Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

The moonlight, like water, spilled across the desolate plains.

As Shen Xi led Mingying and Anying out of the underground palace, a night breeze greeted them, carrying the scent of grass and earth, which dissipated much of the strong stench of blood and decay within the palace. He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.

"It's still more comfortable outside." Shen Xi stretched her shoulders, her bones making a slight popping sound.

Mingying followed behind him, his two-meter-tall frame casting a huge shadow in the moonlight. Anying, on the other hand, perched on his shoulder, his small body huddled up, keeping watch on their surroundings.

Shen Xi turned around and glanced at the couple.

A burly man, two meters tall, carrying a tiny child less than eighty centimeters tall. The scene looked utterly incongruous.

Actually, it was Shen Xi who had Mingying carry Anying away.

Bright Shadow had no objection. Dark Shadow did not object either.

"Walk."

As soon as they finished speaking, the three disappeared into the night in the wasteland.

An hour later, the outline of Kyoto appeared on the horizon.

Torches illuminated the city walls, and patrolling soldiers saw three figures emerging from the darkness. They nervously raised their weapons, but quickly lowered them again. Now, everyone in the entire capital city recognized Shen Xi.

"Open the gate!" someone shouted from the city wall.

The city gates slowly opened with a deep rumble. Shen Xi led Mingying and Anying into the city without alerting anyone. The city gates closed behind them, shutting out the night from the desolate wasteland.

The city streets were deserted; apart from patrolling soldiers, there was hardly anyone to be seen. The zombie horde had only receded two days prior, and most people were still resting. During the day, some players could be seen walking the streets, but at night, most were sleeping indoors.

Shen Xi did not return to her residence, but headed directly towards the east of the city.

There's a merit shop there.

The building stood out strikingly in the moonlight, constructed entirely of an unknown golden stone, with upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters. Every door and window was covered with densely packed runes. These runes shimmered with a pale golden light under the moonlight, illuminating the entire building like a celestial palace. Compared to the dilapidated shack in the Kyoto Shopping Mall, the Merit Shop was on a completely different level.

The attic door was wide open, and a huge plaque hung above the door with four gilded characters: "Meritorious Shop".

Shen Xi stepped into the attic, with Mingying and Anying following behind.

The Merit Shop's interior was even larger than it appeared from the outside. The dome, several meters high, was paved with a single piece of golden glazed tile, radiating a soft glow. The floor was made of gleaming black stone slabs, so smooth that footsteps were completely silent.

Countless light screens floated densely on the four walls.

Each light screen displays the product category and price.

Shen Xi walked to the first wall and stopped.

This wall is covered with equipment and various enhancement scrolls.

Bronze-level equipment costs around 200 merit points. Silver-level equipment costs between 500 and 1000 merit points. Gold-level equipment costs between 2000 and 5000 merit points.

Equipment enhancement scrolls, ranging from Bronze to Legendary, are all available. Bronze enhancement scroll: 300 Merit Points. Silver: 600. Gold: 1200. Platinum: 2400. Diamond: 4800. Legendary: 9600.

Shen Xi glanced at it but didn't rush to make a move.

While his equipment still has room for improvement, he doesn't lack those few pieces now. The equipment for both the Light and Shadow factions needs upgrading even more, but the items on this wall are too expensive; a single gold-grade piece costs several thousand merit points, which would be gone in a few purchases.

It's not worth it.

He turned and walked toward the second wall.

This wall is covered with job change cores.

Bronze-level job advancement core, 1000 merit points.

Silver level, 2000.

Gold grade, 3000.

Platinum level, 4000.

Diamond grade, 5000.

Epic, 6000.

Legendary level, 7000.

Shen Xi's gaze swept from bottom to top: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, epic, legend... His breathing quickened slightly.

Legendary job change core, 7000 merit points.

He glanced at his merit points balance: 58763.

Mingying's merit points balance: 8147.

The total is 59577

7000 merit points, I can afford it.

Shen Xi's gaze fell on the legendary class-change cores, quickly scanning them. Warrior, mage, assassin, archer, support... all kinds of classes were represented.

He quickly found what he was looking for: a legendary Assassin-class job advancement core.

"This is it."

Shen Xi reached out and tapped the floating light screen, and a semi-transparent interface popped up.

