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

Chapter 28 Thor
"First-order infected crystals?"

Chen Gang learned the name of the gray crystal from Yin Yao.

"Is it precious?"

Chen Gang raised a question.

"..."

Yin Yao's face darkened.

"Senior?"

Why do you look unwell?

Chen Gang continued to ask.

Kaka-

Yin Yao couldn't help but clench her fists again.

"Where did you get this?"

Yin Yao asked the question almost through gritted teeth.

Chen Gang was puzzled when he heard this, because hadn't he already said that?

But out of respect, and a tiny bit of fear of Yin Yao's identity, Chen Gang still honestly said:
"It was...someone gave it to me..."

"I just logged in a little while ago too..."

"Well... as soon as I logged into the room, a few burly men walked right up to me. I thought they were going to mess with me, but then..."

"They shoved this thing into my hand, saying it was a perk from the new city lord, and that I should remember the city lord's kindness. They even made me shout 'Loyalty!'..."

The more Chen Gang spoke, the darker Yin Yao's face became.

to the end.

Chen Gang's voice was barely audible, like that of a child who had made a mistake.

Yin Yao clenched her fists so tightly they cracked, trying to calm herself down and shifting her gaze away from Chen Gang.

soon.

She heard it from the mouths of the passing crowd—

Half an hour ago, the new city lord distributed welfare benefits, giving each of the city's thousand refugees a Tier 1 Infection Crystal!
The number of refugees was certainly far more than a thousand, and it is said that the distribution to whom was done was entirely random.

And Yin Yao...

Because we went out of the city to hunt mutated beasts, we just happened to miss it perfectly!

Hmph—

Yin Yao kept inhaling and exhaling, her chest heaving.

As a young lady of the prestigious Yin family, and also a reborn person, she felt inexplicably aggrieved at this moment!

If staying in the city would allow her to collect the crystals for free, then what was the point of all the trouble, suffering, and injuries she endured leaving the city with bodyguards...?

Think of this.

Yin Yao inexplicably felt a soreness and itchiness in her nose.

"Hey, senior..."

"You still haven't told me what this thing is for..."

Yin Yao turned and left, heading towards a dimly lit alley.

As Chen Gang watched her departing figure, he suddenly became anxious.

but……

He didn't dare to really anger this important figure, so he just whispered a couple of words.

And it's these two sentences.

Yin Yao, who had already walked away, stumbled and clenched her fists even tighter!

……

……

After one hour.

Yin Yao successfully absorbed the 'first-order infection crystal'.

Although her rank did not increase, her various attributes and 'Sandstorm' ability received a significant boost.

"After absorbing a few more Tier 1 crystals, I can advance to Tier 2!"

Yin Yao clenched her fists, trying to encourage herself.

And on both sides of the alley.

Ye Fan and the other three also reappeared here.

The advantage of closed beta testing is that even if you die, you can restart immediately.

The four of them respawned within the buffer zone of Dawn City, not far from the city, so they quickly arrived after the restart and continued to act as Yin Yao's bodyguards.

at the same time.

Upon hearing the news that the 'new city lord produced crystals,' the four men's faces turned as black as the soles of their shoes.

"Ow—"

"Ouch——!"

The alley next door.

A series of heart-wrenching, wailing screams rang out.

"Holy crap—"

"Everyone tells me this thing can help you evolve, but no one mentioned the process is so painful—"

"It hurts so much, damn it!"

The one screaming was none other than Chen Gang.

He learned about the uses of the infected crystals from other refugees in Dawn City and was overjoyed. He immediately found a secluded place to prepare for 'evolution'.

The result is……

He is now writhing on the ground in pain, convulsing repeatedly!

"Humph--"

Seeing this, Yin Yao snorted.

Although the awakening probability of a Tier 1 Infected Crystal is much higher than that of a Contaminated Crystal, the level of pain during the process is still no less.

To achieve true 'painless awakening,' one must use pure energy crystals of level two or higher! Of course.

If a Tier 1 Infection Crystal is successfully awakened, its advantage over using a Pollution Crystal is that it can directly activate attributes.

"It looks like we're going to fail?"

Ye Fan stared at Chen Gang, who was rolling around on the ground in the alley, and then looked at Yin Yao.

Yin Yao remained silent.

Half an hour later.

Chen Gang collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"Death has been restarted?"

Ye Fan was curious.

"No, it's a successful awakening."

Yin Yao's tone was complicated, and her expression was unreadable.

"..."

Ye Fan and the other three exchanged glances and fell silent.

In principle, if a young lady has an 'acquaintance' who awakens, it will be easier for them to hunt mutated beasts outside the city later.

But emotionally speaking...

That really hits home!

In order to awaken Yin Yao, they dug up crystals day and night for two or three days.

I even risked my life just now to get a piece of infected crystal!
Although you can delete your account and start over during the closed beta, the feeling of death is still incredibly painful and real!

"I wonder what attributes he can activate..."

Ye Fan and the others now realized the importance of attributes and stared at Chen Gang on the ground, observing him carefully.

A few minutes later.

Nourishes—

Zizzi——!
A faint electric current swirled around Chengang.

"hiss--"

Ye Fan took a light breath of cool air.

"Lightning attribute?"

Yin Yao's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

But soon, she shook her head: "It's not pure lightning attribute, it's more like 'electric' attribute."

Thunder and electric current may seem similar, but they are worlds apart!
The former boasts one of the highest offensive attributes in the wasteland, while the latter...

While not weak, it certainly isn't very strong either.

Another few minutes passed.

The current disappears.

Chen Gang groggily got up from the ground.

He looked down at his hands.

zizi——

A tingling, electric current seemed to emanate from my fingertips.

"Hahaha!"

Chen Gang laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

"I succeeded!"

"I am the ancient Greek god of thunder and lightning!"

The appearance of superpowers excited Chen Gang so much that he even shouted in a childish way.

but……

Just the next second.

boom--!
Rumble——!
The earth-shaking roar echoed throughout the entire Dawn Refuge City!
"That is……"

Yin Yao, Ye Fan, and Chen Gang, who were still immersed in excitement, were all stunned and subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.

Just a glance.

The group of people were all stunned!

That is……

The central area of ​​Dawn City.

A dark purple lightning bolt, tens of meters wide, struck down!
wow-

at the same time.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure swept out from the lightning pillar, instantly enveloping the entire Dawn City!

Puff-!
Under pressure.

Yin Yao uncontrollably knelt down.

Of course, it wasn't just Yin Yao.

Throughout the entire city of Dawn, hundreds of thousands of people knelt down like ears of wheat.

"The new city lord..."

"loyalty!"

"Dawn City..."

"loyalty!"

Hundreds of thousands of citizens shouted in unison.

In this perilous wasteland, the more powerful the lord of a refuge city is, the safer the citizens within the city and the refugees in the outer buffer zone will be!

Inside the alleyway.

Chen Gang, who was also kneeling on the ground, stared at the faint electric current swirling around his hands and felt a slight pain in his face.

"bad!"

"We've met the real Thor..."

(End of this chapter)