Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

An indescribable, terrifying pressure surged into the sky from the direction of the Ghost Opera House.

The sky over the entire northern part of the city was instantly enveloped in endless crimson light.

A voice filled with boundless rage resounded throughout the northern part of the city:

"Black Mist! Your death is near!"

Count Augusta has made his move!

A gigantic, blood-red claw, stretching across the sky and carrying a terrifying aura capable of annihilating everything, fiercely clawed towards the entrance of the black mist cave.

From the depths of the cave came the terrified, desperate, and unwilling screams of the Black Mist Lady.

Immediately following were even more violent and terrifying sounds of energy collisions, explosions, and the horrifying sound of something being forcibly torn apart and shattered.

The ground was shaking violently, as if an earthquake had occurred.

From the direction of the distant black mist cavern, towering pillars of dark red and shadowy energy erupted, intertwining, eroding, and annihilating each other.

This battle between the dominant powers broke out suddenly and ended just as quickly.

After all, one side was Count Augusta, who had been plotting for a long time and was going all out, while the other side was Lady Black Mist, who had been severely injured by Lin Yu and whose core had been precisely located.

The result is no suspense.

Less than five minutes had passed.

The towering dark red energy beam let out a mournful cry before suddenly collapsing and dissipating.

The evil and mad aura belonging to the Lady of Black Mist quickly weakened and disappeared, like a sandcastle blown away by the wind...

Ultimately, it was completely annihilated.

The shadows and crimson in the sky slowly faded away.

The earth stopped shaking.

Everything has returned to calm.

Only the distant ruins of the completely collapsed black mist cave, razed to the ground by terrifying forces, and the lingering energy ripples in the air, tell the story of the earth-shattering battle that had just taken place.

Lin Yu let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The trouble is finally completely resolved.

He took out his phone, and sure enough, a message from "Count Augusta" immediately popped up:

"Well done, sir rider. The promised payment is ready. Please come to the opera house to collect it anytime."

Additionally, the opera house will temporarily take over the northern part of the city, and your delivery work will no longer be affected. —Augusta

Upon seeing the message, Lin Yu did not immediately return to the station. Instead, he found a relatively safe place to meditate and regulate his breathing to recover his injuries and mana.

An hour later, after recovering to about 70-80%, Lin Yu got up, rode his electric scooter, and headed towards the Ghost Opera House.

The opera house seemed more "active" than usual at this time.

The shadow energy surrounding it became even more concentrated and controlled, like a satiated beast.

The black catwoman was lazily perched on the high windowsill. When she saw Lin Yu arrive, she elegantly flicked her tail, her emerald green vertical pupils showing a hint of appreciation and curiosity: "Oh, the great hero is back? How surprising."

Lin Yu smiled, said nothing, and walked straight into the hall.

The vampire butler "Shadow" had been waiting there for a long time.

"Sir rider, the Earl is waiting for you." Ying bowed slightly, her attitude even more respectful than before.

It led Lin Yu through several magnificent corridors he had never walked before, until he arrived at a double, ornate door deep inside the opera house, inlaid with dark red gemstones.

The door slid open silently.

Behind the door was an extremely spacious room, furnished like a medieval nobleman's study.

Count Augusta was standing in front of a huge bookshelf, holding a heavy ancient book in his hand.

He turned around. The count looked like a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in a dark red aristocratic suit, with a handsome but pale face and deep eyes that revealed the vicissitudes of time and a powerful sense of strength.

"Welcome, Mr. Rider." The count gave a faint smile, his voice much gentler. "Please sit down. You helped me solve a long-standing problem, and I owe you a favor."

Lin Yu sat down on the comfortable sofa and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "It's just a matter of mutual benefit, Your Excellency Earl. I'm only doing this to protect myself."

"A very good personality." The count nodded, seemingly appreciating Lin Yu's attitude.

He walked to the desk, picked up a rather antique-looking metal box that had been prepared beforehand, and placed it on the coffee table in front of Lin Yu.

"This is the reward you deserve. In addition to the previously promised 'information consultation fee,' there is also an extra reward for your courage."

Lin Yu opened the box.

There are three things inside.

The first item was a small pile of gold coins, which were game coins, and there seemed to be quite a lot of them, probably several hundred. Lin Yu hadn't expected the Earl to have this.

The second item was a dark silver ring engraved with bat and rose patterns.

The third item was a card with a golden sheen.

[Shadow Whisper Ring]

Category: Jewelry

Grade: Silver

Durability: 300/300

Effects: Agility +2, Spirit +3

Shadow Affinity: The wearer is more susceptible to shadow energy affinity, which enhances the power of shadow-type skills. All attributes are slightly increased in the dark.

Shadow Step: Instantly teleports within a short distance (in the shadows within sight or perception range), with a 30-minute cooldown.

