Lin Bei looked at the huge golden parcel in front of him, then compared it with the shabby gray beginner parcel he already owned.
Good grief—the former dwarfed the latter by a hundred times in size.
"This parcel… it's bigger than I am."
Lin Bei's mouth twitched as he read the description.
[Premium Reward Parcel: Open to receive a large number of top-grade rewards and kings medals.]
Clearly, this was the highest-quality parcel he had ever come across.
Below it were three lower tiers—Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginner reward parcels.
An Advanced parcel could already yield kings medals, but only about ten each time.
Yet this gigantic, golden Premium parcel… was obviously in a league of its own and would grant far more rewards.
Still, Lin Bei didn't open it right away; he stashed it in his storage space.
With something this good, he'd wait until Super Lucky State was active.
Besides the Premium parcel, slaying the Shadow Cat Demon King had netted him plenty of other loot.
First came a thing called "prestige points."
He'd only earned 100 Reputation for the kill, but a Hundredfold Critical Hit had turned that into 10,000.
[prestige points: 10,000]
Note: Reputation is a special currency in the Underworld; spend it at any major city's Prestige Exchange for various rewards. [Click for details ↓↓↓]
Lin Bei clicked and quickly learned everything he needed to know.
Only then did he realize that founding a Survivors' faction in a major city required not just power but also 10,000 Reputation.
He happened to have exactly that, so he could register a faction whenever he wished.
Reputation could also rent or buy properties in cities; prices varied wildly by location and size.
It could even be converted into kings medals at a 1:1 ratio.
Or you could spend it on special goods refreshed daily at each city's Prestige Exchange.
Those shops restocked once a day with limited quantities; you needed both the points and the strength to secure them.
Otherwise, though dueling was forbidden inside the city, once you stepped outside, anyone coveting your goods could ambush you and reap the spoils.
Because special items bought with Reputation can't be taken back to the original Survival World; if you die, they drop on the spot.
It was just like PK-ing someone in a game and looting their gear.
Even if Survivors couldn't truly die thanks to protection rules, those special items would still burst out of them.
Unless… you bought something that boosted your power directly.
Then you could use it right there in the city, raise your strength, and keep the increase even after returning to the Survival World.
So for most Reputation-holders, power-boosting items were always the hottest commodities.
Incidentally, Reputation wasn't limited to world-boss kills like the Shadow Cat Demon King; placing on either leaderboard also paid out Reputation at each reset, depending on rank.
There were also Hidden Achievements—if you could trigger them.
But the Underworld had been open for so many years that almost no Hidden Achievements remained.
If any still existed, they'd be absurdly hard or bizarrely specific—far beyond ordinary reach.
"Never expected Reputation to be this complicated."
"The daily refresh works exactly like the Braves Shop in the Survival World. Too bad I don't have a Prestige Exchange refresh card; otherwise I'd have another spot to farm supplies."
"As for the rule that blocks taking special goods away… to a bug-like me it probably means nothing."
"Even if there are limits, I can work around them—exchange for power-ups directly, or craft the materials into other gear and potions. All of it should bypass the restriction."
"At the end of the day… might still makes right."
"If you're strong enough, just kill and loot others—why worry about being ambushed outside the gates?"
Lin Bei saw things clearly and began forming plans for the Prestige Exchange.
The next time he returned to the city he'd definitely pay it a visit.
And if anyone tried to provoke him—so much the better.
He could loot their Reputation purchases, their stats, and their inheritance—killing three birds with one stone.
He wasn't the least bit afraid; on the contrary, he looked forward to it.
Besides the Premium parcel and Reputation, the Shadow Cat Demon King had also dropped a heap of Shadow Power and a black crystal.
Originally the kill gave 3,000 Shadow Power, but a five-hundred-fold critical turned it into 1.5 million.
Add in what he'd gained from other Shadow Cat Demons and his total now exceeded two million.
Though he still couldn't use Shadow Power, having so much of it felt satisfying.
After all, a normal Shadow Cat Demon only yielded one point—and that was thanks to his Plunder System; without it he'd have to kill a Shadow Cat Demon King and obtain that special black crystal for any Shadow Power at all.
[shadow crystal: Condensed pure Shadow Power; can forge gear, refine potions, or be absorbed directly for Shadow Power.]
The crystal had formed from the Demon King's corpse after death; Lin Bei didn't know how much power it actually held.
He didn't absorb it yet—he already had plenty of Shadow Power, and the crystal had other uses. Better to keep it for a rainy day.
The only pity was that, like the Premium parcel, the crystal hadn't triggered a Critical Hit since it formed after the boss's death rather than dropping directly.
But that only convinced Lin Bei that the Shadow Power he gained through the Plunder System must be an extraordinary energy.
Because aside from a cheat like him, anyone else wanting Shadow Power had to kill a Shadow Cat Demon King with over three hundred thousand Combat Power—something very few in this world could manage.
Thus Lin Bei grew ever more curious about what Shadow Power could actually do.
