56: Activate Energy Beacon

Lin Fei arrived at a bookstore in the small town that was nothing but a hollowed-out sign frame.

Behind a row of toppled bookshelves, Lin Fei discovered an inconspicuous hidden compartment.

Prying open the compartment, a dust-covered small leather box lay inside.

Opening it, Lin Fei's eyes lit up slightly.

Inside was a blue crystal the size of a thumbprint.

【 Discovered Rare Equipment Enhancement Materials: Elementary Demonic Energy Crystal x 17 】

These were exactly the Materials needed for the Fourth Floor All-Things Furnace to enhance equipment above +10.

Although they were only Elementary grade, they were still incredibly precious resources for current-stage players.

" Trials above the fourth floor can drop equipment enhancement Materials. "

" This stuff is definitely hard currency! "

Regardless of the game, anything that can enhance equipment and directly boost stats is what players need most.

Lin Fei put them into his backpack.

Just then, a player who had been tailing him in the shadows suddenly burst out from a dark corner of the bookstore like a ghost!

Silent and fast as lightning!

He held a dagger flickering with a faint blue light in a reverse grip, and with a whistling sound, he stabbed directly at the vital point in Lin Fei's back!

The attacker's timing was impeccable, striking at the exact moment Lin Fei bent over to put away the items, when his attention was most relaxed.

Above his head, the class title 【 Shadow Assassin Lv8 (Blue Rare) 】 flashed by.

However, Lin Fei's reaction speed far exceeded the opponent's imagination.

Without even turning his head, Lin Fei's right hand, as if it had eyes, moved so fast it left an afterimage, striking first despite reacting later!

It precisely gripped the attacker's throat!

" Ugh! "

The attacker's movements came to an abrupt halt, and the poisoned dagger fell from his hand.

It hit the ground with a soft thud.

He widened his eyes in terror, staring at the hand that gripped his throat like an iron pincer.

How is this possible?!

He was a Blue Rare-grade Assassin!

His full-power sneak attack had actually been blocked by the other party so casually?!

And without even turning around?!

Just how terrifying were this person's perception and reaction speed?!

Lin Fei did not twist his neck and kill him immediately.

" Friend! Friend! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! "

The assassin's voice became hoarse from suffocation, " I have no ill intent!

I wanted to cooperate with you and test your skills!

This map is too dangerous. Let's team up to deal with those zombies and other teams, how about it?

Besides, if you kill me, I'll turn into a zombie! "

" You want to cooperate with me? "

The assassin nodded like a pounding pestle.

Lin Fei licked his lips and smiled wickedly: " Then I shall test you as well. "

" As long as your neck is hard enough. "

Snap!

Lin Fei exerted force suddenly and mercilessly!

With a crisp sound.

The attacker's head detached from his body, bounced off the floor, and hit the bookstore ceiling.

Blood sprayed from the headless corpse like a showerhead.

For Lin Fei, anyone who approached him with killing intent had only one outcome.

That was death!

No need for reasons, no need for judgment.

" I'm starting to understand how Homelander feels. "

The corpse slumped softly to the ground, dropping a glowing box.

Lin Fei casually took the two pieces of blue equipment from the box that looked somewhat valuable.

Other than that, there wasn't a single killing coin in the box.

It seemed this player was afraid of dying and having their killing coins drop to others, so they hadn't brought anything with them before entering.

Lin Fei ignored the rest of the items.

His Level 3 backpack was not a trash can.

Just then, Lin Mengzi's joyful voice came through the earpiece.

" Feifei! I found the map! "

" A wave of zombie mini-bosses spawned in the church on my side. I had the Chainsaw Man clear them out, and I found it on the priest's corpse! "

Lin Fei replied: " Well done, sister. Use the map and see where the Energy Beacon is? "

" Alright! "

Lin Mengzi immediately used the map item.

Instantly, a virtual 3D map projection appeared in the minds of Lin Fei, Xu Zhengyang, and Xu Sanduo simultaneously.

Twelve points glowing with green light were clearly marked on the map.

【 Energy Beacon: After activation, it will increase your faction's stats by 20%. Opening three beacons will open the Pyramid gate. 】

There were three nearby on Lin Fei's side.

They were located in the bank vault on the west side of the town, an altar inside a temple in the desert, and one in a museum.

" One is in the bank vault, not too far from us. " Lin Fei quickly locked onto the first target, " Zheng Yang, San Duo, how is the search going? "

" Report, Boss! " Xu Zhengyang's voice came through, filled with excitement, " We found a box of Level 5 Explosive Armor-Piercing Rounds! San Duo also found a modified 98k, and it has an 8x scope! "

" Not bad. " Lin Fei said, " Meet at the bank immediately and prepare to activate the first beacon. Stay safe, there are people fighting over resources outside. "

" Understood! "

Lin Fei turned and left the bookstore, his figure flickering a few times before disappearing into the shadows of the street.

