"Sister-in-law, my ass!"
Lin Feng turned to look at the woman behind him.
She looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven, more than ten years younger than Lin Youzhi. Her tear-streaked makeup revealed a hint of naivety, making it obvious she hadn't been out of college for long...
Although he felt a bit bad for Sister-in-law Yurou, Lin Feng couldn't help but admit that Lin Youzhi had some damn good taste.
The woman stood about five-foot-ten in her heels. Her long, straight legs were wrapped in black garter stockings, paired with a professional hip-hugging skirt and a white blouse. With her long, wavy hair and half-frame glasses, she had the striking air of an office beauty.
But this was no time to be admiring the view. Lin Feng needed to get information and understand the situation, fast.
So, naturally, he wasn't exactly friendly to her.
Especially since this woman wanted to use Lin Youzhi's last words to guilt-trip him.
Lin Feng had never been one to fall for that kind of thing.
The young man's sharp retort, combined with the fierce look in his eyes, scared the woman into silence.
Lin Feng wiped the blood from the pistol. He waved it in front of the woman's face, confirming she couldn't see the translucent text floating above it.
"Go! Let's head upstairs first. You have one minute to get your story straight, then tell me what happened outside!"
He then turned and took out his phone to call the police, but the line was constantly busy. It was the same for the fire department and emergency services.
The woman swallowed hard and glanced outside the main gate. The giant Red-Armored Beetles were growing in number, engaging in a hunting frenzy within the residential complex...
Office workers on electric scooters were being horrifically devoured.
Amidst the rising and falling screams, the woman's legs trembled as she hurried in her high heels to keep up with the man.
The old residential building was only six stories high, with two apartments per floor and no elevator. Lin Feng's apartment was 301 on the third floor, directly across from the home of his sister-in-law, Zhang Yurou.
On the way up, Lin Feng stared at the gun in his hand, mulling over the text floating before his eyes again and again.
He reached the door to apartment 301, opened it, and went inside.
After the door closed, the beautiful woman collapsed onto the floor as if drained of all strength. She shrank down, hugging her knees to quell her inner terror.
Lin Feng hurriedly closed the windows, drew the curtains, and then walked into the kitchen. He grabbed an old cleaver that hadn't been used in ages, along with a fruit knife.
This scene startled the woman, and she quickly spoke up:
"I... My name is Chen Yanyan..."
"I'm General Manager Lin's assistant secretary, and also his..."
Lin Feng ignored her, his eyes fixed on the cleaver in his hand.
'Rusty Cleaver Lv. 1/9, White Quality'
'Upgrade Points: 0/10, Damage 1, Severely Worn'
'Evaluation: A low-grade Close Combat Weapon with low sharpness, but inflicts bonus infection and weakening damage. Strike targets to gain Upgrade Points.'
'Bind as equipment to activate character Attributes.'
As for the small fruit knife, there was no reaction.
'The damage is probably too low, and the quality isn't good enough.'
Lin Feng tossed the cleaver aside and looked at the gun in his hand, silently thinking the word 'bind.' This was his strongest weapon at the moment.
'Binding, awaiting data retrieval...'
While waiting, he turned his gaze to Chen Yanyan, who was still on the floor, her legs too weak to stand. The woman curled up in fear, tears welling in her eyes.
"Speak. What in the world happened outside?"
Chen Yanyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pursed her lips.
"We were supervising at the construction site when countless giant bugs—the same kind as the ones outside—suddenly crawled out of a deep pit in the foundation! They started frantically attacking the workers... General Manager Lin drove me away, but we were attacked by two of the bugs on the road. He fired several shots to drive them off, but his abdomen was bitten in the process. He managed to keep driving until we got here..."
"And, I'm sorry... At first, I thought you were one of General Manager Lin's subordinates..."
Lin Feng stared at his phone, ignoring the woman.
The signal was poor, but he had one bar, just enough to refresh some live news.
A series of shocking red headlines appeared:
Alert! Major coastal cities worldwide are under attack by unknown insectoid lifeforms!
Federation Government Emergency Notice! Residents of coastal areas, please evacuate immediately and flee inland!
Unknown Giant Monsters Attacking! Suspected Alien Life Invading Blue Star!
Unfortunately, the images wouldn't load, only the text.
Scrolling further down, the signal got even worse. Seeing the perpetually spinning loading icon, Lin Feng sighed and put his phone away.
Just then, the woman in front of him asked cautiously:
"Are... are you a relative of General Manager Lin?"
Lin Feng looked up at the woman and nodded.
"Before... did you see the Sun in the sky... the eclipse?"
Chen Yanyan hummed in confusion.
"It was after the sky turned dark that the giant bugs appeared at the construction site. The hundred or so of us all saw the Sun disappear."
"Could it be... that the monsters' appearance is related to the eclipse?"
