The thermal alert continued to flash on Lin Fan's monitoring screen, a persistent, aggressive crimson dot moving with unnatural resilience through the relentless cold.
[Threat Detected: Movement Signature (Unidentified) - Ground Level (400m radius).]
Lin Fan ignored the growing pulse of adrenaline in his chest. Fear was a luxury he could not afford; calculated action was his only currency. He needed to understand his new power before the threat breached his immediate perimeter.
"System," Lin Fan commanded, tapping the Modular Resource Creation interface.
The panel shifted, displaying a menu.
[Modular Resource Creation (MRP)]
Available Scavenge Points (SP): 550 (Acquired from A-Rarity Core and Penthouse Assets)
Creation Catalogue:
Simple Components (Tier 1): Carbon Steel Block (10 SP/kg), High-Density Wire (5 SP/meter), Standard Concrete Mix (2 SP/kg).
Complex Materials (Tier 2 - LOCKED): Requires Host Level 2.
Ammunition & Explosives (Restricted - LOCKED): Requires specialized schematics.
Lin Fan's eyes gleamed with cold ambition. The system didn't conjure things from nothing; it converted his "Scavenge Points"—the value derived from the resources he acquired—into modular components. This was the ultimate prepper tool: the ability to generate spare parts and structural reinforcements on demand.
He decided on a practical test. He needed a reinforcement bar for the secondary viewing port he had installed in the vault door.
"Create: One meter of High-Density Carbon Steel Rebar. Diameter: 2cm."
[Cost: 20 SP. Confirm?]
"Confirm."
A low-frequency hum emanated from the System interface. Immediately, a small, insulated metal box built into the shelter wall began to vibrate. After three seconds, a solid, two-centimeter-thick, black steel rebar materialized on the conveyor tray, perfectly formed, slightly warm, and humming with fresh energy.
Lin Fan picked it up. It was heavy, dense, and flawlessly constructed. He now had the power of instant fabrication.
If my vault door fails, I can generate enough steel to weld it shut again.
The Beast Revealed
Having confirmed his new utility, Lin Fan turned his full attention back to the threat. He zoomed the thermal camera to the maximum resolution allowed by the system.
The image resolved to a creature of terrifying, unnatural resilience. It wasn't just a frozen corpse; it was an evolved predator.
It was built like a massive, overgrown wolf—the size of a small car—but its fur was no longer hair. It was matted with thick, jagged crystalline shards of ice that looked like armor plating. Its legs were disproportionately long, ending in massive, clawed paws that bit into the slick ice of the street, allowing it to move with a slow, grinding determination. Its snout was elongated, and its eyes, even through the thermal lens, glowed a disconcerting, hungry pale blue.
"A Cryo-Stalker," Lin Fan whispered, naming the creature instantly in his head. The freeze hadn't killed everything; it had simply accelerated mutation. The beast was clearly heat-seeking, drawn by the incredibly faint thermal plume escaping his chimney vent.
[Threat Assessment: Cryo-Stalker (Tier 1 Mutagenic Predator). Extremely resistant to blunt force trauma. Weak point: High-velocity penetration (Head/Joints).]
The System provided the data he needed. Tier 1. This was just the beginning.
The Cryo-Stalker reached the exterior wall of the apartment building. It didn't pause. With a deafening, scraping sound that rattled the insulation, the creature began to tear at the building's exterior with its massive crystalline claws.
Lin Fan's fortress absorbed the shock, but the noise was invasive. The building groaned in protest.
"You won't break my steel," Lin Fan sneered, checking the charge on his AR-15.
The creature moved, circling the building, sniffing out the weakest thermal signature. It stopped directly beneath the reinforced window where Lin Fan had installed his primary firing slit.
The building trembled violently as the Cryo-Stalker launched its massive body against the wall.
Engineered Defense
Lin Fan's pulse rate spiked, but his hands were steady. He was ready for this.
He moved swiftly to the firing position. The small, heavily reinforced slit, only large enough for the barrel of his rifle, was his only connection to the outside world.
"System. Creation on demand," Lin Fan commanded, tapping the interface.
He quickly spent 100 SP to generate two heavy, specialized sound-dampening carbon fiber braces, instantly welding them into the wall structure around the firing slit to absorb the vibrational stress. He was literally engineering his defense mid-fight.
