Jian Xingyi sensed something was off, but it was too late.

He felt the presence and spun around abruptly, only to find four men had appeared behind him, surrounding him completely. All four were tall, burly men. Jian Xingyi, with his smaller frame and build, looked like a tiny bean among them.

The leader, a scarred man, pointed his gun at him. “Pretty boy, hand over your food. Or else, don’t blame us for being rude!”

Jian Xingyi froze.

This was a town!

He recalled the world channel announcement, clearly stating players were forbidden from causing trouble in towns. The attacks Lone Wolf and Feiyi had faced earlier had happened in the wilderness. Looting resources out in the wild could be justified as survival of the fittest, but resorting to violence in a town was breaking the rules.

Suppressing his fear, Jian Xingyi forced himself to stay calm. “This is a trading town. You can’t kill people here.”

“Ha ha ha…!” The scarred man’s eyes blazed crimson. “Kid, the corpse tide is coming! We’re all going to die! Who gives a damn about these damn rules? Who made them? Grapevine Peak or the system? What the hell do I care!”

The man beside him shouted, “Yeah! I’d rather die than starve to death!”

“Cut the crap! Hand over your food!”

Jian Xingyi heard the sound of a gun being cocked.

Looking at these desperate men before him, Jian Xingyi realized they might actually kill. Confrontation offered no advantage. He wasn’t starving anyway—dying over pickled vegetables wasn’t worth it. Reluctantly, he conceded, “Fine…”

Today was just his unlucky day.

Jian Xingyi pointed at the three jars of pickles on the table. “Take them all. Just let me go.”

Seeing Jian Xingyi relinquish the food so easily surprised everyone.

Why wasn’t Jian Xingyi resisting at all? Could it be he wasn’t short on food? Did he have plenty more in his backpack?

They hadn’t considered that Jian Xingyi’s lack of resistance stemmed from having absolutely no room to resist.

What a joke. With a combat rating of 6, was resistance even necessary?

“Hold on!”

The scarred man blocked Jian Xingyi, grinning with bared teeth. “You’ve got more in your backpack, right? Hand it all over!”

…Getting too big for his britches.

Jian Xingyi frowned. “Sorry, but my backpack is empty.”

“Who are you trying to fool? Don’t be ungrateful.” The scarred man waved his gun. “Give us access to your backpack. We won’t believe you until we see it ourselves!”

Jian Xingyi gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t beat them in a fight. Was he really supposed to hand over all his food?

Jian Xingyi recalled Chacha’s warning and took a chance: “I just used the terminal to call for backup from Grapevine Peak. Keep pestering me, and you’ll get sanctioned.”

The scarred man scoffed. “Kid, has no one ever told you your face betrays your thoughts?”

Jian Xingyi: “…”

His accomplice chuckled. “Grapevine Peak is busy farming resources out in the wild right now. Who’d bother coming to town?”

“I would.”

The group froze, spotting a man standing not far away. The man sported a messy, tousled mop of hair. His tall, muscular frame and rugged features, paired with a bulky jacket, reminded Jian Xingyi of the athletic types from his university days.

He looked at them with an expression of utter sincerity. “I am a member of Grapevine Peak. What exactly are you doing here?”

“F-fake news, boss! Grapevine Peak people wouldn’t come to town!”

“Yeah…!”

The scarred man yanked Jian Xingyi toward him, one arm tight around his neck while the other pressed a gun barrel against his temple. “I advise you to mind your own business and get out of here! Otherwise, I’ll blow his brains out and then yours!”

“Ah, well,” the man said softly. “Can’t we really talk this out? Must we resort to violence?”

Scarface: “…”

“Guess there’s no other way then.”

The man paused, then snapped his fingers with a sunny smile.

Bang!

The next moment, the scarred man’s head… exploded.

It seemed an explosion had occurred inside his skull. Blood spurted from his temple and sprayed to the side. How the man managed it was unclear, but not a single drop of blood touched Jian Xingyi.

The scarred man collapsed with a thud, his face contorted in agony, blood pouring from every orifice. After a few convulsive twitches, his eyes rolled back as life left him.

The man remained calmly amiable. “I told you not to cause trouble.”

Jian Xingyi: …?!

This guy… just dispatched the other dude with a neighborly big brother smile!

The other two were scared out of their wits… literally. One man wet himself on the spot. It was obvious these two were just tagging along to act tough under someone else’s authority, so the man didn’t bother with them.

They stumbled away, running for their lives.

The man chuckled, “My name is [Firelight]. I’m a member of Grapevine Peak.”