[Legendary Job Advancement Core - Dark Dancer]

[Type: Job Advancement Core - Assassin]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Effect: Activates the legendary hidden class "Dark Dancer" job advancement quest upon use. This class focuses on agility and strength, excelling at moving through the darkness, assassinating, and stealthing; they are the reapers of death in the shadows.]

Price: 7000 Merit Points

[To purchase or not?]

Shen Xi confirmed without hesitation.

[Purchase successful! 7000 Merit Points deducted!]

[Remaining Merit Points: 52577!]

A beam of pitch-black light shot out from the light barrier, condensing into a fist-sized black crystal core in his palm. Dense, dark-gold runes flowed within the crystal core, emanating a chilling, profound aura, like a cold wind in the dead of night.

The Dark Dancer.

A legendary hidden class, centered on agility and strength, specializing in moving through the darkness, assassinating, and stealthing.

This is practically a profession tailor-made for Shadow.

Shen Xi carefully put away the job change core, not rushing to give it to Shadow. Now was not the time; she needed to find a safe place first.

He continued reading.

Then there's the third wall.

All kinds of skill scrolls, from bronze to legendary, are available.

Bronze-level skill, 1000 merit points.

Silver level, 2000.

Gold grade, 3000.

Platinum level, 4000.

Diamond grade, 5000.

Legendary level, 7000.

Shen Xi's gaze swept quickly across the skill scrolls, her mind racing with calculations.

His current skill set includes five skills for the Kaitian class: Whirlwind Triple Slash (Silver), Bloodlust Frenzy (Gold), Bloodlust Thrust (Silver), Death Whirlwind (Gold), and Unyielding Will (Silver).

There are three Chaos classes: Lightning Chain (Silver), Lightning Barrier (Silver), and Fireball (Bronze).

All five skill slots are full. The Chaos class only has three skills, leaving two empty slots.

Shen Xi frowned.

The skills have been changed.

He reached out and tapped on the scrolls of legendary skills, quickly filtering them.

The Kaitian class needs a burst-type skill. Currently, its damage output mainly relies on the Pangu Axe and Thunderfire Enchantment, but Thunderfire Enchantment can only be used three times, and then it's gone. A consistent burst skill is needed to fill this gap.

The Chaos class needs a control skill and a summoning skill. While Lightning Barrier has a control effect, its range is too small and its duration too short. It also lacks any summoning skills, leaving it with no choice but to rely on brute force when facing hordes of zombies.

Mingying needs a defensive skill and a support skill. His Asura Domain and General's Command are already very strong, but his defense still relies too much on equipment and constitution. If he could have an active damage reduction skill, his survivability would be greatly improved.

Shadow... Shadow hasn't changed classes yet, it's too early to buy skills now.

Shen Xi took a deep breath and began a frantic shopping spree.

Kaitian Class Skills:

[Legendary Skill - Annihilation Slash: Concentrates all power to unleash a devastating slash that ignores defense, dealing 300% true damage to all enemies within a 30-meter line. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Price: 7000 Merit Points.]

Shen Xi had been choosing this skill for a long time.

Ignoring defense, dealing 300% true damage, and attacking in a straight line within a 30-meter radius. This is precisely the ranged burst skill that his Kaitian class desperately needed. Whirlwind Triple Slash and Death Whirlwind are both melee area-of-effect attacks, Bloodthirsty Thrust is a single-target dash, Bloodthirsty Frenzy is an enhancement skill, and Unyielding Will is a survival skill. He has never had a truly meaningful ranged attack method. Although the Chaos class has Lightning Chain and Fireball, those are not Kaitian class skills.

Now, the Annihilation Slash perfectly fills this gap, and the Whirlwind Triple Slash should also be phased out.

7000 merit points, worth it.

He placed the order without hesitation.

The dark gold skill card fell into his palm, directly replacing the Whirlwind Triple Slash.

Chaos Class Skills:

[Legendary Skill - Chaos Storm: Unleashes magical power, creating a chaotic storm in the target area that lasts for 10 seconds. All enemies within the storm take 150% spell damage per second and have a 30% chance to trigger the "Chaos" effect. Cooldown: 90 seconds.]

[Legendary Skill - Elemental Annihilation: Condenses the power of the four elements—lightning, fire, ice, and wind—to unleash a devastating elemental bombardment on the target, dealing damage equal to the sum of the damage from each of the four elemental spells (150% of each element). Cooldown: 120 seconds.]

