I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 16 City Lord
Langlang Mountain.

Deep in the mountains and forests.

Whoosh-!
A beam of light, only a few millimeters thin, shot out from Yu Jin's fingertip.

Zizzi——!
A pile of dry leaves on the ground then emitted a burning sound.

With a thought, Yu Jin activated the 'Light Shield' skill.

Om-!
A thin halo of light instantly enveloped his body.

only……

Yu Jin reached out and poked it a little harder.

Snapped--!
The light shield is broken.

"What the hell..."

"So weak?"

Yu Jin remained silent for a moment.

He realized something was wrong when he used 'Light Wings' to scare away the couple making love at the foot of the mountain.

after all……

At that moment, he only hovered above the ground for a few seconds before feeling exhausted and unable to continue.

That's why.

Taking advantage of the secluded and deserted surroundings, Yu Jin repeatedly tested his other abilities.

The result is……

Laser lv1: Only enough to burn leaves, can't even penetrate a wooden stake.

Light Shield Lv1: It can be pierced by a finger, let alone blocking bullets, it would probably have a hard time blocking a pebble.

Light Touch lv1: It has some use but not much. When focused, it can 'see' scenes at a great distance, but it can only see, not hear.

Light Wings lv1: It looks cool and gorgeous, but it's useless. It can only last for 5 seconds at most. If it lasts for even a second longer, you'll fall off the ground.

"A third-tier evolver, and that's it?"

Before Ember could even rejoice at becoming the 'Superman of Light,' reality threw a bucket of cold water on him.

"It shouldn't be..."

Yu Jin muttered to himself, his intuition telling him that something was wrong.

It's just like……

All of its abilities have been forcibly emasculated or severely weakened.

This feeling was especially strong when Ember used his abilities; it was like being suppressed by something, a feeling of frustration that he couldn't use his strength.

"Ugh--"

Yu Jin sat on the tree stump and sighed deeply.

When he activated the 'light' attribute earlier, he thought he would immediately transform into 'Homelander'.

How does it look now?

The road ahead is fraught with difficulties, and the task is arduous and the journey is long!
"I don't believe it anymore!"

"If third rank doesn't work, then fourth rank; if fourth rank doesn't work, then fifth rank!"

"As long as I keep leveling up, even to the ninth or tenth level, I'll eventually become 'Happy Superman'!"

Yu Jin gritted his teeth, his competitive spirit surging up all at once.

"To advance in rank, you need to collect more system rewards."

"The rewards for picking up trash and feeding stray cats and dogs are too low and no longer meet my needs."

"We have to find other ways to get freebies!"

As Yu Jin pondered this, he walked towards the foot of the mountain.

There's also a 'second-tier energy crystal' lying in the points mall.

The system also rewarded the couple with two 'Tier 3 Energy Crystals' for scaring them away.

Originally, the embers weren't in a hurry to be used.

but now……

"We have to use it, we can't do without it!"

Ever since.

Half an hour later.

7+7 chain hotels.

Yu Jin checked in again after being warmly received by the front desk manager.

Draw the curtains, lock the door, and turn the TV volume up to the maximum.

Yu Jin sat on the bed and swallowed the three energy crystals in two bites.

[You have used a 'Second-Order Energy Crystal'!]

[You have awakened; the crystals have transformed into advanced energy!]

[You have used a 'Third-Order Energy Crystal'!]

[You have awakened; the crystals have transformed into advanced energy!]

【…】

Not long after the crystal was swallowed.

That familiar, drowsy feeling returned.

Yu Jin was dizzy and fell asleep on the big bed.

This night.

Yu Jin had an unusually vivid dream.

He dreamt that he was transported to a strange wasteland world, becoming a true Superman of Light, able to be Superman however he wanted...

……

……

"call--"

"Finally awakened!"

Wasteland world.

Dawn City, the alleyways of the outer city.

Yin Yao clenched her fists, her expression excited.

After experiencing 20 failures and the agony of dying 20 times, she succeeded!

"Congratulations, miss!"

"Become a powerful evolver!"

Both sides of the alley.

The four crew-cut young men on guard duty also offered their heartfelt congratulations.

Upon hearing this, Yin Yao shook her head:

"No, it's still a long way off."

Upon hearing this, the four young men were immediately taken aback.

Haven't they all successfully awakened? Why aren't they considered 'evolvers' yet?
"Evolvers are divided into nine ranks, from lowest to highest."

"Currently, although I awakened using 'Contamination Crystal', I haven't activated my 'attributes' yet. I'm not even at Tier 1; at most, I'm only Tier 0."

