Just as they stepped out of the hotel door, warm rays of afternoon sunlight gently fell, casting a soft layer of pale gold over half of everyone's faces. The demonic remnants of last night's air had faded, giving way to the oppressive stillness of the apocalypse era. But for the 5 Half-human children, this was no ordinary afternoon—it was the moment that opened a completely new beginning for lives they had thought had already fallen into their darkest dead ends.
Chen Luo stood in the open yard, gently closing his eyes to activate both the「Biological Search」and「Mind Map」skills simultaneously. Instantly, the 3D spatial structure materialized smoothly in his mind. Rows of demonic red dots representing targets flickered continuously. Chen Luo noticed that the majority of monsters had clustered deep underground or hidden within the large plazas. He calmly manipulated the scan, expanding the spiritual radar's radius toward the North, until it settled on an open space about two kilometers away.
This time, Chen Luo deliberately left Hina behind to hold the base. After all, this was a "live combat training" session designated purely for the children. The presence of a high-level Spiritual Beast like the great Silver Wolf would inadvertently create a psychological crutch, extinguishing their survival instincts and ruining the entire combat curriculum he had painstakingly constructed.
When Chen Luo led the group to the designated coordinates, what appeared before them was a small plaza that had been churned up, holding a pack of hideous beast-shaped mutant monsters—fortunately, they did not belong to the terrifying Undead race. Although this pack of monsters ranged only from Level 5 to Level 8, the children's current levels, having been crippled by long-term abuse, were hardly better. Precisely because of this rather precarious power balance, Chen Luo needed to establish a rigorous strategy to ensure they didn't charge into a blind, meaningless melee.
Drawing from his past-life experience in field sweeps, Chen Luo cast a mental communication link over all 5 Half-human children before he departed. In the moment the magic connected, the children dazedly realized a strange thought-transmission line was linking directly to Chen Luo's brain. It allowed him to relay commands, adjust positions, or warn of danger directly inside their heads without needing to utter a sound—an invaluable advantage for maintaining battlefield secrecy.
After assigning the basic positions, Chen Luo crouched and launched himself onto the rooftop of a nearby high-rise. Looking down from above, his sight encompassed the entire battlefield. When he detected the first wave of monsters beginning to smell human scent and charging madly, Chen Luo's calm voice immediately rang directly in each child's mind:
-"Aaron, Celes, advance to the front line! You two try to draw the enemy's attention—Aaron, absolutely watch your movement rhythm to coordinate blocking with Celes. Mana, use long-range magic to chip away from the back, keep your distance, and don't rush forward too early! Alice, focus all your spirit on keeping Aaron and Celes's HP above 85%—absolutely do not be stingy with mana or hesitate when using negative-status removal skills. Chris... penetrate deep into the back ranks of the monster horde, prioritize assassinating troublesome enemies or those capable of ranged damage. Remember: if you can't finish in a single strike, retreat immediately!"
-"ROGER!"
The simultaneous, resounding replies through the mental link put Chen Luo quite at ease. Though he had not yet unlocked advanced support skills in the sub-class branch, he was confident that with this Half-human generation's innate talent, grooming them to the peak was simply a matter of time.
Down in the plaza, the brutal roars of the monster horde tore through the stillness. The children immediately spread into formation. Initially, awkwardness and confusion showed clearly in every step; Aaron was too bloodthirsty and nearly lunged out of sync, while Celes strained to twist her body to withstand the brutal impacts. But in that very moment of vulnerability, Chen Luo's sharp guidance from above came down like a compass needle:
-"Aaron! Lower your center of gravity three centimeters, pull your shoulders in! Celes, rotate your shield 45 degrees to deflect the thrust! Mana, fire a fireball at the left monster's feet right now!"
Thanks to Chen Luo's millimeter-precise adjustments, the whole team's coordination began metamorphosing at astonishing speed.
*Clang! Swoosh! ROOOAR!*
Viewed from above, the 5 small figures were no different than venomous ants surrounded by a ferocious host of monsters. Though the numerical disparity was immense, that was only the story of the first few minutes. Under Chen Luo's brilliant tactical orchestration, monster after monster crashed to the bloody floor. Celes's frost magic armor formed an unyielding iron bulwark; Aaron's empowered beast-form punches shattered every assault wave; Mana's rapier and magic continuously pierced enemies through; while Chris flickered in and out like a ghost, his keen blade severing the throats of ranged shooters. Standing at a safe distance, Alice continuously spread warm healing auras, keeping the life bars of her two older brothers perpetually topped up.