The skills of the two Chaos classes can be used directly; the Chaos class has all five skills equipped.

The skills for both light and shadow should also be included.

Shen Xi searched through the skill area for a while and quickly found two suitable legendary skills.

[Legendary Skill - Bloodthirsty Instant Kill: Instantly dashes behind any target within 10 meters, unleashing a guaranteed critical strike that deals 250% damage. If the target is in a "Bleeding" state, the damage is doubled. Cooldown: 45 seconds.]

7000 merit points, buy.

Mingying's third legendary skill is now in hand.

He now has a total of four skills.

Resentment Outburst (Legendary), Bloody Instant Kill (Legendary), Asura Domain (Legendary), General's Order (Gold).

[Legendary Skill - Dark Night Strike: Vanish into the shadows, entering a state of complete invisibility for 5 seconds. During invisibility, movement speed is increased by 50%, and the next attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit with increased damage by 200%. Cooldown: 90 seconds.]

7000 merit points, buy.

Shadow now has three skills: Night Strike (Legendary), Shadow Strike (Gold), and Silent Strike (Gold).

Shen Xi's lips twitched slightly.

expensive.

That's fucking expensive.

But it's worth it.

Without hesitation, he confirmed the purchase of all items.

[Purchase successful! 35000 Merit Points deducted!]

[Remaining Merit Points: 17577!]

Shen Xi directly gave the two skill cards to them.

Next is the fourth wall.

Various items, including quality upgrade scrolls, treasure chests, and special items...

Quality-enhancing reels, from Silver to Legendary, are all available.

Silver to gold, 1000 merit points.

Gold to platinum, 2000.

Platinum to Diamond, 3000.

Diamond to Epic, 4000.

Epic to Legendary, 5000.

Shen Xi's gaze fell on those quality-enhancing scrolls, and a thought suddenly came to her mind.

The Ghost Child's Rag Doll, Silver Rank.

This item, which he acquired from the Corpse Dormitory, has accompanied him through countless battles. From Starshine City to Kyoto, from the zombie horde to the War of Revenge, the Ghost Child has always been there to help him solve major problems. Although the girl always appears carefree, Shen Xi knows in his heart that if it weren't for her, he would have been torn to shreds by that Bone-Winged Watcher in the Crimson Hatchery long ago.

It's time to upgrade her.

"Silver to gold, 1000 merit points."

"Gold to Platinum, 2000."

"Platinum to Diamond, 3000."

Shen Xi took a deep breath and raised her hand to point at the three quality-enhancing scrolls.

[Purchase successful! Merit points deducted: 1000 + 2000 + 3000 = 6000!]

[Remaining Merit Points: 11577!]

Three golden scrolls fell into her palm, emitting a soft glow. Shen Xi placed them together with the ghost child's rag doll, waiting to upgrade them when she had time.

He continued scanning the fourth wall.

Treasure chests, ranging from bronze to legendary, cost anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. But he doesn't lack equipment right now, so buying them would be a waste.

There were a few special props hanging around, all of them were small functional gadgets, not very useful.

Shen Xi frowned slightly.

Logically, the Merit Shop should have a hidden item, like the hidden shopping passage in Kyoto Mall, which can only be triggered under specific conditions. But he looked at the fourth wall over and over again, and found nothing.

"Looks like I arrived too early." Shen Xi shook her head. "The hidden items haven't spawned yet."

Never mind, we'll talk about it later.

He turned around and looked at the medicines.

Potions for restoring energy, physical strength, life, detoxification, resistance... all kinds of potions with different effects, from low-level to high-level, are available.

The price isn't expensive either, ranging from tens to hundreds of merit points.

Shen Xi glanced at her remaining merit points: 11577.

"Buy all recovery potions."

Shen Xi raised her hand and pointed at the light screens containing the potions, frantically purchasing them.

Intermediate healing potions, advanced healing potions, super-grade healing potions. Energy recovery potions, stamina recovery potions. Antidotes, resistance potions, berserk potions, shield potions...

Whether it's useful or not, sweep it all up.

The system notifications kept flooding the screen, but Shen Xi didn't even glance at them.

When the final purchase confirmation popped up, his merit points balance had already reached zero.

Shen Xi looked at the mountain of medicine bottles in the storage space and nodded in satisfaction.

"Walk."