Lin Fan knelt down, peering through the scope of the AR-15, the thermal imaging highlighting the monster's massive, low-slung head. The creature was scraping its crystalline claws against the alloy plating that covered the window, throwing off sparks that immediately died in the overwhelming cold.
The armor plating was too thick. Standard rounds would just glance off. He needed precision.
Lin Fan adjusted his grip, sighting down the barrel. He tracked the beast's movements—slow, deliberate, powerful. He waited for the critical moment when the creature paused its frantic scraping.
Inhale. Exhale.
He squeezed the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three controlled shots erupted from the barrel. The sound inside the shelter was sharp but manageable, thanks to the tactical silencer and the soundproofing.
The first two bullets pinged off the beast's shoulder plating, throwing off dazzling white sparks that vanished into the cold mist. But the third, guided by Lin Fan's training and the System's internal target data, struck home—not in the armor, but in the exposed joint of the Cryo-Stalker's foreleg, where the crystalline plates met the bone.
A hideous, bone-jarring SCREEECH of pain erupted from the beast. Its massive leg buckled, shattering the ice beneath it.
The Cryo-Stalker roared, a sound of guttural fury and agony that was partially muffled by the environment but still terrifyingly potent. It turned its attention from the window plating to the firing slit, its glowing blue eyes locking onto the tiny aperture.
It lunged.
The Kill and the Spoils
The Cryo-Stalker slammed its huge crystalline head into the reinforced window wall with the force of a battering ram. The entire shelter shuddered. The lights flickered. Dust rained from the ceiling.
"Not enough!" Lin Fan roared, his voice laced with manic intensity.
He switched to the shotgun, grabbing a heavy, tungsten-slug shell. Shotguns were perfect for close-range disabling, and the firing slit was designed for this.
He aimed directly at the creature's exposed snout—the closest he could get to the brain cavity.
K-CHUNK. Lin Fan pumped the shotgun.
He fired.
The tungsten slug struck the Cryo-Stalker's jawline. The specialized slug, designed for maximum kinetic impact, didn't just penetrate; it pulverized the bone and crystal around the beast's face.
The creature let out a truncated, bubbling whine. It staggered back, its powerful body listing sideways. Blood—black, viscous, and instantly freezing—sprayed onto the wall.
With a final, desperate tremor, the Cryo-Stalker collapsed. Its massive bulk hit the ice with a dull, heavy thud. Its eerie blue eyes faded to black.
Lin Fan slowly lowered the shotgun. He stood motionless, allowing his heart rate to return to normal. The entire confrontation lasted maybe ninety seconds, but it was the most intense fight of his life.
[Threat Neutralized. Host Integrity: Nominal.]
Lin Fan allowed himself a deep, satisfied breath of the warm, filtered air.
"System," he commanded, tapping the Resource Scan interface. "Scan the carcass."
The panel immediately shifted its focus to the fallen beast.
[Target: Cryo-Stalker (Mutagenic Predator)][Resources Detected: High-Density Crystalline Hide (Tier 1 defense material). Mutagenic Energy Core (B-Rarity).][Acquisition Recommended: Mutagenic Energy Core.]
Lin Fan's eyes widened. A B-Rarity core? This was the payoff. He had killed a monster and the System recognized the core as valuable loot.
[Transferring Mutagenic Energy Core to Dimensional Storage...]
A split second later, the B-Rarity core—a pulsating mass of dark, frozen energy—was ripped from the dead monster's chest and placed in his Storage.
[Scavenge Points (SP) Gained: +500!][Total SP: 1050!]
Lin Fan smiled. He had survived the ice, survived the mob, and now he had successfully harvested his first mutant loot.
He looked at the new SP total. This was enough to buy a serious upgrade.
"System," Lin Fan commanded, a chilling excitement in his voice. "Show me the Tier 2 Creation Catalogue."
The screen flashed, replacing the menu with new, locked categories that promised materials and defenses far beyond simple steel. The true game had just begun.
(Author's Note: Lin Fan is now a full-fledged Apocalyptic Hunter! He has SP and a Tier 1 Mutagenic Core! What dangerous new material can he create, and how will he use it to upgrade his defense before the next, stronger monster arrives? Show your support with a Power Stone and a comment!)