Chen Luo had not been idle during this period. He spent another two full weeks repairing and improving the base, traveling through nearby ruins to search for precious materials such as Rune Soil, Starlight Stone, and Purple Crystal. Even so, he had forgotten one important thing: he needed to build another gate leading to a special location—the Inferno Cauldron.
Chen Luo knew that preparing the gate to that place would not be easy. Especially under the current circumstances, he could not find any natural lava lake large enough to provide the material needed to activate the gate leading to the Inferno Cauldron.
Still, most of the base had now been completed. Only a few small sections remained under renovation, while the residential area and common living spaces were already finished and stable.
This time, all the children also received updated information through the Mind Map. They finally understood one thing: from now on, this would be their safe haven, the place they could return to after every arduous journey—a real home. Zhang Zewei's group, along with Galahad and Hayate, were also granted access to the shared Mind Map and the 「Divine Flash」 skill.
When they saw the enormous amount of shared data and the new skill appear on their status panels, everyone was deeply shaken. They already possessed a considerable variety of skills, but almost none were designed purely for escape. Although they had never heard of 「Divine Flash」, Chen Luo's explanation of its mechanics immediately made them realize that it was a perfect life-saving skill, one created to adapt to desperate situations. Not everyone would be able to make full use of its spatial movement, but at the very least, it could help them escape life-threatening battles to some extent.
-"Hey, are you really sharing it with us?" Galahad finally asked Chen Luo. As a veteran with extensive battlefield experience, he knew perfectly well that Chen Luo could have kept this powerful skill for his own core team. His generosity in sharing such an invaluable defensive skill—though he had already shared it with Chris's group—was remarkable enough, but this time he was sharing it with so many people at once. Naturally, everyone looked at him with a mixture of surprise and puzzlement.
-"What's the problem?" Chen Luo asked, shrugging.
-"Oh, nothing. I was just curious."
Everyone was filled with delight and profound gratitude, but as soldiers who had faced life and death together, they were not the type to openly display their emotions. They now clearly understood that this place had become their solid base, a peaceful refuge they could return to. They did not necessarily need to become powerful figures who ruled the apocalypse, but they did need to remember who was still around them and whom they had to protect.
Just then, a hostile gaze drilled into Chen Luo's back before quickly disappearing. It belonged to Helber, whose eyes were sharp as blades. He simply could not understand why a seasoned veteran like himself could not command a young man like Chen Luo, but instead had to follow his orders. A fierce resistance was growing in Helber's heart. The difference in levels and System attributes was not something he could easily overcome, but when it came to tricks and close-combat techniques that could be used against Chen Luo, he still believed he had ways to make this young team leader submit to him fairly and squarely.
Turning back to the others, everyone had begun gathering their weapons to hunt and patrol before night fell, while Chen Luo stayed at the base and continued his renovation work.
Chen Luo had been thinking for a long time. After inspecting the surrounding rooftops, he successfully selected a sturdy three-story building at the rear of the base. He chose it because he had decided to develop self-sufficient agriculture. He needed to start producing food himself rather than constantly spending points to buy provisions from the System Shop.
As soon as Chen Luo stepped inside, he made another unexpected discovery: before the apocalypse, this place had been a high-tech agricultural station for the city. Such a station was a sealed building with air-conditioning systems and suitable artificial lighting on each floor, designed to optimize food production. Though it looked like an ordinary, compact three-story building, its specialized hydroponic and aeroponic methods could produce hundreds of kilograms of crops per day.
Even so, the interior was now almost completely empty. The machinery, irrigation systems, and seedlings had long since been looted. The only things left intact were the cultivation trays. But that did not matter. As long as the growing beds remained, he could gradually restore the facility and rebuild a complete agricultural station.
He could not begin immediately, however. Chen Luo still needed to draw up a detailed plan. Renovating the agricultural station was an important part of the base's long-term development. After making some preliminary calculations, he felt that something was not quite right, so he decided to return to the center of the base and discuss it with everyone. He could draw the equipment blueprints himself and incorporate hidden details, but he still needed the others' input to understand their actual needs and decide which staple crops or edible plants should be prioritized.
Just as Chen Luo reentered the open courtyard inside the base, a cold laugh and heavy footsteps sounded from the shadows.
-"Well, would you look at that? Seems heaven really does have eyes. It left you here all alone. If those brats hadn't kept hanging around, I wouldn't have had to wait until now to make my move, you bastard." Helber stepped out from behind a broken wall. A sinister, confident smile spread across his face, as if the outcome had already been decided.
Chen Luo did not panic. He knew this was not a life-or-death battle with the man. It was merely the pent-up resentment of an arrogant subordinate who wanted to show off and test his strength.
-"You really think you can do anything to me?" Chen Luo looked straight at him without hesitation, his expression calm. He even threatened Helber in return.
