Passing through the city gate, the scene outside the city came into view.
Unlike the civilized order maintained within the city, the area outside was connected to the old site of Y City, surrounded by ruins and overgrown with vegetation due to a lack of human intervention.
Cheng Xing recalled a set of photos he had seen in his previous life—what if humanity disappeared?
After discerning the direction, Cheng Xing headed straight south.
Strictly speaking, everything outside the base was a Disaster Area, but the base's surroundings were guarded and patrolled by the Guardian Army.
The Guardian Army was formidable; the entry requirement was D-grade talent or higher, and Disaster Beasts within a ten-mile radius of the base had long been cleared out.
To hunt Disaster Beasts, one had to go further.
Half an hour later, a city ruin appeared in his sight, and only then did Cheng Xing stop his Sprint.
It had to be said that after Awakening, his Constitution had significantly improved; he could run continuously for half an hour without even panting.
If it had been before, he wouldn't have been able to cover the distance in under two hours.
At this moment, Cheng Xing was noticeably more vigilant than when he first left the city. He listened intently and observed his surroundings, walking on a long-neglected, broken road with cracks overgrown with weeds.
Along the road, Cheng Xing cautiously entered the outskirts of the city ruins. This should have been a small town before the apocalypse, but the once prosperous small town was now full of ruins, completely devoid of any human presence.
After finding a relatively intact dilapidated building, Cheng Xing quietly made his way to the rooftop.
Having secured the high ground, Cheng Xing pulled out a tattered map from his travel bag and unfolded it.
This was a map of the former Qingcheng Disaster Area. Various colored markings on the map outlined different zones, with grades from A to F marked sequentially from the center outwards. The A-grade zones, outlined in red, occupied over fifty percent of the central Qingcheng Disaster Area, with notes like 'Do not enter' and 'Ten deaths, no life' written beside them.
Disaster Areas originally had no zones or grades, but Disaster Beasts were transformed from native creatures on the former Blue Star, many retaining their territorial instincts.
Then people assigned grades to the Disaster Beasts themselves, with every 10 levels forming one grade, from F to SSS, and also classified Disaster Areas from F-grade to SS-grade based on the primary Disaster Beast levels occupying them.
The Qingcheng Disaster Area was a genuine A-grade Disaster Area, with a 55-level Crimson-Eyed Rabid Dog residing in its central ruins, an existence considered an elite among A-Class Disaster Beasts.
For instance, the area Cheng Xing was looking at, L Town, was located in the outermost corner of the map. The primary Disaster Beasts found there were mostly 2 to 4-level Mad Rabbits, belonging to F-grade, and there were almost no E-grade Disaster Beasts, making it a typical F-grade Disaster Area.
It was also the closest beginner leveling spot to the H District gate.
As his thoughts drifted, intense sounds of battle occasionally echoed from the ruins of L Town in the distance. Cheng Xing squinted, gazing intently.
"One... two... three—four teams are hunting. I'd better avoid them."
Cheng Xing's purpose for coming here was merely to test his talent, so he naturally didn't want to expose his trump card.
Fortunately, L Town was very large. After determining his target, Cheng Xing quickly went downstairs and swiftly disappeared into the ruins.
Cheng Xing moved forward while skillfully setting up some upgraded traps. He spent over an hour setting them up, and once done, he returned to the dilapidated building he had been in earlier and quietly waited for prey to take the bait.
Although he had Awakened, he was still just one person, so it was naturally better to be cautious.
Time passed little by little, and soon one of the traps showed activity.
Cheng Xing's eyes lit up. He put down his backpack, taking only a machete, and quickly went downstairs, running towards the trap.
As he got closer, growls gradually emerged from ahead. Nearing the edge of the trap, Cheng Xing expertly found a corner of a wall, and cautiously peeked out to observe the situation in the trap.
"Hiss!"
He saw a one-meter-long rabbit-like Disaster Beast with crimson eyes, its huge mouth filled with gruesome fangs wide open, constantly emitting growls. The surrounding area was a mess.
Upon closer inspection, a rebar had pierced its hind leg, firmly stuck in the concrete ground, blood staining its glowing fur. Its other intact hind leg thrashed in impotent rage, shattering piece after piece of concrete.
【Disaster Beast: Mad Rabbit】
【Level: 2】
【HP: 100 / 120】
【Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 6, Constitution 2, Spirit 2】
【Talent: F-grade Sprint Effect: Movement speed increased by 10%】
【Skill: Stomp LV.1】
After a quick look at the Mad Rabbit's panel, Cheng Xing didn't rush forward immediately.
After all, his talent wasn't a combat talent. Although Awakening had significantly boosted his physical stats, with these low stats in a Disaster Area, any random Disaster Beast could easily overpower him.
The Mad Rabbit continued its frantic destruction, which also caused its wounds to deepen and its movements to slow down. After a while, it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The time was ripe. Cheng Xing then approached with his knife.
"Swish!"
Just as he got within a meter of the Mad Rabbit, a figure lunged.
"Not good!"
Cheng Xing instinctively blocked with his knife. Sparks flew, and upon closer inspection, the previously motionless Mad Rabbit suddenly surged, biting down on the blade of the machete.
"Crunch!"
With a teeth-grinding sound, the machete snapped. Cheng Xing's eyes narrowed. He quickly sidestepped and simultaneously pulled his knife.
The broken blade slid across the Mad Rabbit's neck. A huge resistance came from the hilt. Cheng Xing gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his arm, and suddenly exerted force.
"Rip!"
The broken blade slit its neck. The Mad Rabbit's crimson eyes instantly dimmed, and it collapsed weakly.
【Killed Mad Rabbit, Experience +5】
"Huff, huff~"
"Almost messed up."
Cheng Xing took a deep breath, his knife-holding hand trembling slightly from excessive force.
He hadn't expected the Mad Rabbit's counterattack to be so terrifying.
He thought back to hunting Mad Rabbits before he Awakened, always waiting for several hours before approaching, and couldn't help but inwardly praise his own cleverness.
"After Awakening, I'm still a bit too overconfident."
"Next time I need to be careful... Hmm? Something dropped?"
Just as Cheng Xing was reflecting, his peripheral vision inadvertently swept across the Mad Rabbit's corpse, and he was immediately drawn to it.
Walking closer, he saw a long knife emitting white light and a white light cluster lying quietly beside the Mad Rabbit's corpse.
Cheng Xing picked up the long knife to examine it and couldn't help but exclaim; it was actually a finished weapon.
【Standard Tang Dao】
【Grade: F-grade】
【Effect: None】
According to his understanding, killing Disaster Beasts, in addition to leveling up, could also randomly drop items, but the drop rate was extremely low, and even if something dropped, it would usually only be some materials.
It was very rare for someone like Cheng Xing to directly drop a weapon. Weapons with grades like this were very expensive because they were products of the apocalypse, and their strength was completely different from those forged by ordinary people.
Generally speaking, there were only two ways to acquire such equipment: one was by killing Disaster Beasts, and the other was by collecting materials and having them forged by someone with a forging talent.
So, even though this weapon was only F-grade, its market price had already exceeded 50,000 chinese yuan.
"Wow, the drop rate is really high."
"What's this again?"
After the surprise, Cheng Xing picked up the other light cluster. It felt empty in his hand, but the next second, the Awakener system's feedback came.
【Talent: Sprint】
【Grade: F】
【Talent Effect: Movement speed increased by 10%】
......