Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 206: Battle, 12th Floor Casino Manager’s Office

[Warning! Nerve gas will be released on the 10th floor of Freedom Tower soon. All personnel, please evacuate!]

[Time until nerve gas release: 21 seconds...20...19...]

A piercing alarm blared on the 10th floor of Freedom Tower, but at the exit leading to the staircase, two figures stood in a tense standoff.

"Go to hell!"

Bang bang—

The sound of a homemade slam-fire shotgun echoed in the corridor, sending dozens of pellets flying towards Yu Yuan.

But the moment his opponent raised the gun, Yu Yuan had already ducked behind a wall.

A Molotov cocktail appeared in his hand, already lit.

Just as his opponent desperately charged towards the staircase exit, Yu Yuan smashed the bottle onto the ground.

Violent flames erupted with the splashing fuel oil, engulfing the exit.The fire formed a barrier between the player and the staircase.

Thud thud thud—

Yu Yuan didn't stop. He smashed several more Molotov cocktails onto the floor.

Instantly, the entire area within three meters of the exit was wrapped in raging flames.

Flames and black smoke billowed upwards, obscuring the exit.

The player stared at the wall of fire before him, his eyes filled with despair and regret.

"I shouldn't have been greedy. I should have just entered the escape pod and left earlier!"

[5...4...3...]

The broadcast now felt like a death knell hammering against the player's heart.

A flash of ruthless determination crossed his eyes.

"I'm going for it!"

With that thought, fueled by a desperate, last-ditch resolve, he charged into the sea of fire at incredible speed.

Then, with a muffled grunt, he was flung back even faster, crashing heavily to the ground, a crossbow bolt embedded deep in his chest, its shaft still vibrating.

Hiss hiss hiss...

Yellow-green nerve gas sprayed from nozzles, quickly enveloping the entire 10th floor.

The player finally let out his last breath, filled with bitter resentment.

Hiss hiss hiss.

A dry chemical fire extinguisher quickly coated the burning materials. As the oxygen was cut off, the flames were soon extinguished.

Only a residual warmth lingered in the air.

Yu Yuan, lying prone on the ground, watched the player die and gave a slight, disdainful curl of his lip.

That guy was really tough to deal with.

He hadn't expected his opponent to possess infrared vision, allowing him to directly detect heat sources in the darkness.

It completely nullified his [Concealment] effect.

If he hadn't been cautious enough, he would have almost fallen for the trap.

But this guy was truly greedy. Even while fighting Yu Yuan, he was still thinking about looting the corpse of that leader-level infected. He really had a death wish.

Clearly, he thought his infrared vision gave him an absolute advantage over Yu Yuan, hence his recklessness.

But if it weren't for his opponent's greed, Yu Yuan wouldn't have found the opportunity to trap him on the 10th floor.

And now, with his opponent's death, the floor was cleared.

"Pretty good luck! Didn't run into any particularly troublesome players this round."

No point dwelling on it. Confirming the player's death, Yu Yuan took out a crossbow bolt attached to a steel wire rope and loaded it onto his Rare-tier hand crossbow.

He looked at the hand crossbow with evident delight.

[Refined Steel Hand Crossbow]

Quality: Rare

Functions:

① When attacking, Penetration +10

② When firing, can produce a [Knockback] effect.

Thud...

Yu Yuan aimed at the player's location and pulled the trigger. The bolt shot into the player's body.

He slowly tightened the steel wire, using steady force to pull the player's corpse bit by bit towards the exit.

Fortunately, the corpse wasn't far from the exit and was easily dragged over.

He quickly stripped the equipment and supplies from the body and stored them in the Rabbit Ring.

A key card also appeared in Yu Yuan's hand—for the 12th-floor Casino Manager's Office.

"Heh, pretty good luck!"

This was probably the item dropped by that leader-level infected.

He checked the time. There was still an hour and a half until the countdown ended.

So why wait!

Head straight to the 12th floor. He moved the entire way using [Concealment], avoiding unnecessary fights with the infected.

With nerve gas potentially being released on the 12th floor at any moment, securing the supplies in the Spirituality Zone was the priority.

Slipping past one infected after another, he reached the vicinity of the manager's office, dispatched an infected blocking the door, and inserted the key card.

The door, sealed for who knows how long, finally opened again.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Drawing from previous experience, Yu Yuan didn't hesitate. He immediately searched for the safe, then took out the 12th-floor safe key—which he had practically polished to a glossy sheen from frequent handling—and opened it.

Whoa!

As expected of a casino manager. The entire bottom half of the safe was filled with gold. Yu Yuan took it all without exception, storing it in the Rabbit Ring.

The upper compartment of the safe contained a USB drive, an exquisite wooden box, and a document folder.

Yu Yuan collected all of these.

Then, he began a thorough sweep of the entire manager's office.

It was surprising. While the outside was a complete mess, the manager's office was as clean and new as if the apocalypse had never happened.

An entire cabinet of high-end liquor, premium cigars, tea leaves, and coffee beans.

The tobacco was also a brand Yu Yuan had never seen before, truly broadening his horizons.

Several high-end watches, two custom-tailored suits, a limited-edition fountain pen.

The desk, sofa, leather chair, computer...

Anything that could fit was stuffed by Yu Yuan into the Rabbit Ring.

These luxury items weren't something you could just find anywhere in Green Forest City. When you come across them, you don't just pass them by.

Unfortunately, large furniture pieces like display cabinets simply couldn't fit into the Rabbit Ring, so Yu Yuan had to reluctantly leave them behind.

After collecting all the supplies, and with another floor now enveloped in nerve gas, Yu Yuan took out the Escape Indicator to check the locations of the escape pods.

Coincidentally, there were two right on the 12th floor.

He didn't plan to go anywhere else.

He started clearing the 12th floor directly.

——————

[Congratulations, Player ID: Yu Yuan Shelter has completed the Wasteland Battle Royale. Comprehensive evaluation in progress: Number of players killed, number of infected killed, number of elite infected killed, number of leader-level infected killed, total value of acquired supplies...]

[Based on evaluation, Player ID: Yu Yuan Shelter's settlement rating is: 『A』. Reward: Civilization Points ×80]

When Yu Yuan, carrying a steam-powered kinetic warhammer and covered in blood and filth, appeared on the first floor of the shelter, a thick, foul stench immediately spread in all directions.

"Enemy attack!"

A startled shout made Yu Yuan jump.

Yu Yuan instantly assumed a combat stance.

But he saw two dumbfounded individuals several meters away, already preparing to fight.

Not far off, others who were either observing the [Swiftstrider] or doing push-ups for exercise also looked over with full alertness.

Someone even rushed towards the weapons placed nearby, ready for combat.

"Stop! It's me!"

Yu Yuan immediately shouted.

He didn't want to get shot by his own people for no reason!

Hearing Yu Yuan's voice, the members of the [Jackal] team all wore expressions of shock.

Alpha, Fang, and Veteran had already rushed up from downstairs.

They were about to ask questions when they saw Yu Yuan, covered head to toe in blood and grime.

He looked like a demon straight out of hell, his body a mixture of blood and foul-smelling filth.

Gulp...

Everyone seemed to hear the sound of their own swallowing.