Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

Black blood dripped down the axe blade, and the head of the carrion hound rolled a long way.

Shen Xi took a deep breath, suppressing the panting from the intense battle, and her gaze fell on the two slowly rising orbs of light.

"A level 9 boss, and an animal-type mutant at that, should drop some good stuff."

He reached out and scooped up the first ball of light.

As the light faded, a uniquely designed piece of equipment appeared in his palm.

They were a pair of leg guards, entirely bluish-gray, crafted from some kind of hard bone. The surface of the leg guards was covered with fine patterns, resembling some kind of ancient runes. Most notably, the inside of the leg guards was inlaid with a row of barbs, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.

【Name: Bone Spike Leg Guards】

[Type: Armor - Legs]

[Quality: Bronze]

[Defense: 16-20]

[Special Effects: Thorns - When attacked at close range, there is a 30% chance to deal 15 points of reflected damage to the attacker; Lightness - Landing is silent when jumping, and footsteps are reduced by 50% when moving]

[Description: Forged from the leg bones of a mutated, decaying corpse. Wearing it will make you an assassin in the night.]

Shen Xi's eyes lit up.

Leg gear!

Having played for ten years in his previous life, he naturally knew the rarity of different equipment slots. Helmets, clothes, pants, shoes, gloves, belts, accessories... the higher you go, the harder they are to obtain. Many players reach levels twenty or thirty and still have several bronze-level miscellaneous items on their person.

Although these Bonethorn Leggings are only Bronze-grade, both of their special effects are very practical. In particular, the "Lightness" effect, when combined with the "Windwalking" effect of the Bone Nightmare Boots, can significantly enhance one's movement and stealth capabilities.

He immediately took off his regular sweatpants and put on the bone spur leg braces.

The leg warmers were very light; he could barely feel their weight the moment he put them on. He tried taking a few steps, and his footsteps were indeed barely audible, and he landed without a sound.

"nice one."

Shen Xi nodded in satisfaction and then picked up the second ball of light.

It was a pale blue test tube filled with a fluorescent liquid. The test tube felt slightly cool to the touch, and faint energy fluctuations emanated from it.

【Name: Agility Enhancement Potion】

【Type: Consumable Item · Attributes】

[Quality: Bronze]

[Effect: Permanently increase Agility by 5]

[Note: Drinking this will make your reactions faster and your steps lighter.]

Without hesitation, Shen Xi tilted her head back and gulped it down.

The medicine went down my throat, and a cool sensation instantly spread throughout my body. My limbs and bones seemed to be infused with new vitality, my muscles responded much faster, and even my vision became clearer.

Agility: 52 + 5 = 57

I opened the panel and glanced at it...

[Player: Primordial Beginning (King of Newcomers)]

Level: 9 (Experience: 915/1500)

Strength: 57, Spirit: 50, Agility: 57, Constitution: 53

Free attribute points: 45

With 57 points in Agility, you've already caught up with the Strength attribute.

Shen Xi closed the panel with satisfaction, her gaze falling on the remaining two items.

Bronze-level equipment box, Bronze-level skill draw card.

He opened the equipment box first.

The box was entirely bronze, its surface shimmering with a faint, eerie light. Without hesitation, Shen Xi lifted the lid…

As the light faded, a pair of menacingly designed arm guards lay quietly in the box.

The arm guards were entirely black, crafted from some kind of hard bone. Their surface was covered with fine barbs, and sharp bone blades were embedded at the knuckles of the fingers. When the fist was clenched, the bone blades would pop out from between the fingers, gleaming coldly.

【Name: Bone Blade Armguard】

[Type: Armor - Gloves]

[Quality: Bronze]

[Defense: 14-18]

[Special Effects: Arm Blade - When equipped, unarmed attacks are treated as weapon attacks, increasing damage by 10%; Tear - Normal attacks have a 20% chance to inflict bleeding.]

[Note: Wearing this, your hands become your most lethal weapons.]

Shen Xi's gaze fell on the type of equipment.

Armor - Gloves.

Gloves and similar equipment.

Perfect timing, Mingying currently has too few equipment.

He turned to look at Mingying.

Mingying stood to the side, his wounds still slowly healing. The weakened state caused by the outburst of resentment made him look listless, with all his attributes halved. He was leaning against the wall at the moment.

"your."

Shen Xi handed over the bone blade arm guard.

Mingying took it and silently slipped it onto his hands. The arm guards automatically retracted, fitting snugly against his arms. He clenched his fist, and the bone blade between his fingers popped out and retracted, making a soft "click" sound.

A flicker of excitement flashed in those deep, dark eyes.

Shen Xi then took out a skill draw card.

The card was entirely silver-white, with faint runic light swirling across its surface. With a thought, the card transformed into particles of light and disappeared into his palm…

[Bronze-level skill draw in progress...]

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained the Bronze-level skill: Resentment Slash!]

[Grievous Slash (Bronze Tier - Active): Gathers the power of grievance to unleash an invisible blade of energy, dealing 150% damage to a single target within 5 meters. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

[Note: The deeper the resentment, the more ferocious the blade's aura.]

Shen Xi raised an eyebrow slightly.

A strike of resentment?

This name... it feels somewhat related to Mingying's outburst of resentment?

Never mind, it's for Mingying anyway.