Shadow Guardian: When health drops below 20%, automatically generate a shadow shield that absorbs damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown is 1 hour.

Description: A ring imbued with the power of shadow.

[Equipment Upgrade Card (Gold)]

Category: Props

Grade: Gold

Effect: Can upgrade a silver-grade equipment to gold-grade (equipment only, ineffective for special items, props, skill cards, etc.).

Description: An extremely valuable card, representing a qualitative leap in equipment.

Lin Yu's gaze was instantly drawn to the [Equipment Upgrade Card].

Gold-tier! The best equipment he has right now is only gold-tier! The value of this card is immeasurable.

The count looked at Lin Yu's expression and smiled slightly: "It seems you are quite satisfied with this reward."

This ring represents the opera house's friendship; by possessing it, you will always be a VIP of the opera house.

As for that card, it's useless to me, but it should be quite useful to you humans.

"It's really useful." Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction; the reward far exceeded his expectations.

"This is what you deserve." The count waved his hand. "If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can come to the opera house for help."

Of course, if anything "interesting" like this happens, feel free to share it anytime.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lin Yu tactfully got up to take his leave.

Leaving the opera house, looking at the heavy metal case in his hand, Lin Yu was filled with emotion.

The threat from Lady Black Mist was completely eliminated, and he received such a generous reward, especially the [Equipment Upgrade Card], which would undoubtedly allow his strength to reach a new level!

Next, I need to consider which piece of equipment I should use it to upgrade...

As night deepened, Lin Yu rode his electric bike, loaded with his bountiful harvest, towards the station.

After leaving the opera house, Lin Yu didn't linger and went straight back to his apartment at the station.

After closing the door, he immediately focused his attention on the gold-grade [Equipment Upgrade Card].

Currently, he has several silver-grade equipment pieces worth upgrading: the [Sunrise Bow], which has considerable attack power and is particularly effective against dark creatures; the [Poseidon's Trident], which is extremely powerful in aquatic environments; the [Nether Stone Necklace], which has multiple functions; and the [Demon Sword], which has great potential but has not yet been fully developed.

After a moment's consideration, Lin Yu made his choice.

While the Sunbow and the Trident of Poseidon are excellent, they are greatly limited by the environment.

The Netherworld Stone Necklace has strong auxiliary functions, but it is not the core function.

The Demon Sword has excellent growth potential and Soul Nest ability, especially its ability to command ghosts, which can be very effective in many situations.

Upgrading him to the Gold level would undoubtedly greatly enhance his overall strength.

"Use [Equipment Upgrade Card], target [Moon Goddess's Blessing - Demon Sword]." Lin Yu silently recited in his mind.

The golden card in his hand instantly transformed into a stream of light and merged into the [Demon Sword] at his waist.

The sword suddenly trembled, emitting a strong energy fluctuation.

The already eerie atmosphere became even more restrained and profound, as if a faint, cold moonlight flowed across the blade.

The demon statue at the sword hilt seemed even more lifelike, its eye sockets gleaming with a dark red light.

[Moon Goddess's Blessing - Demon Sword] (Upgrade Complete)

Category: Weapons

Attribute: Physical/Special

Grade: Gold

Attack: 300

Durability: 500/500

Effect: Spirit +10

Moonlight Power: Enhanced effect. Under moonlight, durability recovery speed is faster and the increase in sword spirit power is greater.

Evil Spirit: Enhanced effect, increased mental damage and pain, significantly enhanced [Moonlight Erosion] effect, higher chance of triggering illusions and mental disorder.

Soul Nest: Increases the maximum number of ghosts that can be stored and commanded to 50 (currently: 20/50), and can also store stronger ghosts (but not exceeding Gold rank). Stored ghosts are under the control of the sword spirit, and their strength is slightly increased when summoned into battle.

Summon Soul: Reduces durability consumption (1 point every two minutes), and increases the summoned sword spirit's physical strength to the peak of Silver rank. Increases the maximum number of ordinary ghosts that can be summoned and allows for more complex commands.

Yin Artifact: Enhanced effect, increases efficiency in devouring souls and absorbing yin attribute energy to restore durability, and accelerates the speed at which the sword spirit's strength is improved.

Devouring Master: Due to the level increase, the Yin Qi erosion effect is slightly enhanced, but its impact on Lin Yu is still weak.

Divine Blessing (Passive): The divine blessing bestowed by the moon goddess grants the Demon Sword's attacks a special attack effect against ghouls, enabling it to kill them and greatly increasing damage against dark creatures.

Moonlit Ghost: In moonlight, the swordsman can blend slightly into the shadows, increase movement speed, and ignore some low-level physical obstacles.

Description: "A ghostly shadow under the moon, a mixture of reality and illusion"—its sharpness is all the more unsettling.

