The System notification sounded in his ear. Li Ang, having confirmed that the Black Zombie was completely dead, breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his axe from deep within the tree trunk.
[Task Reward 1: In addition to eliminating the designated target, you are awarded an extra 50 Experience Points.]
[Player Overall Performance: S+, Game Coins and Experience Points increased to 160%.]
Li Ang nodded. His original level was Lv2, and his Experience Bar was at 20/200.
The Black Zombie, impervious to blade and flame, provided 70 Experience Points. Coupled with the additional 50-point experience reward for this mission and multiplied by the 160% evaluation coefficient, he obtained a total of 192 points, meeting the requirements to level up to Lv3.
[Task Reward 2: 200 Game Coins.]
Due to the S+ mission evaluation coefficient, the 200 Game Coins became 320. Adding the 160 Game Coins from the Possessed Ghost mission, Li Ang now had a total of 480 Game Coins. Although this was still not enough to afford any item on the marketplace shelves, it at least gave him something to anticipate.
[Task Reward 3: A rare-quality random Skill Scroll*1 has been sent to your inventory, please check.]
According to the System's notes, there are two types of scrolls: "consumable scrolls" and "learning scrolls."
As the name implies, "consumable scrolls" are one-time use items. Players can irreversibly destroy the scroll and release its skill through tearing, chanting, sacrificing, etc.
On the other hand, "learning scrolls" allow players to learn the skill recorded on the scroll, which likewise irreversibly consumes the scroll in the process.
Generally speaking, the strength of the skills in consumable scrolls is far greater than that of learning scrolls of the same level.
As for the concept of "Skills," it is relatively broad. They can be divided into "active" or "passive" according to how they are used, and into categories such as "Fighting," "Spiritual Energy," "Mechanical," "Lifestyle," "General," and so on.
Dragon Subduer Eighteen Palm, Foshan Shadowless Kick, Ten Thousand Buddhists, and Fist of the North Star fall under "Fighting."
Lightning Arrow, Summon Undead, Ice Cone Technique, Fireball Technique, and Force Choke belong to "Spiritual Energy"—the largest and broadest category, which can further be divided into the Force, charm spells, Spells, Illusion Technique, etc.
Excavator operation, modern firearms maintenance and repair, and tank customization belong to "Mechanical."
Cooking, fishing, emergency medical treatment, singing, dancing, and playing basketball fall under "Lifestyle."
Item Appraisal, Alchemy, Scroll Crafting, and Precision Shooting fall under "General."
All "Skills" are categorized into these five broad types, and using some skills requires the consumption of "Physical Stamina," "Spirit Value," and even "Sanity Value," with specific calculation methods noted in the skill description.
Learning skills requires meeting certain requirements. For example, to learn Dragon Subduer Eighteen Palm, players must have a Strength Attribute over 10 points, Agility and Physical Attributes over 9 points, and an Intelligence Attribute over 4 points, etc.
Beyond meeting the attribute point criteria, learning and using skills also have other hidden conditions.
For example, a person who has lost their legs cannot learn or use "Foshan Shadowless Kick" or "Lingbo Weibu," and someone who has lost their arms cannot learn or use "Cloud Row Palm" or "Stone-breaking Fist."
The brief description of the task rewards ended here. The System notification continued:
[Scripted Mission completed, 5 minutes until teleportation. Do you choose to teleport immediately?]
Teleport back?
Li Ang frowned. He immediately realized that the five minutes were allotted to players in the scripted mission for clearing the site, organizing weapons, and collecting spoils of war.
As for the spoils of war... Li Ang glanced at the decapitated zombie and couldn't think of what use the zombie flesh might have.
It's not like he could take it back to make soup, as he wasn't a monster with a taste for monk's flesh.
And the old lady was rather pitiful. I should help remove her inhuman parts, so she can be buried with the semblance of a human form.
With this in mind, Li Ang pulled out a dagger and swiftly cut off the Black Zombie's fire-and-waterproof black hair and overgrown nails, stashing them in his inventory. After a brief clean-up and confirming nothing was left behind, he chose to teleport back.
He took one last long look at the decapitated Black Zombie, and the next second, he was back in his living room.
The teleportation process was smooth and fast. There was no sky-reaching beam of light or earth-shattering tremors, and not even flashy sound and light effects appeared.
The first thing Li Ang did upon returning to the living room was to look up at the clock on the wall.
5:47 AM, the exact time he received the mission and was teleported away, even though he clearly remembered spending nearly two hours in Hidden Mountain Village.
Time pause, huh? That's actually a good thing. At least I don't have to worry about disappearing suddenly in front of a crowd during a street-level scripted mission...
With a frown, Li Ang took off the broken Bulletproof Vest he was wearing, went to his bedroom computer desk, and started looking up information about Hidden Mountain Village.
In a county newspaper article titled "Village Party Secretary Leads the Way in Road Construction, Agricultural Products Leave the Mountains," the words Hidden Mountain Village were clearly printed, and the photo was indeed of the People's Commune Assembly Hall.
It really exists in the real world...
Li Ang nodded. It seems that behind those fragmented stories and supernatural tales, there indeed lie traces of players.
Fortunately, one of Li Ang's extracurricular interests was destroying evidence, and he had cleaned up the scene quite thoroughly. Even if the police or official player organizations were to investigate, they should find nothing leading to him.
