9: Chapter 9 Dual-wielding blue gear? My skills can crit too!

When Chen Fan's vision cleared again, the smell of rust was replaced by the scent of damp grass. Before him was a faded red plastic running track, and a rusted iron fence rattled in the wind—he had arrived at the Abandoned Stadium.

"Ding—"

The system notification rang in his ears, and three scrolls shimmering with faint light suddenly materialized in front of him.

[Basic Block] glowed a pale green, [Wind Walk] was shrouded in silver light, and [Heavy Strike Enhancement] looked like a ball of dark red fire.

Chen Fan's Adam's apple bobbed as he unconsciously rubbed the bronze bell shard in his pocket. The tremors left in the shard from when he used it to disrupt the system in the last dungeon still made his palm itch.

"Bro!"

A trembling call came from his left.

Xiao Lin came scrambling down from the concrete steps of the spectator stands. His tracksuit sleeves were still stained with blood that hadn't been cleaned off—wounds from being clawed by monsters in the first dungeon. The hemostatic medicine Chen Fan had given him was still clutched in his sweaty palm, the wrapper crumpled into a ball.

"I... I just ran into A-Gui at the teleport point!" Xiao Lin skidded to a halt, his back against the rusted railing, eyes wide. "He said... he said ninety percent of those who choose that last one, [Heavy Strike Enhancement], will awaken a trash skill!"

Chen Fan's pupils contracted slightly.

He followed Xiao Lin's trembling finger and saw a figure standing at the edge of the railing in the shadows of the stands.

The wind lifted a corner of the gray-black cloak, revealing tightly wrapped black cloth clothing underneath. Even the face was hidden within a hood.

Seeing Chen Fan look over, the person tilted their chin—less of a nod and more of a signal of confirmation. In the next second, they merged into the shadows, leaving not even the sound of a footstep.

"Who is A-Gui?" Chen Fan asked, staring at the shadow, his voice kept very low.

Xiao Lin swallowed hard. "I heard he's a veteran of the Bronze rank. He never parties up and just hangs around the teleport points.

Last time, I saw him use a dagger to pierce through a lowlife who was stealing gear from newbies... blood splashed across half his face, and he didn't even wipe it off. He just stared at the corpse and laughed."

Chen Fan didn't respond.

He looked at the three floating light scrolls. Memories of the doubled experience points from critical hits in the Furnace Dungeon and the doubly enhanced effects of the bronze bell flashed through his mind—the system always loved to hide good things behind risks.

Was A-Gui's warning... a kindness, or a trap?

"I choose this." He suddenly reached out. His fingertips were only half an inch from [Basic Block] before he pulled back as if burned.

Xiao Lin's breath hitched.

Chen Fan's hand swept through the air in an arc and slammed heavily onto [Heavy Strike Enhancement].

The dark red scroll instantly disintegrated, shattering into starlight that bored into the space between his eyebrows.

The system notification exploded immediately after: "[Skill learned successfully: Heavy Strike Enhancement (Basic)]"—before the words could fade, a red window popped up abruptly, its glare stinging the eyes: "[Critical Hit check triggered!

Skill Level x2!]"

A scalding current surged up his spine.

Chen Fan felt as if a lump of red-hot coal had been stuffed into his chest. His fists clenched unconsciously, his knuckles letting out sharp cracks.

When the wind brushed past his ears, it actually carried a sharp whistle—this was a level of power he had never possessed back when he was hauling cement bags.

"Heh."

A cold sneer came from the right.

Brother Dao was standing three meters away at some point, his left arm wrapped in blood-seeping bandages (a wound from being eroded by the shadows, which Chen Fan hadn't saved him from). A scroll glowing with yellow light floated in his right hand: "[Basic Berserk], it can double attack speed.

Skills have levels. So what if yours is Intermediate?"

Chen Fan said nothing. He looked at a half-man-high stone pillar at the edge of the field and suddenly threw a punch.

The sound of the wind was even more intense than before.

The moment his fist slammed into the stone pillar, he heard the system notification explode in his mind: "[Intermediate Heavy Strike Enhancement activated!

Base Damage x1.5]"—followed by an even more piercing "Ding": "[Critical Hit check triggered!

Damage x3.4]!"