Yin Yao provided an explanation.

After she finished speaking, she looked at the four of them and sincerely thanked them.

"Thank you for collecting the pollution crystals for me these past few days."

In order to successfully awaken, Yin Yao spent a total of 20 pieces of polluted crystals.

These crystals were all dug out by hand by the four of them day and night in the wilderness...

Faced with Yin Yao's thanks, the four of them seemed a little awkward. Two days had passed, and they had already learned the identity of the young girl in front of them from their superiors.

She's that old man's granddaughter...

"Miss, you said that you need to activate 'attributes' to become a true evolver. What are 'attributes'? How do you activate them? What resources are needed?"

The leader of the four youths spoke in a deep voice.

"Attributes refer to the direction of an evolver's abilities."

"Generally speaking, an evolved being can only awaken one attribute. Attributes vary in strength, but which attribute is awakened is completely random."

"I still need to use crystals to activate the attributes."

Yin Yao had barely finished speaking.

boom--

Rumble——!
A deafening roar suddenly erupted.

"That is……"

Yin Yao and the four young men all looked in the direction of the sound.

The sound originated from the center of Dawn City's inner city.

Whoosh-!
After the loud noise.

Under the astonished gaze of hundreds of thousands of people throughout Dawn City.

A blazing beam of light shot into the sky, instantly shattering the perpetually gray clouds above the wasteland!

An immense pressure swept through the entire city of Dawn in an instant.

Wherever they went, refugees lay prostrate on the ground like straw.

Wow——!
The beam of light came quickly and went quickly.

It only lasted a few seconds.

The pillar of light disappeared, and all was silent.

But the faces of the many people in Dawn City were filled with joy.

"It's the new city lord!"

"A new city lord has taken office!"

"That's great! With a new city lord in charge, Dawn City is much safer and we no longer need to fear attacks from mutated beasts and infected!"

"..."

The crowd cheered.

although……

They didn't even get to see the so-called 'city lord'.

But the inner city center of Dawn City is an area exclusively for the city lord!
That commotion just now was the new city lord's announcement to all his subjects upon taking office!

"Miss?"

The four youths were also quite shocked by the sudden commotion. When they came to their senses, they found that Yin Yao's pupils were still constricted, staring intently at the direction of the center of the inner city of Dawn.

"It's light attribute..."

"Light attribute is definitely one of the most powerful attributes in the wasteland."

"Who is this new city lord?"

"Shouldn't the future lord of Dawn City be Ember?"

Yin Yao stood there, increasingly bewildered.

Everything before her eyes was completely contrary to the information in her memories of her past life.

"and many more!"

"I had someone send him three more helmets tonight. Judging by the time, he should have just logged into the game with the helmets by now..."

"Could it be that……"

"That's Ember? Was it him who made that commotion just now?"

"His starting spawn point was in Dawn Inner City? And he's the new city lord?"

This bold conjecture made Yin Yao gasp and instantly get goosebumps all over her body!
Although this conjecture is bizarre, it is not entirely without basis.

According to my memories from my previous life, the starting identities of players who participated in the closed beta of "Wasteland" were all randomized.

The vast majority, more than 99 percent, are like her, the lowest level of wasteland refugees.

However, there are exceptions!

A very small number of lucky players are born with an extraordinary identity.

For example--

Yin Yao had heard of a fifth-tier powerhouse in her previous life. His starting role in the game was that of a "wasteland trader," who was responsible for reselling resources between refuge cities and making a profit from the price difference.

This leads to——

From the very beginning, he inherited a great deal of resources from the 'scalpers,' including extremely precious energy crystals!
It was precisely because of those few energy crystals that he started far ahead of others, eventually becoming a fifth-tier evolver and eventually ruling over a sizable refuge city.

of course.

This is also a perk exclusively for 'beta testers'.

Five days later, all those who were randomly selected and forcibly transmigrated to the wasteland world started as lowly refugees, just like Yin Yao in her previous life.

"Should we go ask Yu Jin?"

Yin Yao stood there for a long time, gazing in the direction of the inner city of dawn, and this thought popped into her mind.

Dawn City is divided into inner and outer cities. As a wasteland refugee, she cannot enter the inner city or see the 'new city lord'.

but……

She could go offline to ask Yu Jin and verify her conjecture.

Can be biased.

Just as Yin Yao was hesitating.

Outside the alleyway.

Suddenly a shout rang out.

"I rely on!"

"Old Cui wasn't lying to me, this game is just too realistic!"

(End of this chapter)