It was also because he suspected that Hidden Mountain Village existed in the real world that Li Ang did not choose the other method of clearing the scenario—
When he first discovered in the assembly hall that the White Zombie was immune to blades and fire, Li Ang wondered if the scripted mission might be too difficult. Had it been an average player, they might have entered the scenario armed only with a pig-butcher knife or a crossbow, completely incapable of contending with the White Zombie. Killing the White Zombie would have been utterly unrealistic.
However, the task issued by the System was "Eliminate the zombie of Hidden Mountain Village 0/1," and did not specify that it had to be the "old woman zombie," "Black Zombie," or "White Zombie."
This also meant that even ordinary people who had just become players could complete the task through other means...
For example, during a game of cards, they could suddenly act, first break Feng Tiejia's limbs, drag him in front of the coffin, and before the White Zombie woke up, use the zombie's teeth and nails to scratch Feng Tiejia's skin.
Then drag him into the woods, break the bones of his limbs, smash his spine, and tie him tightly to a tree with hemp rope.
Next, after the White Zombie woke up according to the normal process, its hatred would transfer to its son, and it would pursue him down the winding mountain road. The player, now free from the threat of the White Zombie, could then leisurely wait for Feng Tiejia, with all his limbs broken, to turn into the lowest-level, defenseless zombie,
and then calmly destroy him, thereby completing the task of "Eliminate the zombie of Hidden Mountain Village 0/1."
Or, after the White Zombie ran onto the winding mountain road, they could deceive the villagers of Hidden Mountain Village to chase after it.
Although these villagers were not a match for the White Zombie, with their large numbers, the White Zombie might not be able to kill all of them.
The heavily injured villagers, terrified by the White Zombie, would flee in panic; at that time, the player could calmly choose those villagers scratched or bitten by the White Zombie, wait for them to turn into zombies, and then complete the task...
A task that even a natural-born genius like Li Ang needed to exert a great deal of effort to complete could also be easily cleared by ordinary people as long as they were willing to abandon conscience and destroy moral bottom lines.
Although the task rating obtained by the latter would be much lower, hovering around C- to B-, from an ordinary player's perspective, ensuring one's safety is more important than obtaining generous rewards.
Comparing the difficulty level of the two ways of clearing the game, it's not difficult to see that the System is tempting players to walk the chaotic and evil path.
Li Ang had thought of this kind of offbeat method of clearing the game long ago, but he did not choose to adopt it.
There were two reasons for this: first, Li Ang still had a moral bottom line and did not want to complete tasks by sacrificing the innocent.
Second, Li Ang suspected that this kind of offbeat method would lead to bad consequences in the future—if he only killed villagers and not the White Zombie, he would only get a B- or even lower rating, not earning much in the way of Experience Points and Game Coins.
Constantly avoiding challenges like this might ensure one's safety in the short term. However, as the killing game progresses, players who only complete C- tasks will fall comprehensively behind in game level and skill equipment, eventually dying in the increasingly difficult scripted missions.
This killing game is really sick.
After pondering for a moment, Li Ang opened his inventory and clicked on the deep blue scroll lying quietly within.
[Skill Scroll Name: Gland Stimulation Method—Adrenaline]
[Property: Learning type]
[Category: General]
[Rank: Rare]
[Effect: Stimulates the sympathetic nerves, causing the adrenal medulla to secrete Adrenaline. No cooldown time.]
[Consumption: 50% Physical Stamina]
[Learning Condition: Physical Attribute must be 7 points or higher.]
[Note: Good kidneys are truly good.]
This skill seemed very practical to Li Ang, as Adrenaline as a prescription drug can relieve weak heartbeat and low blood pressure and is used for emergency rescue in anaphylactic shock, bronchial asthma, and cardiac arrest.
Beyond that, Adrenaline is a potent stimulant. It was once used by athletes to enhance physical fitness, increase strength, and accelerate running speed. As a naturally secreted human hormone, its side effects are not particularly significant compared to other stimulants.
The 50% Physical Stamina consumption meant this skill could only be used at critical moments, making the advantage of no cooldown time less significant.
Moreover, the skill's name, "Gland Stimulation Method—Adrenaline," subtly indicated that it was part of a larger series capable of controlling other human glands: Pineal Body, pituitary gland, adrenal glands, thyroid gland, thymus... If one could perfectly control these glands, they could perfectly control the human body, reaching its utmost physical limits.
Li Ang opened his player page and chose to upgrade to Lv3. His Experience Bar reached 40/300, and he added the free attribute point from the upgrade to his Physical Attribute, enabling him to meet the skill requirement.
He then learned the skill "Gland Stimulation Method—Adrenaline."
His player page now read:
[Li Rising]
[Lv3. Experience Bar: 12/300]
[Strength: 6] (Level of a senior fitness enthusiast)
[Agility: 6] (Level of a senior parkour enthusiast)
[Intelligence: 7] (Genius)
[Physical: 7] (Professional athlete level)
[Perception: 7] (Professional hunter level of perception)
[Charm: 4] (Ordinarily plain-looking and slightly odd in speech and manners)
[Equipment: Strange Eye]
[Inventory: AK47, CQB Bulletproof Vest, Camping Hatchet, Dagger, Flashlight, Grenade, Molotov Cocktail, Black Zombie Hair, Black Zombie Nails]
[Skill Column: Adrenaline Activation Method]
[Game Currency: 480]