The stone pillar first cracked with spiderweb-like fissures, and in the next second, it exploded into fragments with a loud "boom."

Flying debris grazed Brother Dao's shoulder like shrapnel, slicing a bloody gash into his tracksuit.

Brother Dao stumbled back two steps, his back slamming heavily into the iron fence, which let out an overburdened groan.

"You—"

"Ding—[Time-limited Challenge initiated: Defeat the Training Ground Wooden Dummy (LV5). Reward: Bronze Chest]."

The system notification cut Brother Dao off.

Chen Fan looked up and saw a two-man-high wooden dummy standing in the center of the field at some point. Its surface was coated in blue-black paint, and its joints were wrapped in thick hemp rope.

Several impatient newbies had already rushed up, but their fists hitting the wooden dummy only kicked up a few wood chips. The system health bar only dropped by 1%.

"Can't break it," a lanky guy said, wiping away sweat. "This defense is at least that of a Bronze Rank 4 monster."

Chen Fan didn't move.

He stared at the wooden dummy's mechanically swinging arms—the movements were stiff, like a puppet on strings, very similar to the shadows in the Furnace Dungeon.

He remembered when he was collecting data dust by the furnace; the moment the shadow was shattered by the bronze bell, the black mist had split along the frequency of the vibration.

Could critical hits... also be stacked?

"Watch me!" Brother Dao clutched his shoulder and rushed over. The moment [Basic Berserk] activated, his fists moved so fast they left afterimages.

The wooden dummy's health bar began to drop, but each punch only took off 0.5%. By the time he had landed twenty punches, the health bar had barely reached 85%.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.

He slowly paced over to the wooden dummy and raised his right hand under everyone's gaze.

The first punch hit the dummy's chin—"1% damage"; the second punch hit the same spot, and the system prompted "[Basic Fist Technique Combo x2]", causing the health bar to plunge by 3%. For the third punch, he gritted his teeth and poured all his strength into it. Within the whistling wind came his low, raspy roar: "Burst!"

"[Critical Hit check triggered! x2.9]"

"[Combo Stacked! Critical Hit check triggered! x3.6]"

The wooden dummy's neck snapped in two with a loud "crack."

As the upper half slammed into the ground, the system notification rang out almost like a scream: "[Challenge Complete!

Reward: Bronze Chest]!"

Chen Fan bent down and picked up the chest.

The moment the wooden lid was flipped open, a white light shot out—[Crude Leather Boots (White Gear), Movement Speed +5%].

Just as he was about to put them into his inventory, the red window jumped out again: "[Critical Hit check triggered!

Equipment Level x2]!"

The white light suddenly turned blue. Dark patterns appeared on the surface of the leather boots, and the small characters for "Haste" were engraved on the heels.

"[Swiftness Warboots (Blue Gear), Movement Speed +20%, comes with 'Light Body' effect (Jump height increased by 30%)]"

The edge of the field suddenly fell silent.

Chen Fan looked down at the blue gear boots on his feet, then touched the Blue-grade Iron-clad Blade at his waist (gear from a critical hit in the last dungeon). His Adam's apple bobbed—this was the first time he was equipped with two pieces of blue gear simultaneously.

"You're not just lucky..." Xiao Lin had leaned in close to him at some point, his voice as soft as a sigh. "You're... a monster."

Chen Fan turned to look at him.

The kid's eyes were incredibly bright, like torches suddenly lit in the dark of night.

Just as he was about to speak, the stadium's broadcast system suddenly emitted a crackling static noise.

A mechanical, distorted voice was mixed in with the current, drifting out fitfully: "...Child of Destiny... Data anomaly rate exceeded... Initiating purge pro..."

"Ding—[Next dungeon teleportation will open in 10 minutes]."

The system notification volume suddenly spiked, drowning out the static from the broadcast.

Chen Fan looked at the broadcast speaker as it gradually went dark. His hand instinctively reached for the bronze bell shard in his pocket—the shard was hot in his palm, as if it were reminding him of something.

The wind picked up again.

Amidst the sound of the iron fence rattling, Chen Fan heard his own heart beating like a drum.

He looked at the players gathering in the distance and suddenly smiled—this time, it was the system's turn to lose sleep.