The "Grand Century Hypermarket" used to be the heart of the Jinghai District. It was a massive complex that included a shopping mall, a cinema, and a warehouse club.
Now, it was a fortress of misery.
The building had split down the middle due to the Earth's expansion, with half of it submerged in a newly formed swamp and the other half leaning precariously against a skyscraper-sized oak tree.
Su Chen stood on the roof of a nearby convenience store, observing the entrance through a pair of binoculars he had looted.
[Olfactory Sense Analysis]
Scent 1: Rotting meat (Zombies) – Concentration: Low (Cleared out).
Scent 2: Unwashed bodies, sweat, fear (Survivors) – Concentration: High (~50 people).
Scent 3: Fresh Blood, Adrenaline, Hormones (Aggressors) – Concentration: Medium (~10 people).
Scent 4: Danger. A sharp, calcium-rich scent. Like ground bone.
"Someone has established a territory," Su Chen muttered, lowering the binoculars.
He saw a group of ragged survivors pushing heavy carts out of the warehouse loading dock. They were being whipped by men holding machetes and makeshift spears.
"Slaves," Su Chen noted coldly. "Standard apocalypse behavior. The strong enslave the weak to do the dangerous work."
He didn't care about justice. He wasn't a hero.
But he noticed the carts were loaded with canned food, gasoline canisters, and—most importantly—a portable diesel generator.
"That generator..." Su Chen's eyes narrowed. "My RV will need power. And they have gasoline."
He adjusted his backpack, checked the Indigo Nichirin Sword at his hip, and jumped down.
Inside the Loading Dock.
"Move it, you maggots!" A thug with a dyed yellow mohawk kicked an old man who had stumbled. "Boss Lei wants this truck loaded before noon! Or you're lunch for the pet!"
The old man groaned, clutching his ribs.
"Please... water... I haven't drank in two days..."
"Water?" Mohawk laughed. He pulled out a bottle, took a sip, and spat it onto the ground. "Lick it up."
The other survivors looked down, terrified. None dared to help.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of calm, rhythmic footsteps echoed in the concrete bay.
Mohawk froze. "Who's there?"
Out of the shadows walked a young man. He wore clean, tactical cargo pants (looted), a black t-shirt, and a strange indigo sword at his waist. He looked out of place—too clean, too well-fed.
"You have a generator," Su Chen said, his voice echoing calmly. "I need it. And the gasoline."
Mohawk blinked, then burst out laughing. "A robbery? You're robbing the Bone Gang alone? Are you retarded?"
Mohawk signaled. "Boys, kill him! His sword looks expensive!"
Three thugs charged. They were mostly normal humans, perhaps Level 1 or 2, relying on brute force and adrenaline.
Su Chen didn't draw his sword.
He didn't need to waste durability on trash.
He raised his right hand.
[Skill: Flesh Manipulation (Basic)]
[Activation: Localized Hardening]
His skin turned a dark, grayish hue as the muscle fibers compressed to the density of rock.
Clang!
The first machete struck Su Chen's forearm. It sounded like hitting a granite statue. The blade chipped.
"What?!" The thug's eyes popped out.
Su Chen grabbed the thug's face with his hardened hand.
[Strength: 21]
Crunch.
He crushed the skull like a watermelon.
"One."
He didn't stop. He stepped forward, moving with the eerie grace of Water Breathing.
He punched the second thug in the chest.
The force was so great it caved in the ribcage, sending bone fragments into the heart.
"Two."
The third thug tried to run. Su Chen flicked his wrist. A throwing knife (copied earlier) flew out.
Thwack. Right in the back of the neck.
"Three."
In five seconds, the loading dock was silent.
The survivors stared at Su Chen with wide, fearful eyes. They didn't cheer. They knew that killing the minions only summoned the monster.
BOOM!
The steel doors of the inner warehouse were blasted off their hinges.
A massive figure stepped out.
He was huge, standing over two meters tall. But his appearance was grotesque. Sharp, white bone spikes protruded from his shoulders, elbows, and knees. His skin was pale, stretched tight over an exoskeleton that seemed to be growing out of him.
Boss Lei.
[Target: Lei Hu (Awakened)]
[Level: 7 (Peak Elite)]
[Talent: Bone Armor Manipulation (A-Rank)]
[Status: Enraged / Cannibalistic]
"Who killed my dogs?" Lei Hu roared, his voice sounding like gravel grinding together.
Su Chen looked at him.
"A-Rank Talent..." Su Chen's eyes shined with greed. "Bone Manipulation. If I combine that with my Flesh Manipulation and Chitin Armor..."
"I asked you a question, little bug!" Lei Hu stomped forward. The ground cracked.
He pulled a bone spur out of his own shoulder—a grisly sword made of his own calcium.
