Darkness enveloped the nd, the stench of death overwhelming. As Zhang Yi stepped out of the Safe Zone through the light screen, it felt as if he had descended from heaven into hell.

  Looking around, amidst the ruins of a city shrouded in smoke, countless grotesque Bio-Behemoths of levels 1 to 5 roamed, while crows scattered wildly in the sky above.

  Fearless, Zhang Yi hefted his massive hammer and strode directly into the beast horde.

  "Roar!"

  As Zhang Yi stepped into the monsters' aggro range, a series of roars erupted, and one low-level Bio-Behemoth after another lunged at him.

  Zhang Yi swung his massive hammer, unleashing a whirlwind of attacks.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  -48!

  -48!

  -51!

  -94 Critical Hit!

  ***

  "Ding~ You have killed a level 3 [Bio-Cockroach], gaining 6 EXP!"

  "Ding~ You have killed a level 2 [Bio-Rat], gaining 2 EXP!"

  One Bio-Behemoth after another turned into bits of EXP, which Zhang Yi collected.

  For Zhang Yi, dealing with monsters of levels 1 to 4 was merely a matter of 2 to 4 hammer strikes. The only threat to him now was the level 5 monsters.

  Level 5 Bio-Behemoths had an attack power of 25 points, dealing 18 points of damage to Zhang Yi with each hit. With an HP of 240, without nding a critical hit, Zhang Yi needed six hammer strikes to take one down.

  Almost every time he killed a level 5 Bio-Behemoth, Zhang Yi had to use a Health Potion to recover.

  However, the rewards from level 5 monsters were the highest. Each one provided Zhang Yi with 20 EXP and at least 1 Copper Coin, with the chance of dropping up to 3 if he was lucky!

  As Zhang Yi made his way out of the Safe Zone, he encountered many pyers heading towards it.

  Those pyers, who had struggled to reach this point from the spawn point, were puzzled to see Zhang Yi heading out from the Safe Zone in the opposite direction, until they noticed the white ID floating above his head—Yinuo Qingcheng!

  "Damn, isn't that the guy who just got announced by the System as the first pyer to reach the Safe Zone?"

  "Yinuo Qingcheng... That's the ID!"

  "Wow, he's even changed his weapon. We haven't even reached the Safe Zone, and he's already heading out to hunt!"

  "Let's hurry into the Safe Zone. I saw on the Apocalypse Official Website that the Game Manual says the quests in the game have limited daily cims. If we're te, we won't even get the scraps!"

  And so, a rge number of pyers brushed past Zhang Yi, hastening towards Hope Town.

  In their eyes, even as the first person to reach the Safe Zone, this "Yinuo Qingcheng" might have some skill, but going out alone to hunt was a dead end.

  Just then, a scream came from ahead.

  Looking over, they saw a girl in a tank top and shorts being pinned under a level 5 [Bio-Spider], her HP bar above her head dropping to half, and then to a quarter after a bite from the Bio-Spider!

  "Help!"

  "Don't be afraid, girl, I'm coming to save you!"

  Seeing a pretty girl in distress, a Young Guy nearby charged at the Bio-Spider with his Novice Sword.

  Unexpectedly, before he could get close, the Bio-Spider counterattacked, dealing a 44-point critical hit and triggering the [Poisoned] trait, with the poison dealing 3 damage per second, instantly killing the Young Guy.

  With a scream, the would-be hero vanished in a fsh of white light.

  The level 5 Bio-Spider continued to approach the girl with low health.

  Seeing that it was a level 5 monster, and having just witnessed the Bio-Spider's terrifying damage instantly kill a pyer, the surrounding pyers were too scared to intervene.

  After all, in their eyes, even though this was just a game, dying meant returning to the spawn point to revive. They had fought hard to get here and were about to enter the Safe Zone; none of them wanted to risk it all for a stranger, no matter how good-looking she was.

  Just as the girl was about to be devoured by the giant spider, Zhang Yi approached with his massive hammer.

  Seeing this, the crowd around him sneered.

  "Ha, this guy thinks he's something special just because he was the first to enter the Safe Zone and got some rewards, and now he's changed his weapon. He wants to py the hero!"

  "Watch him get killed. It'd be nice if he dropped that hammer; it's definitely stronger than the Novice Sword!"

  So, the surrounding pyers watched with anticipation as Zhang Yi approached the Bio-Spider and the girl.

  As Zhang Yi got closer, the Bio-Spider sensed danger and immediately pounced at him.

  With an upward swing, Zhang Yi smashed the Bio-Spider away, a golden critical hit number appearing above its head—

  -94!

  As the surrounding pyers gasped, Zhang Yi quickly closed the distance, delivering two more hammer strikes, each dealing 47 damage, killing the not fully healed level 5 Bio-Spider.

  This scene left all the pyers who had been expecting a show dumbfounded.

  Pyer A: "Oh my god... What kind of damage is that!"

  Pyer B: "Damn, that hammer in his hand must be a divine weapon!"

  Pyer C: "I can't deal as much damage with ten sword strikes as he can with one hammer hit..."

  While everyone was in shock, Zhang Yi quietly collected 2 Copper Coins from the loot and left.

  ***

  Following the map's guidance, it took him over ten minutes to fight his way from Hope Town to the [Doomsday Factory]. The EXP from the low-level wild monsters along the way had brought Zhang Yi's EXP bar to 70%, and he was about to reach level 3!

  In his sights was an abandoned chemical processing pnt in the wilderness, surrounded by overgrown weeds. The factory's smokestacks were entwined with vines, and the entire pce looked desote and full of hidden dangers.

  For most people, pying this kind of post-apocalyptic survival game for the first time, without a team, would leave them without the courage to even approach the factory. But Zhang Yi, without hesitation, dragged his massive hammer and entered the factory.

  Inside, chemical barrels y scattered haphazardly on the ground, trash and paper scraps littered everywhere, and the corpses of many NPC workers, already rotting and stinking, were strewn about.

  In addition, there were many rge bck bugs with six legs, resembling beetles, clinging to the corpses and gnawing on them, making a chilling chewing sound.

  These rge bugs were Zhang Yi's target—

  Man-eating Bugs!