CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210: EATING KING CRAB AT NIGHT

New fragment, central area.

Upon arrival here, Lin Yi took out the Unification Device.

This thing was a metal cylinder.

A small arrow on its screen, like a compass, pointed toward the center of the fragment.

He pressed the "activate" button, placed the Unification Device on the ground, and walked away.

The device began to emit the same, slightly unpleasant shrill sound as before.

The Beastmen had to move about 30 meters away because their hearing was too sensitive.

After the sound finally ceased, three small legs, like those of a camera tripod, extended from the bottom of the device, raising it one meter above the ground.

A hatch opened at the bottom of the device, and white light started to flow out from inside.

The light grew denser, until it turned into a laser-like beam scorching the ground.

[Alert!]

The fragment occupation procedure has been initiated.

Remaining time: 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 11 seconds.

Note: All hostile entities will attempt to destroy the low-level Unification Device.

[Please protect the device]

The device’s screen displayed information about the initiation of the occupation procedure.

The ideal time for occupying such a large fragment is about an hour, but Lin Yi didn’t mind the extra twenty minutes, as by then all Zombies would be lured out and killed.

Not wanting to waste time.

Lin Yi returned to Lille, where his subordinates were diligently establishing his branch in this city-state.

Thanks to the permissions he granted them, the workers were able to transport building materials and furniture directly from the Shelter’s warehouse, so the work progressed very quickly.

Immanuel even took the liberty of using portable steel walls to enclose their new territory.

After all, when people discover that this place is a source of food, many might become crazy with greed.

Lin Yi was here, working alongside the workers.

When forty minutes were left before the fragment was occupied, he went to the riverbank in Lille City.

Then he began fishing.

He contemplated bringing the fish and other river creatures back to the Shelter, and also considered opening an individual water area inside the Shelter...

"You’ve got a bite, buddy."

A man’s voice pulled Lin Yi from his thoughts.

"Thanks!"

Lin Yi replied, then began reeling in the line.

The resistance was substantial, nearly causing him to drop the rod!

Fortunately, the fishing line and rod were very sturdy. The plump fish struggled fiercely, but contesting strength with an Advanced Professional was futile.

A few minutes later, the fish started to lose its energy.

But then a claw emerged from the water, grabbing the fish and dragging it to the riverbed.

This creature was exceptionally strong, snapping the fishing rod into two pieces instantly.

"It’s the King of the Sea! Run for your lives!" a Fisherman shouted in terror, fleeing.

Lin Yi was very angry; he didn’t even hear the man’s shouts.

He tossed the rod aside, pulled out a Level 4 Laser Rifle, and started shooting.

He didn’t want some monster stealing his fish.

The water churned and turned red.

Yet the creature didn’t die but became enraged.

It crawled out of the water, but Lin Yi, wearing a wicked smile, was already waiting.

The fish thief was some kind of mutant creature, resembling a lobster or crab.

Not being an expert on crustaceans, he identified it as a crab.

Upon seeing the creature, Lin Yi immediately noticed that its shell looked remarkably similar to the one he saw at the market a few days prior.

The merchant who sold that shell said it came from a Third Level mutant creature that could only be killed by electrocution.

This creature had a massive shell covered with scars, cuts, and bullet holes.

There was even a Third Level sword embedded in its shell.

It had eight legs, two powerful claws, a terrifying mouth, and... a scorpion-like tail.

The crab turned toward the man who offended it and hissed at him.

"What did you curse me with?!"

Lin Yi shouted, pulling out a Light Beam Sword.

Activating Combat Reflex Skills, he dashed toward the creature with astonishing speed.

The skill no longer overloaded his body, allowing him to manage his Physical Strength consumption.

The mutant creature swung its powerful claws, attempting to snap the enemy in two, but Lin Yi dodged the attack effortlessly before charging toward the monster.

With a sweep of the Light Beam Sword from above, he sliced off one of the crab’s legs.

He immediately sent this leg back to the Shelter.

Mere moments later, another leg was severed and sent back as well.

This enormous monster became completely enraged, like an arrow, aiming its scorpion-like tail straight at the insignificant human.

Hoping to pierce his chest as it had done dozens of times before, but the prey suddenly disappeared!

Then this human appeared out of nowhere again and sliced off two more of its legs!

To stabilize itself, the monster used its right claw for support and launched another attack with its tail, but this human merely vanished and reappeared—

then sliced off its claw!

