In addition to having 34 independent major regions, the world of Apocalypse is divided into over a thousand smaller safe zones, also known as Novice Villages, within each major region.

Each Novice Village can accommodate over ten thousand players.

This is just within the country; there are also numerous servers abroad. Zhang Yi only learned about this when the Apocalypse world merged regions and started national wars several years later in his previous life.

This shows just how popular the game Apocalypse is.

Zhang Yi was assigned to Safe Zone No. 886, also known as Hope Town, guided there by the System.

Around Safe Zone No. 886, countless players from different birthplaces are swarming towards Hope Town, following the prompt from the [Find the Safe Zone] survival quest. Zhang Yi must enter Hope Town before them to trigger an achievement.

Don't think that because Zhang Yi is less than a mile away from Hope Town, he can quickly get in. In fact, the stretch from the train station to here was nothing; this is where the real challenge of the nightmare-level survival quest [Find the Safe Zone] begins.

From Zhang Yi's current position to Hope Town, the path is filled with level 1-5 Bio-Behemoths, and these creatures are not set with a novice protection mechanism. This means that even if players don't provoke them, they will still be attacked if they get too close.

In the previous life, about one-tenth of the players in each safe zone fell on their way to the safe zone. If Zhang Yi hadn't teamed up with several players, he almost died on the road.

However, in this life, Zhang Yi doesn't plan to team up with other players because, with his enhanced level 25 iron hammer, he doesn't need anyone's help.

Jumping down the slope, a giant level 2 [Bio-Cockroach] immediately crawled towards Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi calmly continued forward, waiting for the Bio-Cockroach to approach before smashing it with a "clang," flattening its head—

-51!

The Bio-Cockroach, with its head pinned to the ground, temporarily lost its ability to attack. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Yi swung his hammer again, dealing another 51 points of damage, KO!

"Ding~ You killed a level 2 [Bio-Cockroach], gained 2 EXP!"

Picking up the 1 Copper Coin dropped by the Bio-Cockroach, Zhang Yi continued on.

Soon, a level 3 Bio-Rat dashed towards him, and without suspense, Zhang Yi took it down with three hammer strikes, gaining 6 EXP and 1 Copper Coin.

There's nothing that can't be solved with two hammer strikes; if there is, then three will do.

The originally trashy level 1 one-star iron hammer, after being enhanced to level 25, is practically a divine weapon in the early stages!

Thus, Zhang Yi moved almost unhindered along the way. Even level 4 and 5 Bio-Behemoths, which other novice players needed three or four people to barely handle, were just a few hammer strikes for Zhang Yi.

So...

"Ding~ You killed a level 3 [Bio-Ant], gained 6 EXP!"

"Ding~ You killed a level 2 [Bio-Spider], gained 2 EXP!"

"Ding~ You killed a level 4 [Bio-Centipede], gained 12 EXP!"

By the time Zhang Yi reached the entrance of Hope Town, a beam of golden light showered down from above him, accompanied by a pleasant system notification sound in his ear—

"Ding~ Congratulations, you've leveled up, gaining 5 Free Attribute Points. The next level requires 250 EXP!"

After a bumpy journey, he finally reached level 2.

Opening the status bar, Zhang Yi allocated all 5 points from leveling up to Stamina, which increases HP.

No matter what class he wants to switch to at level 10, it doesn't affect players' free attribute allocation before level 10, because upon completing the class change, the System will grant players a Reset Attribute Chance.

So before level 10, increase whatever attribute is low.

The level 25 hammer already ensures Zhang Yi's output. Survival ability is Zhang Yi's current weakness.

5 points in Stamina, combined with Zhang Yi's 15-star Stamina growth, brought a 75 HP and 37 Energy Points increase, directly doubling Zhang Yi's vitality!

After allocating the points, Zhang Yi closed the status bar and, standing at the entrance of the safe zone, entered the town through a white light curtain that monsters couldn't penetrate.

Passing through the curtain, he was greeted by a peaceful and serene town. Clean streets lined with undamaged houses, and countless NPCs with blue IDs bustling about, creating a lively atmosphere.

For Zhang Yi, who had just traversed the apocalyptic ruins outside, it felt like entering paradise.

Meanwhile, a loud system announcement echoed from above—

Safe Zone No. 886 Area Announcement:

"Ding~ Congratulations to player [Yinuo Qingcheng] for being the first to enter Safe Zone No. 886 [Hope Town], completing the [No.1 Novice Player] achievement, and receiving the reward: Human Reputation 120! (including a 20% Human Faction bonus) Silver Coins 10!"

A reward of 120 Reputation is quite good, as normally, it would take completing several challenging quests to earn that much reputation.

As this area announcement reached the players near Hope Town, all players belonging to Safe Zone No. 886, especially those still on their way to Hope Town, became excited, and the regional chat channel instantly became lively—

[Lonely Bro] (Male, Level 1 Player): "Wow, so fast, already reached the safe zone. I just died and respawned at the starting point. Wait for me, I'll make it in an hour this time!"

[Mouse Loves Cat] (Female, Level 1 Player): "Yinuo Qingcheng, are you a young man or a young lady? You got into the safe zone so quickly, amazing!"

[Expert Player] (Male, Level 1 Player): "Damn! I've been grinding rats here and almost forgot about the safe zone quest! Wait for me, I'm coming!"

"Ding dong ding dong~"

The chat channel kept buzzing, but Zhang Yi didn't even glance at it, directly setting it to mute.

Because he hadn't realized this was already a real apocalyptic world, while other players still had the leisure to chat, Zhang Yi didn't.

Following the area announcement, another private system notification sounded in Zhang Yi's ear—

"Ding~ Congratulations on completing the survival quest [Find the Safe Zone] (Nightmare Level), earning a Revival Chance. This week's survival quests are all completed. Please wait for the System to release new survival quests at 0:00 next Monday!"

Checking the time, it was 8:30. Zhang Yi had taken only half an hour to reach the safe zone. In his previous life, the first player to reach Hope Town did so around 9:00, meaning Zhang Yi was at least half an hour ahead of other players, allowing him to enjoy the benefits of the safe zone.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan