Chapter 52: Ambitions Amid Chaos

Rubbing her eyes, the girl gasped as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Since the display is always accurate, she almost wondered if it was a glitch.

One day? Or two!?

She had completed four advanced tasks – all at the highest difficulty level!?

Good heavens, in her career she’d never witnessed such an absurd feat. Even a standard first-stage promotion task takes weeks or even months just to form a team.

Timing, strategizing, recruiting, and testing kills – every step was filled with nail-biting tension and fear of errors.

Yet when it came to Yenir…

Looking at Yenir’s relaxed, handsome face, she couldn’t help but think these tasks were as easy as drinking water for him.

“Could you speed things up?”

With a helpless glance at the stunned receptionist, Yenir sighed deeply.

As his words faded, the receptionist scrambled to grab his card, finally coming to his senses.

Beep: Strength-Type Advanced Task Completed. Extra Strength Reward acquired.

Beep: Agility-Type Advanced Task Completed. Extra…

Beep: Constitution-Type Advanced…

Beep: Total Extra Credit Points Earned: 7300 Points!

After four consecutive beeps and feeling the sudden easing of his bottlenecks and enhanced stats, Yenir nodded in satisfaction before turning and walking away.

……

Back home, careful not to wake his little sister or his mother, Yenir headed straight for his room.

“Check Attributes!”

“Buzz.”

The screen flashed.

Staring at his stats, Yenir’s eyes lit up as he planned how to boost them to 25. Whether it was epic-level gear or skills, both required meeting the attribute threshold.

The system demands 25 base attribute points (equipment bonuses excluded).

Currently, aside from an overachieving will, his other base stats were sorely lacking.

“Last time, six Spiritual Energy Fruits boosted my strength by 3 and agility by 3.”

“The experience overflow granted an extra 4 points to all stats, and the advanced tasks gave another point.”

“By my calculations, I still need an additional 7 points in strength and agility, plus 10 points in constitution.”

He frowned slightly.

At his current 14 plus 10, he still needed to buy 24 Spiritual Energy Fruits – not counting that once he hits 20 points, the effect of lower-tier fruits drops dramatically.

Strictly calculated, 35 fruits should roughly cover his needs.

At 6000 Credit Points each, that meant he needed at least 210,000 Credit Points!

He was utterly stunned.

Yenir glanced at the Credit Points he’d earned from selling his gear and materials, feeling the pressure mount.

He currently had about 20,000, and selling all his recent hauls might push him up to roughly 40,000.

Sticking to white equipment instead of selling his Blue Equipment meant his Credit Points were coming in too slowly.

Of course, the main issue was that he needed far too many Spiritual Energy Fruits. In second-tier, every attribute must reach 25 – a sum no minor faction could afford. Ordinary awakened individuals can’t even manage one, but for him, it was as essential as food!

“I need to figure out how to sell some valuable gear.”

“Back in my previous life, the entire Capital supplied me with materials, so I never had to worry about this. Now, I can only rely on myself.”

A glimmer of resolve flashed in his eyes.

He pulled a blank sheet from his desk and began listing all the equipment he could possibly get his hands on.

Level up and make money! You can’t miss both!

“Hmm, there shouldn’t be much valuable gear around Tianfeng – the Military Department scrubbed it all out long ago. But there’s a second-tier dungeon worth farming.”

“The nearby Zhenjiang Security Zone recently had a Blue accessory-type item. If I recall correctly, it dropped from wild mutants.”

“Further out in the Dongshan Battle Zone, I remember a High-Level Strength Skill Book appearing once…”

His pen raced across the paper…

Half an hour later, Yenir reviewed his notes and exhaled softly.

Fortunately, with the looming calamity, the coming year would flood the world with gear and resources – many of which he’d heard about during his escape.

While over 200,000 Credit Points might seem astronomical to others, gathering that sum wasn’t out of reach for him.

“Once I sort out the area around Tianfeng, I’ll head to Zhenjiang!”

Determined, Yenir subconsciously glanced at the room where his family stayed, a warm glow in his eyes.

This trip out again would probably take over a month.

Though he cherished the rare warmth of family, Yenir knew his time was running short.

…….

“Brother, are you leaving again?”

At the doorway, his little sister clung to him reluctantly, looking up with pleading eyes.

After affectionately patting her head, Yenir nodded slightly at his worried mother.

Seeing her son’s determined gaze, his mother sighed and repeatedly urged him to be careful.

Though she didn’t understand what was happening, her maternal instincts told her he was under enormous pressure and had an important mission.

After a brief goodbye, Yenir headed straight out of the city.

Watching the patrolling awakened soldiers on the streets, he hesitated for a moment before opening a private message to Commander Xiao Hai.

Even though the calamity was set to officially break out in a year, there were already plenty of ominous signs.

Take Tianfeng Security Zone for example: in a couple of weeks, a massive zombie horde is expected to break away from the city and assault Tianfeng. He recalled how, in those chaotic times, Tianfeng suffered heavy losses and many survivors met tragic ends.

He had even considered contacting the top-tier elites from his past life to warn them of impending disasters.

But after much thought, Yenir realized he didn’t even have the credentials to pass along the message, let alone earn their trust.

Everything hinges on strength – especially since, to outsiders, he was just a minor figure with no backing.

He’d learned that lesson all too well in his past life!

Yet, thinking of the events in Tianfeng, Yenir decided to give Xiao Hai a heads-up. If it worked, maybe Xiao Hai could vouch for him and relay more information. After all, a third-tier figure carries far more weight than he does.

With that thought, Yenir sent out a message:

“Commander Xiao Hai, while I was outside the city, I detected a zombie uprising in Tianfeng City. There’s a high chance of a large-scale zombie assault on Tianfeng in the near future.”

“The uprising is highly unusual; I hope you can dispatch troops to check it out.”

After sending the message, Yenir exhaled deeply.

He needed to reach third-tier as soon as possible to prove his true worth and help stabilize the crumbling order.

…….

Inside the Spiritual Energy Fighter, after receiving word that the Zhenjiang Security Zone was sending a team for a standoff, Xiao Hai brooded over what might be going on.

Just days ago, a third-tier emergence near Tianfeng had already weighed heavily on him; he never expected another incident.

Damn it! Accusing me of Tianfeng pinching your mutants? I can barely take down that mutant tiger at long range myself!

Irritated, he suddenly noticed a private message from Yenir.

He wasn’t surprised that Yenir had his coded ID – after all, he once hoped to befriend him.

The message was brief; after reading it, Xiao Hai couldn’t help but look shocked.

A large zombie horde attacking Tianfeng? A monster uprising?

A few seconds later, he laughed lightly, dismissing it as Yenir’s low capability making him see problems where there were none.

Or perhaps he just wanted to boost his presence.

What, do you think you’re SS-level but aren’t getting the treatment you deserve? If anything, blame your Mental Type, Yenir.

As for Yenir’s message, he didn’t even bother replying.

What a joke. Since the final war between humans and monsters forty years ago, the post-apocalyptic world has been in a long-standing ‘peace’.

Now, his thoughts were entirely focused on that mysterious third-tier figure and the arrival of the Zhenjiang Security Zone.