Death Train: SSS-level talent right from the start!

Chen Ye turned off the control panel and turned to look at Zhao Hai: "No wonder this place is called Corpse Capital."

Zhao Hai nodded, took a bottle of water out of his pocket, unscrewed it, took a sip, and then handed the bottle to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye took it and drank a sip. The water had a strange taste, but no one complained in this environment.

Zhao Hai squatted there, his gaze fixed on the warm yellow light across the hall: "I just checked the messages in the group chat, and a lot of classmates were tagging Jiang Ning in the group asking if he had dropped any items or weapons, but he didn't reply."

He was silent for a moment, then continued, "Chen Ye, do you think I should contact him?"

Chen Ye glanced at him but didn't say anything.

As if afraid of being misunderstood, Zhao Hai quickly added, "I didn't mean to join him. I just think that since we're all in this area, it wouldn't hurt to keep in touch. But if a large group of monsters comes, two S-rank monsters are better than one."

Chen Ye understood the unspoken meaning in Zhao Hai's words: he wanted to kill monsters to get points.

As an S-rank monster, he only managed to kill one monster, and then was chased by even more monsters for nearly five kilometers. Now he's holed up in this underground shelter, which is quite frustrating.

"You can contact him, but I suggest you don't reach out to him first."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Hai asked, puzzled.

"He already has seven or eight people around him, all with A-level combat talent. If you go to him now, no matter what your purpose is, in his eyes you'll just be an S-level person wanting to join him. What will he think? You'll be going to be his lackey. A true man lives between heaven and earth; how can he live a life of mediocrity and subservience for long!"

Chen Ye certainly couldn't let Zhao Hai, such a powerful figure, get away, so he said that on purpose.

Zhao Hai frowned for a moment, then quickly relaxed.

"You're right." He stood up and stretched his stiff knees. "I can kill monsters by myself; I don't need to beg anyone to help me."

He paused, then looked down at Chen Ye: "Besides, I promised to take you and Qin Zhaoyang with me, so naturally I won't abandon you. I, Zhao Hai, am not the kind of person who goes back on his word."

Chen Ye nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

The hall fell silent.

Xu Shan's group of five had each found a place to rest. The tall boy had placed the steel pipe across his lap, leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was really asleep or just pretending to sleep.

The girl with her ponytail was looking through the system panel in the corner.

Chen Ye leaned against the wall, placed the cleaver within easy reach, and then brought up the group chat panel, where he saw Jiang Ning's notification message.

[Carriage 5 (Jiang Ning): The East District commercial street has been cleared. Anyone who needs supplies can come and collect them. Please be careful, as some lone individuals may wander back.]

[Carriage 5 (Zhu Peng): 500 meters north of the west section, at the intersection, there are three of them. They are relatively small and move very fast. It is recommended to take a detour.]

[Carriage 5 (Jiang Ning): Everyone stay away from the city square. There's a big guy there. As long as you don't get close, it shouldn't attack you.]

Chen Ye's finger paused on the last message. Jiang Ning had also seen the two-meter-tall lizard-headed behemoth in the city square.

Chen Ye continued scrolling down and saw a few messages from @Jiang Ning between the messages.

[Carriage 2 (Chen Hao): @Jiang Ning, did you get anything loot? Weapons? Skill books?]

[Carriage 4 (Sun Jing): @Jiang Ning, could you please take me under your wing? I have a D-level talent, I don't want anything, I just want to follow you and make a living.]

[Carriage 7 (Han Wei): @Jiang Ning, you're the strongest at Yuncheng University, right? Interested in taking on some followers?]

Jiang Ning didn't reply to a single message.

Chen Ye closed the group chat, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.

He wasn't asleep; he just kept his eyes closed, his mind like a high-speed computer, constantly processing information.

Every message in the group chat, every street on the map, the distribution patterns of the monsters, and Jiang Ning's strategic intentions—these things were repeatedly rearranged and combined in his mind, trying to piece together a complete picture.

Qin Zhaoyang had actually fallen asleep, leaning against the wall with his mouth slightly open and drool dripping down his face, looking comical rather than like someone living in the apocalypse.

Zhou Yating sat opposite Chen Ye, cross-legged and with her eyes closed, resting.

Li Zheng and Wang Shuo sat against the wall, neither of them asleep. Their butcher knife and fire axe were right beside them, ready to be picked up at any time.

Zhao Hai was squatting in the corner, also looking at the system panel.

The underground shelter was so quiet that you could hear the hum of the emergency lights.

Xu Shan's group of five was at the other end of the hall. Xu Shan was leaning against the wall with his entrenching tool across his knees. His eyes were closed, but judging from the rhythm of his fingers tapping the handle of the entrenching tool from time to time, he was not asleep.

Time ticked by in the dim light of the underground shelter.

……

3 PM.

Qin Zhaoyang opened his eyes, stretched, and then opened the system chat group. Immediately afterwards, he sprang up from the wall as if he had been electrocuted.

Holy crap!

His voice boomed through the underground hall, the echo bouncing back and forth between the concrete walls, startling everyone.

Wang Shuo almost threw the fire axe in his hand.

Li Zheng sprang up from the ground, the butcher knife already raised to his chest.

The group of people on Xu Shan's side were also awakened. The tall boy stood up, gripping the steel pipe, while the girl with the ponytail picked up the crossbow.

"What the hell are you yelling about?"

When Wang Shuo realized it was Qin Zhaoyang shouting, his expression changed from wary to angry.

"Look at the group chat! Jiang Ning got some gear!"

Qin Zhaoyang's voice was filled with an almost manic excitement as he pointed to the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

Chen Ye opened his eyes and immediately brought up the group chat panel.

He had already scrolled through hundreds of messages, but he immediately spotted Jiang Ning's post because it had been forwarded and quoted by several people, making it stand out in the news feed.

[Carriage 5 (Jiang Ning): (Swift Crossbow, Green Quality, Agility +3) Are there any shooting-type players who need a weapon with the same quality and strength bonus?]

The equipment stats were posted below the message.

【Swift Crossbow (Green Quality)】

[Type: Ranged Weapon]

[Effect: Agility +3]

[Note: Increases the user's Agility attribute by 3 points. Equipment-based attribute bonuses do not benefit from talent or skill amplification.]

Chen Ye's gaze lingered on the words "Agility +3" for a moment.

Three points in Agility are equivalent to the attribute points you gain by leveling up three times.

If a piece of green-quality equipment can provide such a bonus, what about higher-quality equipment? Blue? Purple? Orange?

Qin Zhaoyang was practically going crazy. He squatted down in front of Chen Ye, his eyes shining like light bulbs: "Brother Ye, did you see that? A Gale Crossbow! Green quality! Agility +3! With my perfect aim talent paired with this crossbow, I'm invincible!"