Lin Feng frowned slightly and shook his head. 'Looks like I'm the only one who got an extra system. Other people haven't changed, and they can't see the labels floating over items.'
Having confirmed this, the text that appeared in his vision finished loading:
'Item Upgrade System loading complete.'
'Lin Feng, Lv. 0/9'
'Life Value 10, Physique 6, Spirit 8'
'Equipment: Inferior Pistol Lv. 1/9, White Quality'
'Initial Skills: Upgrade, Identification'
As he scanned the information, Lin Feng felt a warm current flow from the small pistol in his hand into his body. Following that, his own Level increased by 1, Life Value by 2, and Physique by 1.
'Lin Feng, Lv. 1/9'
'Life Value 12, Physique 7, Spirit 8'
'It seems that after binding an item as equipment, when the equipment upgrades, the character's attributes will also be strengthened and upgraded.'
'Good thing I bound the pistol. It wouldn't have been so easy to get Upgrade Points with that cleaver.'
Lin Feng cracked his neck. His body felt much lighter, and he could feel a distinct increase in his internal strength.
He then looked at Chen Yanyan and used his Identification Skill:
'Human, Lv. 0/9'
'Life Value 7, Physique 4, Spirit 7'
'Frail human female. Besides being pretty, she has a decent brain.'
'Such a weak woman.'
Lin Feng slowly got to his feet, preparing to walk to the window and use Identification on the giant beetle's Data Attributes to see if he could get a few shots in.
Just then, a sudden scream echoed from outside the door.
'That's Sister-in-law Yurou's voice!'
He rushed to the door and looked through the peephole. Across the hall, Sister-in-law Yurou was desperately trying to shut her door, but a giant red beetle, two meters long and one meter wide, was stuck in the doorway, trying to force its way through the gap.
After confirming there were no other giant beetles nearby, Lin Feng quietly opened his door, poked the gun's barrel out, switched off the safety, aimed, and pulled the trigger—all in one smooth motion!
BANG!
Fortunately, Lin Feng had handled guns a few times during his university military training. Although he'd never had the chance to fire live rounds, the instructor had explained the steps for firing a weapon.
As the bullet flew, Lin Feng also managed to Identify the giant beetle's Data Attributes:
'Red-Armored Beetle, Lv. 3/9'
'Life Value 30, Physique 8, Spirit 2'
'The lowest-tier sapper of the Zerg Race, responsible for digging nests and gathering food. Low Attack Power, high Defense Power.'
'Thirty Life Value... The inferior pistol would need ten hits to finish it off.'
The first bullet struck the Red-Armored Beetle's hind leg, shattering the joint. It lost its balance and tilted to the side, no longer able to force its way in.
Zhang Yurou seized the opportunity and decisively slammed the door shut.
Having lost its target, the Red-Armored Beetle followed the sound of the gunshot and charged toward apartment 301.
Lin Feng saw its Life Value drop to 27 and immediately fired again.
This time, however, he aimed for the beetle's head, which was facing him directly. He fired three consecutive shots, all of them hitting their mark!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! At a distance of only two or three meters, the bullets lost none of their power, creating sprays of blood on the Red-Armored Beetle's head.
Now, one of the Red-Armored Beetle's compound eyes was shot blind and half its head was completely destroyed. It let out a piercing shriek, spun around, and quickly fled downstairs.
Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief and fired at the beetle again.
Because the distance had increased, the bullet only hit its thick, fiery-red Back Armor, leaving nothing but a dent.
Its Life Value only dropped by 1—its Defense Power was impressive.
Luckily, however, the three consecutive shots Lin Feng had landed on the beetle's head had resulted in a Critical Strike, dealing double Damage. This had caused the Red-Armored Beetle's Life Value to plummet by 18, making it feel a threat to its life and flee with its tail between its legs.
After Lin Feng closed the door, a notification appeared in his vision:
'Inferior Pistol Lv. 1/9, White Quality'
'Upgrade Points: 13/10, Damage 3, Effective Range 15 meters, Remaining Bullets 1/12'
'Inferior Pistol can be Upgraded!'
Lin Feng looked at the pistol and nodded to himself.
He had fired five shots and gained 13 Upgrade Points.
'It seems I only get Upgrade Points for dealing 3 Basic Damage,' he mused. 'The three headshots were Critical Strikes, dealing double Damage, and the Upgrade Points doubled as well. The last shot's damage was negligible, so no points were awarded for it.'
With the pistol now ready for an Upgrade, Lin Feng looked at the single bullet he had left, a flicker of worry in his heart. He opened the door a crack and called out to the apartment across the hall:
"Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law! The bug's gone!"
Seeing the door to apartment 302 open, Lin Feng finally left his own apartment. He glanced back at the woman hiding inside, then bent down to pick up the beetle leg that had been shot off and walked across the hall.
Chen Yanyan, who had been hiding behind the bedroom door, gritted her teeth, and finally moved to follow the man.