare Strength Rune. It all depends on your luck.]

[Opening Price: Suggested retail price of 10,000 alliance coins.]

Lin Fan picked up one of the boxes. It felt warm and heavy to the touch, and it was impossible to tell that this thing had been a pile of rotten meat just a moment ago.

"This thing... can sell for 10,000?"