The initial oppressive pressure gradually dissolved, replaced by harmony and radiant confidence on every child's face. When the final monster fell in a desperate roar, the familiar system sound also suddenly rang in Chen Luo's head:
-[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on excellently completing the special quest: 「Recruit Allies」. Reward received: 30 「Potential Points」.]
Description: Potential Points is an exclusive function of the Omnipotent System, used to directly enhance the combat power of NPC allies. When granting Potential Points to allies, they can rapidly level up, unlock hidden skill sets, or upgrade existing abilities. With luck, allies may also have a chance to trigger the awakening of racial bloodline abilities (Bloodline Awakening).
Seeing the notification, Chen Luo couldn't help but be surprised. As a former top-tier boosting expert who had encountered countless NPC-training mechanics in major games, seeing this direct intervention into an NPC's potential and bloodline was truly a first. This was clearly an extremely dominant feature for building his own combat legion.
...
At the same time, from a completely isolated space. Through the lens of a magical item that peered across dimensional space, a figure silently observed the entire performance of Chen Luo and the pack of Half-human children.
The room was flooded with darkness that obscured most identifying features, but upon closer inspection, it was a young woman possessing a proud, mysterious beauty. She gently swirled the glass of red wine in her hand, her deep eyes tracking Chen Luo's retreating figure on the magical screen, then leisurely signaled the kneeling underling behind her to withdraw. Though not a single sound escaped the frame, the enchanting smirk curling the woman's lips showed she was developing a special appreciation and interest in Chen Luo.
Outside the window of that room was not the desolate apocalypse city, but a suffocating, overcast sky flickering with eerie aurora spectra. There was no radiant sun there—only a terrifyingly huge full moon radiating a sinister silver glow, casting over an entire region of dark otherworldliness.
...
Returning to the plaza battlefield, driven by the keen survival instincts of a top-tier expert, Chen Luo involuntarily furrowed his brow. He vaguely sensed a mysterious gaze watching him from some unseen space. However, when his radar sweep detected no direct threat nearby, he set his suspicion aside for the moment, lightly leaping down from the rooftop to rejoin the group and gather the spoils.
-"Well now, this trip's been a decent harvest, hasn't it?" — Chen Luo walked over, nodding to himself as he surveyed the sprawled monster corpses.
Though he only whispered, the Half-human children's keen senses still caught it clearly. Aaron scratched his head, curiosity getting the better of him:
-"A harvest, big brother? Here it's just filthy monster corpses. And there's no Guild or merchant around here to harvest from, is there, Brother Chen Luo?"
Chris standing nearby also nodded in agreement with Aaron's question. Though the amount of materials on the monster corpses was not small, if they stubbornly picked them up by hand and carried them, their cramped backpacks would instantly be overloaded.
Chen Luo merely smiled without explaining. He leisurely approached the pile of corpses, lightly sweeping his hand across the empty space. Instantly, a wondrous harvesting magic erupted—all the fangs, claws, hides, crystals, and dropped items vanished into thin air!
Seeing the high-grade materials just collected—while the number of items salable for money wasn't huge, the quantity of fine crafting materials to upgrade the children's gear was extremely abundant—Chen Luo revealed a rare, satisfied smile. This was truly a "bumper harvest" hunting trip in every sense of the word.
-[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on receiving 3,766 Ether Crystals. Current accumulated total: 15,532 Ether Crystals.]
The system sound rang out. 3,766 Ether Crystals wasn't an enormous sum for high-level transactions, but in the early apocalypse, it was an extremely valuable asset. Until he had accumulated hundreds of thousands of Ether Crystals, Chen Luo would absolutely never spend wastefully—but if it was investing in essential combat gear for himself and his teammates, he had never held back.
Watching Chen Luo nonchalantly sweep hundreds of kilograms of materials into the void with a single flick of his hand, all 5 Half-human children were utterly shocked!
They had to understand that, in the knowledge of their world before the apocalypse erupted, an individual possessing a permanent "Spatial Inventory" of such colossal capacity was something that appeared almost exclusively in ancient magic legends or in the hands of the Divine! If yesterday's scene of him pulling out cooking tools and a field stove could be strainedly explained as him using a high-tier spatial bag, then this cleanup of monster corpses had directly shattered and completely rewired their worldviews.
