1: System Activation

Blue Star, Great Xia, Dragon City.

Zhou Xing stood on the edge of a dilapidated skyscraper, a blood-soaked diagnostic report held between his fingers.

"Patient: Zhou Keer"

"Cause: Unknown divinity erosion (78%)"

"Estimated Survival Time: 10 days"

On the back of the diagnostic report, today's income was written in black pen—

"Assassinate an Awakened One (400,000 deposit)"

"Clean up a traitor of the Axe Gang (160,000)"

"Pawn a set of precious jewelry (60,000)"

Still 380,000 short of his goal.

At that moment, a raspy voice came through his earpiece: "The target has entered the effective kill zone."

"Just a reminder,"

"the target is an Awakened One who forcibly fused with a 'god of frost' fragment, capable of freezing everything within a ten-meter radius..."

"Got it!"

Zhou Xing switched off his earpiece and slowly raised the muzzle of his gun.

Previously, he was the ace sniper of the 'Shadow' special operations squad, code-named 'Ash'.

Until the first mission to suppress the Awakened One 'Flame Demon'.

In the end, his teammates were all burned to death by the 'Flame Demon', leaving Zhou Xing as the sole survivor.

The military publicly declared it a failed mission, but Zhou Xing knew very well that it was likely a test conducted by certain individuals.

When Awakened Ones appeared across the world, ordinary soldiers like them naturally lost much of their value.

Zhou Xing eventually chose to leave the military.

He lived in seclusion in Dragon City with his younger sister, making a living by taking on 'dirty work'.

As for the appearance of the Awakened Ones,

it all started twenty years ago when spatial rifts suddenly appeared across the globe, and countless divinity fragments of ancient gods were scattered throughout the human world.

A few lucky individuals fused with these fragments and became Awakened Ones—inheriting powers of fire, frost, life, and other elements, standing far above mortals.

When ordinary people come into contact with divinity, they only suffer erosion—flesh distortion and a painful death!

The Divine Gene Company rose suddenly, its influence spanning the globe thanks to its unique divinity erosion inhibitors.

In the dark corners, in the cracks between Awakened Ones and ordinary people,

many people with special survival skills like Zhou Xing struggled to survive.

Two months ago,

Zhou Xing returned from an assassination mission,

and when he saw his sister's pupils glowing with an abnormal golden light,

he knew the worst had happened.

divinity erosion—the nightmare of ordinary people!

If one cannot awaken, the daily pain suffered exceeds even that of late-stage cancer patients.

"Brother, it hurts so much..."

On the hospital bed, the thin girl curled her body, trembling incessantly, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

Golden patterns were clearly visible on her skin.

This was the most obvious manifestation of divinity erosion.

To suppress divinity erosion, one needed—divinity inhibitors.

However, a single inhibitor cost a full million, yet its effects only lasted for a week... Bang!

"Bang!"

Clearing his mind, Zhou Xing took a deep breath and fired two consecutive sniper rifle rounds.

First, they pierced through the floor-to-ceiling window,

followed by the second bullet, which directly pierced the forehead of the target's female companion.

The massive gap of nearly a dozen meters between the two buildings was crossed in an instant by a Soldier King like Zhou Xing.

After firing, Zhou Xing quickly used a zip line to smash through the glass and approach the target.

Meanwhile, the target stared in shock as his female companion suddenly died.

Then, in a fit of rage, he raised his hand, and a surge of chilling air erupted—

But a split second before he could freeze Zhou Xing, his throat was already slit open by a dagger.

The target clutched his throat, eyes wide with disbelief as he collapsed.

"You... how is this possible..."

Zhou Xing didn't answer, simply wiping the blood off his dagger with practiced ease.

As for the man's female companion, she had several lives on her hands as well; killing her was considered getting rid of a public menace.

At that moment, Zhou Xing suddenly saw a blue light rise from the target's body and sink into his own brow like lightning.

Zhou Xing felt a wave of dizziness and stumbled.

Simultaneously, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind,

and a faint blue light screen appeared in his vision—

[Ding! First kill of an Awakened One! Divinity Plunder System officially activated]

[host: Zhou Xing]

[Obtained 'god of frost' fragment (15%)]

[Current Strength: Early Essence Circulation]

[Extracting Abilities:]

1. Frost Resistance Lv.1 (Reduces frost damage by 15%)

2. Frost Control

"I actually awakened a system?"

Back in the military, Zhou Xing's only form of entertainment was reading novels.

He was no stranger to systems.

He just hadn't expected to experience being a novel's protagonist himself.

Furthermore, Zhou Xing discovered that he had mastered Frost Power as if he were a natural-born Awakened One.

As for the Early Essence Circulation, it was the basic realm of an Awakened One, followed by higher levels such as foundation condensation, Control, and others.

Each realm was further divided into four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

Powerful Awakened Ones were like gods, capable of making mountains crumble and rivers stop flowing with a single thought.

Clearly, the activation of the system had turned Zhou Xing into an Awakened One.

Suppressing his inner excitement for the moment, he turned on his earpiece, and the raspy voice spoke again: "Just found a new bounty mission. The target is an Awakened One fused with a 'god of war' divinity fragment. If killed, the bounty is at least 3 million..."

"Send me the data!"

After walking out of the hotel, Zhou Xing hesitated for a moment before dialing a number he hadn't contacted in three years.

"Old Liu, I need intelligence."

From the other end of the line, a playful voice came through: "Oh? Is this still the Ash I know? You've actually learned how to ask for help? Speak up, what are you looking for?"

"I need some information about Awakened Ones and divinity fragments."

Zhou Xing looked up at the distant skyscraper marked as the 'Divine Gene' headquarters, fell silent for a few seconds, and then said:

"And... I need a way to cure divinity erosion."

Twenty minutes later, at the Dragon City underground black market.

Carrying a case, Zhou Xing walked into a divinity potions specialty shop. Behind the counter, a dwarf was using a syringe to draw a tube of golden liquid.

"The purity of this inhibitor is only 80%, so I'll just charge you 900,000."

Without looking up, the dwarf pulled out a metal box containing the inhibitor.

"Are you sure it's fine? That adulterated inhibitor last time made my sister suffer in pain for an extra six hours."

Zhou Xing pulled out a dagger and pressed it against the dwarf's throat with lightning speed, his voice cold.

"I also have to find ways to buy my goods at high prices. Last time you were in a hurry, so you took it before I could test it."

The dwarf swallowed involuntarily. "How about this? To make up for it, I'll only charge you 750,000 for this one. Consider it a small gesture from me, okay?"

As he spoke, the dwarf cautiously pointed at Zhou Xing's dagger.

"I hope you're a man of your word, otherwise, you know the consequences..."

Retracting the dagger and transferring the money, Zhou Xing picked up the inhibitor and turned to leave.

"He dares to threaten me? And how did I feel divinity fluctuations from him? Could it be...?"

After Zhou Xing left, the dwarf's smile vanished instantly, his gaze turning cold.

He immediately pulled out a communicator: "Gather everyone. Help me take care of someone..."