He turned to Mingying and said, "Come here and learn a skill."

Mingying walked over silently.

Shen Xi stretched out her finger and tossed the skill card to Ming Ying.

After Shen Xi's explanation, Mingying successfully triggered the skill card.

Then, Mingying's body trembled slightly.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, and there seemed to be something indescribable in those deep eyes.

"Give it a try."

Mingying nodded, raised his right hand, and the barbs on the bone blade arm guard glowed faintly. The next second, he swung his arm fiercely, and an invisible blade of energy slashed out from his palm!

"laugh!"

Five meters away, a deep crack appeared on the wall, and gravel fell down in a flurry.

Shen Xi nodded in satisfaction.

150% damage, ranged attack, 15-second cooldown. Mingying's combat power has increased significantly again.

They had rested enough.

"Let's go upstairs."

Shen Xi put away the Corrupted Bone Battle Axe and turned to walk towards the stairs.

Mingying followed behind without saying a word.

……

The iron door leading to the rooftop on the sixth floor was ajar, and the doorknob was covered in dust.

Shen Xi pushed open the door, and a gust of night wind rushed in.

The rooftop was empty, surrounded by a waist-high railing. A few discarded steel pipes and a pile of tattered canvas lay scattered on the ground. The ruins in the distance were shrouded in darkness, from which the occasional howl of rotting corpses could be heard.

But Shen Xi's gaze was fixed on the center of the rooftop.

There, there is...

No, it's a small house?

No, it's more like a... stall?

A simple shed, about two meters square, with four rusty iron pipes supporting a tattered canvas. Under the canvas was a counter made of scrap wood. Several items were placed on the counter, covered in dust, making it impossible to tell what they were.

Behind the counter, there sat... a person?

No, it's not human.

It was a phantom, a blurry figure wearing a tattered robe and a hood.

It sat there, motionless, as if dead, or as if dozing.

Above the shed hung a crooked sign. Made of scrap metal, it bore four large characters painted in red...

【Starlight Shop】

Shen Xi's pupils contracted slightly.

Starlight Store.

In his previous life, he had seen a similar shop in another city.

Those shops were occupied by major guilds and became their exclusive supply points.

The items sold inside are incredibly diverse: equipment, props, skills, supplies... As long as you have enough gold coins and reputation, you can buy almost anything.

And the name of this store...

Starlight.

The starlight of Liu Xinghui is also the starlight of Xinghui City.

Shen Xi recalled what Liu Xinghui had said: "Xinghui City was left to me by my husband, and I named it after him."

So, this store is named after Liu Xinghui's "Xinghui" (星辉)?

interesting.

He was about to step forward when, at the very moment he touched the Starshine Shop...

[Server-wide Announcement!!!]

A powerful sound exploded in the minds of all players!

[Congratulations to the Chinese player "Taichu" for becoming the first player to discover the game store!]

[The game store system is officially launched!]

Starting today, all players will have a chance to obtain "Gold Coins" when defeating zombie-type monsters!

Gold coins can be used to purchase various items in the game store!

Happy shopping!

The world chat channel exploded instantly!

World Channel

"Holy crap!!! A game store?!"

"The Primordial Lord is up to his old tricks again!"

"Killing corpses drops gold? Does that mean we can farm gold to buy equipment now?"

"Primordial God is awesome! China Region is awesome!"

"Is this pro player here specifically to carry the entire server?"

"Wake up, upstairs! He wasn't trying to carry the team at all. He was just playing his own game and incidentally benefiting the whole server..."

"No matter what, the Primordial God is forever a god!"

"..."

Shen Xi ignored the uproar on the world channel and focused his gaze on the dilapidated shop.

Starlight Store.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"You wait outside."

Mingying stopped and stood silently at the edge of the rooftop, her eyes scanning her surroundings.

Shen Xi walked towards the store alone.

Just as I walked to within three meters of the counter, the dozing figure suddenly raised its head.

Beneath the hood was a blurry face, devoid of features, just a blur of chaos.

But from that chaos, two beams of light shot out and landed on Shen Xi.

"Welcome to Starshine Shop."

The voice was hoarse and hollow, as if it came from a very distant place.

For first-time customers, please see the following information...

"First, all violent activities are strictly prohibited in this store. Anyone who damages the store's property will be required to pay for it at cost. Anyone who soils the store's environment will be fined ten times the amount. Those who cannot pay for the damage will be forcibly eliminated by the apocalypse game."

"Secondly, each guest is limited to one entry per day, with a one-hour time limit. Those who fail to leave within the time limit will be fined 100 gold coins per minute. Those who cannot pay the fine will be forcibly eliminated by the Doomsday Game."

Third, once a product is sold, it cannot be returned or exchanged. Please choose carefully.

Fourth, the store is absolutely safe inside and out. For one hour after entering, guests will not be threatened by any external threats. However, after one hour, please leave on your own.

"Are the above four conditions acceptable to the guest?"

Shen Xi nodded.

He knows these rules all too well.

In his previous life, he had witnessed players being instantly killed in the apocalypse game because they couldn't afford the fines. He had also seen players hide in shops to avoid being hunted down, only to be teleported out after the time limit expired and hacked to death by their enemies waiting outside.

Rules are rules, and no one can break them.