Chris, in his role as the young leader, had tried to keep his face steady, but deep within the Wolf Tribe boy's sharp eyes, a storm of curiosity was churning fiercely. The instinct of a born Assassin urged him to uncover the true identity of this mysterious man.
-"Kids, lend me all the equipment on you for a moment. Let me improve it for you." — Chen Luo spoke up, shattering the shock of the entire group.
Without a shred of suspicion or hesitation, the 5 children immediately removed all their weapons, chest armor, and shoulder armor and handed them directly to Chen Luo. He calmly sat down on a flat stone, flipped his hand to bring out his field forging toolkit along with the materials he had just harvested.
*Clang! Sizzle! Clang!*
Precise hammer blows, streams of connecting magic, and bursts of sparks continuously erupted beneath Chen Luo's swift hands. After roughly an hour of lightning-fast work, the upgrade process was complete. Though the equipment's appearance after incorporating monster parts looked somewhat rough and spiked, the stats for durability, resilience, and bonus damage had been boosted astonishingly!
With the mindset of a practical combat gamer, Chen Luo cared nothing for flashy appearances; as long as the equipment increased survivability and kill efficiency, that was a perfect piece of equipment.
When they received their improved weapons and armor from Chen Luo's hands, all 5 children couldn't help but let out joyous cheers. Aaron and Celes's armor had become far sturdier while weighing half as much; the staves of Mana and Alice had been socketed with Ether Crystals, noticeably reducing their cooldowns.
As for Chris, when he held the rebuilt twin daggers in his hands, he was completely frozen.
The cold steel blades were now meticulously interwoven with the joints of monster bones. Though they looked somewhat gruesome at first glance, the balance and sharpness when test-swinging reached a perfectly refined level. What's more, Chris—with his keen assassin's instincts—immediately noticed a small groove running along the blade that Chen Luo had ingeniously coated with a layer of magical poison, capable of causing paralysis and continuous bleeding when striking a target!
Chris raised his eyes to look at Chen Luo. The Wolf Tribe boy's gaze was filled with complexity—both profound respect and ultimate curiosity. In his mind, a question that pierced his heart involuntarily surfaced:
*"Who... exactly are you?"*
Memories surged within Chris, rewinding to the dark scene of two days ago...
In that foul, damp, desperate underground room, where there was no sunlight and not a single grain of rice. At that time, 4 Half-human children lay limp in their iron cages, their eyes dull and clouded, having completely lost focus from the torment of hunger. Only Chris used his last shred of strength, glaring fixedly at the cold concrete ceiling above. The instinct and responsibility of a Prince, of a leader, did not allow him to close his eyes and collapse before his siblings.
-"Chris... before... before I completely lose control... can you... can you... kill me..." — Aaron had spoken in a trembling, broken voice then.
That was the brutal sign of "Berserk Beast Transformation" caused by prolonged starvation. Aaron's tiger eyes at the time were already blood-red with demonic madness, his two fangs extended and dripping with blood, his body continuously convulsing.
-"Aaron! Don't! Stay calm! We'll definitely get out of here... don't think about extreme things like that!" — Chris, despite his whole body being exhausted, still forced out each clear word to reassure his companion. He understood very well that if Aaron wasn't given food and turned into a mindless mad beast, the entire group would end up as a meal in that Tiger Tribe boy's belly.
In the cage beside them, the three sisters Celes, Mana, and Alice huddled in a corner, staring at Aaron with expressions of utmost terror. They were childhood friends who had grown up together, but facing that cruel sight, all three were completely powerless. In earlier minor episodes, Alice had used 「Calm Mind」 magic to soothe Aaron's mind, but at this moment, with her mana exhausted and the depleted magic-particle environment of the underground room, she could no longer cast any spell at all.
It was precisely at that moment of peak desperation and suffocation that the rusty wooden door was blown open, and a tall, stable figure stepped into their dark underground chamber.
While the others were still lost in terror at Aaron's frenzy, Chris looked up at that silhouette. With the firmest gaze of a survivor, Chris seemed to have made the most momentous decision of his life—placing the lives and trust of the entire group entirely in the hands of this stranger.
...
Returning to the brilliant afternoon light of the present, Chris gripped the twin poison daggers tightly in his hands, a rare smile curling at the corner of his lips. He understood that the bet he had placed that day had been completely correct. This man named Chen Luo not only saved their lives but was turning them into true warriors day by day, to take control of their own destinies in this brutal apocalypse.