-"Do you dare to fight me fair and square? Don't use those cheating skills of yours. We'll test pure martial strength—just knives and blades! What, scared? Of course you are. You're just an unclassed wanderer. What can you do besides putting on that mysterious act the other night?" Helber finally said exactly what Chen Luo had expected. Chen Luo understood that Helber was not fundamentally a bad person; his excessive pride and anger had simply clouded his judgment. Trying to reason with someone like him would be useless and might even backfire, making his resistance grow stronger.
Chen Luo saw no point in wasting words and answered him directly.
-"Fine. I'll accept this duel. But remember this clearly: I'm agreeing to your unreasonable demand this one time only. If you try this trick to provoke me again, I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to crawl away."
Helber felt the murderous yet coldly indifferent gaze Chen Luo fixed on him. He knew this was his only chance to prove himself. He also understood that if an unclassed wanderer like Chen Luo had developed such strength, then he either possessed extraordinary talent and potential or had secretly spent a great deal of time training. Helber leaned toward the former. If Chen Luo truly had limitless potential, then this was his only opportunity—to challenge him while his close-combat skills were still incomplete.
Chen Luo waved his hand and drew out a pair of 「Poison Fang Wolf-Fang Daggers」. He crossed his arms and opened the System space to summon his weapons. Shimmering fragments of digital technology gradually joined together, forming a pair of sharp blades that radiated a chill. Helber was somewhat shocked by the fluidity of the process, but his gaze soon hardened again, filled with the resolve of a martial arts expert. Chen Luo deliberately deactivated all the attribute-enhancement skills attached to his weapons. He wanted to settle this conflict once and for all through a contest that would leave the loser genuinely convinced.
-"Then come at me."
Helber drew two combat daggers and took his stance, then stamped hard against the ground and charged like an arrow cutting through the wind. He had practiced martial arts for years and mastered numerous forms of military close-quarters combat under harsh conditions; his reputation had not come from nowhere. He believed he could use his superior fighting technique to intimidate and overpower Chen Luo. Even after their shared leveling sessions, the gap between their levels had narrowed to only about eight, but the pressure created by Helber's killing intent and footwork was still immense.
Blades flashed through the air in rapid succession—from tricky horizontal slashes to upward reverse cuts and audacious thrusts that skimmed past Chen Luo's shoulder. Combined with both men's agile footwork and body movement, the fight quickly became a dazzling, breathless display of knife combat. Chen Luo was, after all, a fighter who relied heavily on System attributes, and his practical martial arts foundation was weak. However, thanks to his experience from his previous life, he still remembered several extremely dangerous close-combat techniques. He recreated them, countering with the high-level combat moves he had memorized from the battle animations of his previous life.
-"I love this knife! You think a few flashy moves like that are enough to beat me?" Helber roared.
Their high-speed knife strikes and explosive physical exchanges grew faster and more relentless. Their movements became blurred afterimages. It almost seemed as though both men were standing still, yet the sparks flying everywhere and the continuous, piercing clang of metal made it clear that the battle had reached a ferocious intensity. Their blades grazed past one another, cutting several slits into their clothes, but neither knife ever truly touched the other's skin. Both understood the limits and neither wanted the other to bleed or suffer a serious injury.
Clang! Clang! Clang...
After more than twenty-five minutes of relentless combat, the two finally retreated of their own accord and separated to opposite sides of the courtyard. Helber was breathing somewhat heavily. He looked at Chen Luo and remarked with a sigh.
-"Tch. I never expected an unclassed wanderer like you to keep up with me in close combat. No wonder that old man Galahad respects you so much. But you have far too many openings! Even though you have superior strength and speed, your center of gravity and control over momentum are still inaccurate. You're still a green kid, with no proper martial arts foundation, and yet you dare to challenge me with short blades?"
Chen Luo was also tiring, sweat streaming down his forehead. Although his attributes far surpassed Helber's, he was still a level behind in practical combat technique and experience. Only now did he truly understand why high-level NPCs often dominated players who had not yet reached the endgame. If he had not retained a few supreme combat techniques from his previous life, he might have been completely overwhelmed ten minutes earlier.
-"You're not bad yourself. But if I hadn't deliberately held back because I didn't want to finish this too early, you wouldn't have been able to trouble me at all." Chen Luo raised his daggers and answered Helber confidently.
-"Stop making excuses! Do you want to decide the winner right now and put an end to this?" Helber growled, his eyes shining with eagerness.
-"Fine. One strike to settle it."
Chen Luo had finally made up his mind. He knew he could not keep trading stamina with Helber forever; this time, he had to use a decisive technique to determine the winner.
Both men slowly closed their eyes, focusing all their senses, then suddenly opened them wide. Their gazes, sharp as daggers, tracked even the smallest movements of their opponent. The air around them grew suffocatingly still, as though the urgent rhythm of *The Final Minute Countdown* were echoing through the space before shifting to the tense, suspenseful melody of *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*. Both were drawn into a psychological duel at its peak. Their silhouettes seemed to become legendary cowboys from the Wild West, revolvers in hand, facing one another in a deadly standoff as apocalyptic dust swirled through the space between them.
*Bang!*