After reaching Level 12, he had also spent his skill points.

He had put points into the Super-Distance talent for Blink, and now the maximum blink distance was 30 meters.

In addition, he added a point to the Frigid Ice Meteor skill, increasing the size of the ice meteor by 100% and its power by 30%.

The four of them moved quickly toward the bank.

A few minutes later, the four of them met in front of the bank building, which still looked relatively intact.

" Boss! "

" Hm. "

The bank's main doors were tightly shut, and the tempered glass was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Xu Zhengyang stepped forward to check: " The door is locked from the inside, it's very sturdy. "

" Let me. "

Lin Fei stepped forward.

Without any flair, he grabbed the metal door frame and pushed.

Crack! Bang!

The sound of metal twisting and deforming rang out, and the entire door lock, along with the surrounding frame, was instantly pushed inward by the terrifying force.

The heavy bank door collapsed inward, revealing the dim lobby inside.

" Let's go. "

Lin Fei walked in first.

No matter how many times they saw it, Xu Zhengyang and the others were always shocked by Lin Fei's terrifying strength.

Isn't the Boss a mage?

How does he have such immense strength!

Did he grow up eating Sun Wukong?

The interior of the bank lobby was spacious but equally chaotic, with overturned chairs, scattered documents, and a faint smell of blood permeating the air.

According to the map's instructions, the Energy Beacon was in the vault area at the deepest part of the bank.

The four of them quickly crossed the lobby and headed inside.

They passed several offices along the way, all of which were empty, with only the occasional shriveled zombie corpse lying on the floor.

Passing through several security doors, they arrived at the entrance of the vault.

Two zombies wearing bank security uniforms, their bodies already shriveled and rotting, swayed and blocked their way.

Their eyes were cloudy and dull, and they let out low, wheezing growls from their throats.

" My turn! "

Xu Zhengyang gave a low shout, and the flame-painted M4 in his hand was instantly raised.

Bang!

A muffled gunshot rang out, and the bullet accurately drilled into one of the zombie's eye sockets, bursting into a mass of filth.

The other zombie had just turned its head.

The flame-painted M4A1 in Xu Zhengyang's hand roared again.

It was still a precise shot.

Bang! Bang!

The zombie was killed again.

" Not bad, Yang Zai, you can already one-shot a fourth-floor zombie. " Lin Fei commented.

" Hehe, without some skill, how could I be a top general under the Boss? " Xu Zhengyang joked.

The incredibly thick vault door stood in front of them, but this kind of physical defense was practically non-existent to Lin Fei.

" You guys wait for me outside. "

Lin Fei used Blink and arrived directly inside the vault.

The inside of the vault was emptier than expected; a large number of safety deposit boxes were wide open, their contents long since looted.

Only in the very center of the vault stood a device emitting a soft green light, resembling a control console.

It was the first Energy Beacon.

Lin Fei stepped forward and placed his hand on the beacon's sensor area.

【 Energy Beacon (1/12) Activating! 60, 59, 58... 】

【 Warning! The Human Faction is activating an Energy Beacon! 】

At this moment, a location indicator appeared in everyone's mind.

The location of the squad activating the beacon would be revealed to all teams.

" So fast! Someone found a beacon already! "

" We have to stop them! " a member of a zombie squad gritted his teeth and said.

If the humans activated the beacon, the entire Human Faction would get a 20% stat boost.

By then, it would inevitably become difficult for them to infect humans.

Besides the player teams, some local zombies in the bank also came to stop them.

But it was useless; Xu Zhengyang fired accurately, and Lin Mengzi controlled bone spears.

Soon, a small pile of corpses was stacked in the hallway.

Hum—

As the countdown ended, the indicator light on top of the beacon turned from red to green, emitting a crisp confirmation sound.

A green pillar of energy shot into the sky, seemingly piercing through the bank's roof and leaving a brief trail in the dim sky.

【 The Human Faction has successfully activated the first Energy Beacon! 】

【 All Human Faction players' base stats increased by 20%! 】

【 Mount Buzhou Squad gained 1000 points! 】

" 20% stats! " Xu Zhengyang felt the more abundant power in his body, " Nice. "

At this moment, Lin Fei flickered again and emerged from inside the vault.

" The important thing is the points. " Lin Fei said, " And this kind of buff should be stackable; the more beacons activated, the greater the advantage. "