Seeing Jian Xingyi standing dazed nearby, eyes wide with terror at the fallen man, Firelight smiled. “This is the apocalypse. If we let him go, he’ll just harm others again. And if we hadn’t killed him brutally, there’s no way we could’ve saved you faster than the bullet in his hand.”

“No, no… I’m just a bit shocked.” This was the first time Jian Xingyi had witnessed someone die right before his eyes since the apocalypse began. Raised in a law-abiding society, he couldn’t process it immediately. Patting his chest, he stammered, “How… how did you do that? That was… incredible…”

Rumor had it that Grapevine Peak only accepted T1 players with combat power over 400, and many top-tier players across the server, boasting 500+ combat power, resided there. Could the person before him be…

“Not that impressive.” Jian Xingyi chuckled, his face seemingly covered in bullet comments. “Once your combat power reaches a certain level, you gain access to special skills. I just barely passed 400—just an ordinary member of the guild. But…”

After a pause, Firelight declared proudly, “I’m the little squad leader under the Shanhai Squad!”

Mentioning Shanhai, Firelight’s face lit up with admiration, looking every bit the devoted fanboy.

Strictly speaking, though, who among combat-loving players in this game wasn’t a Shanhai fan?

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: Has the Grapevine Peak Guild become so powerful that they need to form squads?

And just like his management skills, do combat abilities unlock special techniques once they reach a certain level? Firelight clearly didn’t want to elaborate on how his skills worked or their limitations—after all, they were his trump cards.

“Gurgle…”

“Gurgle…”

Just then, the scarred man, sprawled on the ground, twitched open his eyes. His skin began turning purplish-red, wrinkling, and emitting a foul stench, while his eyes filled completely with blood.

He was mutating…!

Jian Xingyi’s sanity plummeted to zero. He instinctively stumbled back several steps, ducking behind Firelight.

Firelight kicked the pistol lying beside the scarred man with his toe, intending to finish off the zombie. But he hesitated, thinking the bullets were too precious to waste. Instead, he tossed the gun to Jian Xingyi, drew his bow, aimed at the zombie’s head, and ended it before it could rise.

“Take the gun if you want it. It’s just a C-grade pistol, though—not as handy as a rifle, and the firepower’s nothing special,” Firelight said. “Plus, the system reclaims dead players’ gear after a month, so you’ll only have it for a little while.”

“It’s fine…!” Jian Xingyi clutched the pistol, deeply moved. Better than nothing, right?!

This was truly an unexpected windfall!

After handling Jian Xingyi’s request, Firelight turned to buy food from an NPC.

Jian Xingyi was stunned.

True to Grapevine Peak—someone actually willing to be a sucker at the restaurant!

[Player [Firelight] failed to place an order. You have reached your monthly restaurant dining limit!]

[Player [Firelight] failed to order. You have reached your monthly restaurant dining limit!]

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Jian Xingyi stared in disbelief. Someone actually hit their restaurant dining limit…

Firelight, whose order failed, let out a low wail.

“I’m starving to death…!”

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Jian Xingyi cautiously offered, “I have some pickled vegetable jars here… They might not be as refined or delicious as the restaurant’s, but would you consider them?”

It was also a way to repay Firelight for saving his life—Firelight had not only rescued him but also helped him acquire the pistol.

“Huh?!” Firelight’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Jian Xingyi nodded vigorously.

Moved, Firelight accepted the two jars Jian Xingyi offered. “Thank you, you’re such a kind person. But I can’t just take them for free. How about… You scan my QR code to pay?”

“Huh?”

Jian Xingyi blankly opened his terminal.

【Ding!】

【Player [Xinghe] received [Dawn Coins x5000] from Player [Firelight]】

Jian Xingyi: “……??”

Jian Xingyi’s pupils dilated in shock, his expression betraying utter bewilderment.

This was way too easy?!

After Firelight bid farewell, Jian Xingyi drifted into thought.

Firelight’s actions had opened his mind. Food was precious now—many went hungry, and some even robbed him openly for sustenance.

Surely plenty would pay a little for grain.

While the big shots might not be as cash-strapped, they still had to scavenge for food on barren land. Why else would Firelight willingly pay over the odds at a restaurant unless he had no other choice?

When it came to food, everyone was equally… destitute.

Could he use this opportunity to farm gold coins?

His perspective broadened!

He didn’t have to sell food to NPCs—he could list it in the marketplace for… players!

Because Jian Xingyi had realized something—the guild’s 200,000 EXP wasn’t just earned through combat power; an equal amount of dawn coins could also be exchanged for EXP!

He seemed… to have a glimmer of hope!