Lin Yi aimed at the joint of its shell-like Armor, and with a single strike, knocked the mutant creature to the ground.

He drew another Light Beam Sword, ran to the mouth of the writhing, screaming monster, and plunged both swords deep into its mouth, up to the hilts.

[You have killed an unknown mutant creature]

[Gained 200 Experience Points]

A mutated creature of the third level, but this one is much weaker than the one in the underground parking lot.

Lin Yi chuckled over the intercom.

"Melanie, tell Giselle we’re having king crab for dinner tonight!"

Then he teleported the monster’s corpse back to the Shelter.

He also found a Coin valued at 877 coins, and a purple Reward Egg.

"The riverbank near Lille Camp City is like a gold mine! If only..."

Lin Yi thought about eliminating all the crabs in the river to obtain a trove of purple rewards!

At this moment, Immanuel came through on the intercom.

"Boss, I just got a call from the Lille Government. They said that you just killed a mutated creature in the river, and this city imposes a 50% tax on hunting mutated creatures in the river.

They won’t make you pay the tax this time, but if you decide to start hunting mutated creatures in the future, they want you to keep this in mind."

"Hmm... If it were me, I’d do the same. 50% is still quite fair... But I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to hunt crabs...

Immanuel, talk to the government about conducting a hunting operation on the mutated creatures in the river, try to lower the tax rate a bit?"

"Alright, Boss!"

[Time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 3 seconds]

[Time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 2 seconds]

[Time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 1 second]

[Congratulations!]

You have occupied a small Space-Time Fragment.

As a reward, your Shelter has gained 20,000 Experience Points and acquired 300 acres of land, along with all the resources on it.

When the fragment merged with the Shelter, the ground shook slightly. The terrain became leveled, and the soil depth became uniform.

Life Force flowed into this new land like a river, purging the zombie virus and fostering new plant growth.

In truth, there wasn’t much to heal or regenerate, as the flame seemed to have destroyed all life on the fragment.

Lin Yi focused his attention on his new territory.

This territory was so vast that it took him a while to scan the entire area.

The result was that the entire fragment was the ruins of what used to be a densely populated city.

Furniture, electronics, and zombies, everything was burned by a ferocious flame, yet there were still a few more or less intact rooms and basements, much to the delight of this amateur archaeologist.

He discovered a sewer system beneath the city, very large, like a subway tunnel, and there used to be a survivor camp there.

He set aside the most intriguing items to inspect after the entire fragment was searched.

Then, Lin Yi headed to the underground bunker.

~~~~~~

Twelve hours earlier.

When the new fragment was pulled to the Shelter.

Inside the underground parking lot.

The power system suddenly failed.

A leader-like figure shouted, "Where’s the light?! Are you here, Malamed?"

"I’m here, Boss!" said a black man, turning on the flashlight on his helmet.

"The power’s out..."

"We need to check the reactor!"

The two black men ran towards the reactor as fast as they could.

On the way, they encountered a dozen or so panicked people, who joined them.

"It’s still intact!" the leader shouted upon seeing the reactor, breathing a sigh of relief.

According to the system display, the reactor was still running but in a shutdown state.

"We need to figure out why this happened!"

Ten minutes passed.

Two engineers checked the system, cut power to some cables, and successfully restarted the reactor.

Another minute passed.

The reactor restarted, and electricity was restored to the garage, but most circuits were restored.

Now the phone lines were working again, and a nearby phone rang.

"Yes, Mr. President? That’s right, we solved the power problem, but... we’ve lost half of the Shelter.

It’s surrounded by some kind of fog wall... Yes, Mr. President... I understand, I’ll do my best!"

"Dammit, what a fool!" the black man bellowed after hanging up the phone.

He clearly didn’t care about others’ opinions around him.

Hours passed.

People began to calm down, but then they realized that the way out of this part of the Shelter had been cut off.

All the supply warehouses were on that side...

But that wasn’t the worst part, the life support system also failed.

Their air would soon run out, and with no food or water... people started to panic.

But then, something surprising happened!

A 5-meter-wide hole appeared in the ceiling of the first floor, and a rope dangled from the hole.

The black man immediately told the soldiers to prepare for combat, but everyone was extremely nervous.

Just when they thought they were about to suffocate, a ladder appeared from the ceiling!

Fresh air came in through the hole, although they were 100 meters underground...

"Be ready, don’t shoot first!" the black man sternly ordered at the sound of footsteps.

At that moment, someone was coming down the ladder!