"You look tasty," Lei Hu licked his lips. "Awakened meat makes me stronger."
Su Chen drew his Indigo Blade.
"Come and eat then."
Lei Hu charged. He was fast for a tank.
He swung the bone sword.
CLANG!
Su Chen blocked with the Nichirin Sword. The impact sent a shockwave through his arms.
Strength 25 vs Strength 21.
Su Chen slid back three meters, his boots leaving skids on the concrete.
"Hahaha! Weak!" Lei Hu laughed. "Die!"
He unleashed a barrage of attacks. Bone spikes shot out of his body like projectiles.
Su Chen activated [Total Concentration Breathing].
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
He weaved through the bone spikes.
Cut.
His sword slashed Lei Hu's chest.
Spark.
The blade cut the skin but was stopped by the sub-dermal bone armor.
"Useless!" Lei Hu grinned. "I am indestructible!"
"Nothing is indestructible," Su Chen said calmly.
He sheathed his sword mid-fight.
Lei Hu was confused. "Giving up?"
"No. I need to touch you."
Su Chen dropped his stance. He channeled every ounce of strength into his legs. [Wolf Agility] + [Mantis Reflexes].
Boom.
He broke the sound barrier for a split second.
He appeared right in Lei Hu's guard.
Lei Hu instinctively covered himself in bone armor. "You can't hurt me!"
Su Chen didn't punch.
He placed both hands on Lei Hu's chest.
"I'm not trying to hurt you yet. I'm just browsing."
[Target: Lei Hu]
[Copying Attribute: Bone Armor Manipulation (A-Rank)]
[Copying Attribute: Calcium Density (Passive)]
Buzz.
A massive drain hit Su Chen. Copying an A-Rank talent mid-combat was risky. His nose started to bleed.
But he smiled.
"Thanks for the gift."
[Skill Acquired: Bone Manipulation.]
[Fusing with Flesh Manipulation...]
[Result: Biological Structure Control (Low-Grade).]
Su Chen stepped back.
Lei Hu roared and stabbed his bone sword forward.
This time, Su Chen didn't block with a sword.
He raised his left arm.
Crack. Crack.
White bone spikes erupted from Su Chen's own arm, spiraling together to form a shield.
BANG!
Bone met Bone.
Lei Hu's sword was stopped by Su Chen's arm-shield.
"What?!" Lei Hu's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "That's MY power! How?!"
"Mine is better," Su Chen whispered.
He combined [Flesh Manipulation] (Muscle) with [Bone Manipulation] (Structure) and [Water Breathing] (Flow).
His right arm shifted. The bones inside elongated, fusing into a spear-point that extended past his fingers. The muscles wrapped around it like a hydraulic piston.
"Biological Art: Bone Drill."
Su Chen punched.
The bone-spear on his hand spun (thanks to Flesh Manipulation twisting the muscle fibers).
CRACK!
It pierced Lei Hu's bone armor.
It pierced Lei Hu's chest.
It pierced Lei Hu's heart.
"Guh..." Lei Hu looked down at the hole in his chest. "How..."
Su Chen withdrew his hand, shaking off the blood. His arm bones retracted, returning to normal.
"You relied too much on the shell," Su Chen said coldly. "And not enough on the technique.
Lei Hu collapsed.
[Target Neutralized: Lei Hu (Level 7)]
[Experience Gained: 300]
[Drop: Bone Essence Crystal (Rare) - Increases skeletal density.]
Su Chen stood over the corpse.
The entire loading dock was dead silent.
The survivors looked at him with awe.
One brave woman stepped forward.
"Thank... thank you! You saved us! Are you from the Military?"
Su Chen ignored her.
He walked over to the stack of gasoline canisters and the generator.
He touched them.
Store.
Store.
Store.
Then he walked to the shelves of canned food.
Copy. (One can becomes two).
Store.
He looked at the survivors.
"I killed him because he was in my way. You are free to go. But don't follow me."
He turned to leave.
But then he stopped.
He looked at the truck parked in the bay. It was a heavy-duty military transport truck—likely what Lei Hu stole.
"Actually," Su Chen looked at the woman.
"Can any of you drive a heavy truck?"
The woman raised her hand trembling. "I... I was a logistics driver before this."
Su Chen nodded.
"Good. You're hired."
He needed a driver. He couldn't drive and shoot at the same time. And he couldn't put the truck in his storage if he was inside it.
"Get in," Su Chen commanded. "We're going to the Industrial Zone. If you work well, you eat meat. If you betray me, you end up like him." He pointed at Lei Hu.
The woman didn't hesitate. "Yes, Boss!"
[New Follower Recruited: Jiang Rou (Driver)]
[Loyalty: 60 (Fear/Gratitude)]
Su Chen climbed into the passenger seat.
"Drive."