The upgrade is remarkably effective! Not only have the basic attributes and effects been comprehensively improved, but practical new abilities have also been added.

Lin Yu returned the sword to its sheath with satisfaction, feeling the even greater power within it.

……

Day 5 of the game.

As the Count said, deliveries within the opera house area and the northern part of the city became exceptionally smooth.

The black mist completely dissipated, and the monsters in these areas seemed to have received some kind of order. After encountering him, they no longer dared to rush up and block him recklessly. Most of the time, they would walk around him, and if they really couldn't avoid him, they would pretend not to see him.

This greatly reduced the difficulty of his deliveries, and the delivery speed became faster and faster.

Therefore, he simply focused on delivering orders in the north of the city and near the opera house, which made him extremely efficient.

During that time, he even delivered another order to the Ghost Opera House, where the Black Cat Woman gave him a flirtatious wink from afar.

This time, he also made a special trip to Screaming Lady's place. Screaming Lady did not expect that Lin Yu not only was not killed by the black mist, but also joined forces with the director of the opera house to kill the other party. Therefore, her expression after seeing Lin Yu can be described as very interesting.

However, it didn't dare to make a move against Lin Yu, since he was now a VIP client of the opera house.

After chatting for a while, the screaming lady gave Lin Yu a bunch of random equipment and some points in exchange for her own remains.

As for the male ghost, he has been completely suppressed by Liu Xiangxiang after her strength was enhanced, and has become a fighting force in the evil ghost sword soul nest.

Returning to the station to settle accounts in the evening, Lin Yu unsurprisingly became the top scorer again, earning points and a special card as a reward.

Lin Yu has accumulated many special cards so far, but he has only used one. He sold all the others except for the one for delivering Lady Black Mist, keeping only one as a backup.

……

Day 6 of the game.

Lin Yu's delivery area was moved to the west of the city, which is an abandoned industrial area.

Lin Yu had just delivered a meal to the guard at a parts processing factory and was riding his electric bike through the alleys, looking for his next address.

As he rounded a corner filled with abandoned pipes, his brow furrowed slightly.

Three figures blocked the alleyway ahead.

Lin Yu stopped his electric scooter and calmly glanced at the three people. Unsurprisingly, they were three players.

The leader was a burly man with a hideous scar on his face. He had his arms crossed, his thick arms bulging with muscles, and he wore a suit of armor that looked quite protective. His eyes were fierce.

To the left of the burly man was a lean man with sinister eyes, deftly toying with several darts that shimmered with an eerie green light between his fingers, a malicious smirk playing on his lips.

On the right is a woman dressed in a dark robe, holding a simple wooden staff with a cloudy crystal embedded at the top.

The three men exuded a strong aura and were clearly quite capable, much stronger than those scoundrels who had blocked the station entrance and demanded protection money earlier.

Clearly, these three people had ill intentions.

"Hey, you're a Witcher, right?" the burly man spoke, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, like sandpaper scraping against the surface. "We've been watching you for days, always getting the top spot, must have made a fortune, huh?"

Lin Yu didn't speak, he just watched them quietly.

He wasn't surprised by this kind of highway robbery; in fact, he was somewhat astonished that someone was only trying to rob him today, considering he had been winning the single-player prize for several days.

There will always be some fools in this game who can't see their own strength.

Seeing that Lin Yu didn't answer, the burly man felt slighted. His face twitched, and his tone became even more unfriendly: "Be smart and hand over all your points, game coins, and equipment. If we're in a good mood, we might let you go. Otherwise..."

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking, conveying a strong sense of threat.

The sinister man beside him chuckled maliciously, glancing at Lin Yu's tires and arm with the poisoned dart in his hand.

The woman slightly raised her staff, and the mental interference became stronger, attempting to make Lin Yu feel anxious and uneasy.

"What if I say no?" Lin Yu finally spoke, his voice flat and emotionless.

"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences!" The burly man's face darkened, and he completely lost his patience.

"Cripple him! We'll split whatever he gets!"

He roared, and a layer of yellowish-brown light suddenly rose from his body, his skin instantly becoming as rough as rock—clearly, he had activated some kind of defensive enhancement skill.

He stepped forward like a human tank, his massive fist whistling through the air as it slammed into Lin Yu's face! The punch was incredibly powerful; if it landed, an ordinary person would likely die instantly.

Almost simultaneously, the sinister man flicked his wrist, and three poisoned darts shot out in a triangular formation at tricky angles, aiming at Lin Yu's throat, heart, and right wrist holding the sword, respectively, with both speed and ruthlessness.

The woman's spell was ready. She pointed her staff, and a hazy mental shockwave silently shot toward Lin Yu's head.

The three didn't work together perfectly, but they were coordinated enough. They were clearly repeat offenders and intended to end the fight as quickly as possible and steal the valuables.

However, they were facing Lin Yu.

The moment the burly man made his move, Lin Yu also moved.

He didn't even get off the electric scooter; it was just a fleeting thought.

The [Heavenly Cloak] draped behind him moved without wind, and the crimson light flowing on its surface instantly intensified.

Bang! The burly man's heavy fist, powerful enough to smash through a brick wall, slammed solidly into the suddenly billowing cloak.

Instead of the expected sound of bones cracking and flesh shattering, a dull thud like hitting thick rubber was heard.

A powerful recoil surged back through his fist, and [Berserk Bear] felt his entire arm ache and go numb. He staggered back two steps in horror, staring incredulously at his slightly trembling fist and his undamaged cloak.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The three poisoned darts also hit their target accurately, but were easily deflected by the [Heavenly Cloak] and fell to the ground without leaving a scratch.

The woman's mental shockwave entered Lin Yu's head, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, without causing the slightest ripple.

Lin Yu's high mental attributes and the protection of the [Heavenly Eye] make him almost immune to this level of interference.

He even gave the woman a cold glance.

In a split second of offense and defense, the outcome was immediately clear!

The sneers and greed on the three men's faces froze instantly, replaced by astonishment and a hint of panic.

"Damn it! This guy's tough! Go all out!" The burly man, being experienced, immediately realized he'd kicked a hornet's nest, but by then he was in a bind.

He roared and drew a heavy, gleaming cleaver from his waist, lunging forward again, the blade aimed straight at Lin Yu's neck.

The sinister man also reacted, his body sliding backward like an eel. He waved his hands repeatedly, and more poisoned hidden weapons rained down on Lin Yu, covering a wide area in an attempt to restrict his movements.

The woman gritted her teeth and began chanting a more complex incantation. The crystal on her staff glowed with a dim light, clearly preparing a more powerful spell.

But Lin Yu had no intention of giving them a second chance.

The moment the burly man drew his sword, the Azure Rose appeared in Lin Yu's hand as if by magic.

Bang! Bang! Two almost overlapping gunshots rang out in the narrow alley, deafeningly loud.

The first bullet struck the sinister man's head with pinpoint accuracy! The man was quite agile and instinctively dodged, but the bullet was too fast and still grazed the outside of his ear.

The demonic power attached to the bullet exploded instantly. Although it didn't hit him directly, the spreading energy still caused half of his face to explode, with blood flowing everywhere. He screamed in agony, his movements became distorted, and the barrage of hidden weapons he had been using to attack him collapsed instantly. He fell to the ground in a sorry state.

The second bullet struck the woman who was singing.

She had no time to mount any effective defense. The thin arcane shield she hastily erected shattered like paper before the demonic bullets, which pierced her chest.

"Ah—!" The woman let out a shrill scream. Her staff flew out of her hand, and the force of the bullet sent her flying backward. She crashed heavily into the wall behind her before sliding down.

A horrific wound exploded on her chest, instantly rendering her unable to fight. Her head lolled to the side, and she fainted. If it weren't for the player's robust physique, she would probably have died long ago, but now she was not far from death either.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The burly man had just raised his machete to its highest point when he saw his two companions instantly crippled. Fear finally showed in his eyes, but the blade had already been drawn and could not be withdrawn.

Lin Yu remained expressionless as he jumped off the electric scooter, easily and comfortably avoiding the powerful slash.

At the same time, the Demon Sword was drawn from its sheath at his waist with a clang!

A cold, poignant ray of moonlight flashed by in the dim alleyway.

[Berserk Bear] felt an icy chill instantly envelop his entire body, coming not only from the sword's edge but also from the depths of his soul.

His rock-like skin, which he was so proud of, was greatly weakened in defense against this gold-grade weapon that exuded a sinister aura.

A huge wound was slashed open in his chest.

Instead of gushing blood from the wound, a thick layer of white frost instantly formed, radiating a chilling aura. A cold and evil energy then crept into his body through the wound, frantically eroding his life force.

Swish!

Lin Yu flicked his wrist, and the second sword followed immediately, faster than anyone could imagine. The burly man was terrified and desperately held the half-broken cleaver in front of him to block!

clang!!

A piercing clang of metal rang out, and the cleaver was easily severed like a fragile tree branch.

The Demon Sword struck his neck without any resistance, slicing down as easily as cutting tofu, cleaving his body in two diagonally.

"Ugh..." The burly man was in pain, but because of the damage from the demon sword, he couldn't even make a sound. He could only feel his body rapidly becoming cold and stiff, as if his blood was about to freeze and his soul was trembling.

His massive body swayed a few times, then collapsed to the ground, utterly dead.