"Once I get back, I'll ask Aleria exactly what this stuff is good for."
"My gut tells me… it's anything but simple!"
Lin Bei narrowed his eyes.
His interest in Shadow Power kept deepening.
"Too bad these Shadow Cat Demons don't drop any Luck Power—makes things a bit troublesome."
Lin Bei sighed and continued rampaging through the black mist.
This time, he didn't rush across the Dark Forest. Instead, he carved a bloody swathe through it—slaughtering Shadow Cat Demons while waiting for his gear effects to cool down, constantly plundering Shadow Power and reaping reward bundles.
Time flowed like water.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Bei had spent more than ten hours in the Dark Forest alone.
During that span he had felled fifteen Shadow Cat Demon Kings; ordinary Shadow Cat Demons totaled over ten thousand.
By now he carried a full sixteen shadow crystals and top-tier bundles.
Reward bundles of other rarities numbered in the tens of thousands.
As for Shadow Power, the figure was even more absurd—he had broken past ten million points.
Of course, he still had no idea how to actually use that Shadow Power.
But Lin Bei wasn't worried; the stuff wasn't going anywhere. Once he learned how to spend it, the real harvest would begin.
He glanced at his Survival Bracelet: outside, the Island World was on Ice and Snow Season, Day 3, almost six p.m.—usually dinner time.
So he decided to take a break and head back to eat with his family.
Besides, the public channel had reported that Bohaus had already set sail with a fleet toward his island. Returning now would let him upgrade his island's defenses and give those Order Beacon folks a nasty surprise.
He also had an idea: build an offshore prison on his island to lock up enemy Survivors.
That way he could throw them all inside, then execute them whenever he triggered Super Lucky State and maximize his gains.
"Hmm… I'll discuss the details with Qingqing when I get back and see if the plan's feasible."
"If it isn't… well, killing them outright works too; just a shame to lose the extra profit."
Lin Bei scanned the surroundings, spreading his Spirit sense to find the quickest route.
He had no Town-Return Scroll, so the fastest way home wasn't backtracking—it was cutting straight through the Dark Forest and using the Teleportation Array at the far end to return to Tianjian City.
He released a burst of aura that cowed the Shadow Cat Demons lurking in the darkness; none dared approach.
Then he manipulated airflow to lift himself and shot toward the forest exit.
At his current strength, even without the Lingbo Treading-the-Sky Boots, his flight speed easily exceeded Mach 10.
But to avoid the sonic boom, he throttled down to around 300 m/s.
That kept him from drawing attention while gliding through the black mist.
Five minutes later he landed and stepped out of the Dark Forest.
The instant his feet touched ground, a notification popped up.
He froze, surprise flashing across his face.
The Underworld's world will had just informed him he'd claimed first place on the honor ranking—and asked whether to hide his identity.
"I made first place like this? Are you kidding me?"
Lin Bei frowned, annoyed.
He'd spent ten solid hours hunting inside the Dark Forest, then blasted across it in five minutes just to get home for dinner.
From entry to exit he'd totaled ten and a half hours—and still ranked first?
"Isn't the honor ranking supposed to be comprehensive? With my crawling speed?"
"Wait… maybe it makes sense."
Embarrassment flickered in his eyes; he remembered that during those ten-odd hours he'd massacred over ten thousand demons and more than a dozen Shadow Cat Demon Kings each with over three million Combat Power.
If the ranking weighed overall performance, his boss kill-count in ten hours was downright obscene compared with other Survivors.
Viewed that way, first place seemed… well deserved.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
He'd wanted to stay anonymous.
But now—he glanced at the dozens of onlookers gathering around—what was the point?
Exposure no longer mattered.
And hiding his name? With this many witnesses, forget it.
"Uh… hi, everyone."
He gave an awkward yet polite wave, then strode toward the blue-glowing Teleportation Array without another word.
There are two ways back to the Survival World.
One: find a spatial node in the wild and Teleport.
Two: use a spatial array controlled by a Major Power.
For Lin Bei, going home was simple: spend ten thousand prestige points to form his own force.
Then he'd control a private array, making future trips to and from the Underworld much easier.
As for prestige, it meant nothing to him.
He'd just slaughtered over a dozen Shadow Cat Demon Kings; his prestige now exceeded two hundred thousand. Ten thousand was pocket change.
The crowd stood slack-jawed as he stepped into the array and vanished.
Only after a long pause did someone exclaim, "He… he alone took first on the honor ranking? That's insane!"
"Yeah, solo first in a comprehensive ranking—does he have some secret guide? Or is he cheating?"
"No idea about hacks, but that bigshot's a stranger—definitely not from Tianjian City's Three Major Forces! A titan from another main city showing off here?"
"Hey, did anyone catch his name?"
"Saw it—Beiming. But his ID's hidden; no clue which Survival World he's from."
"Plenty of Beimings around, but none that strong. Think he might be a newbie?"
"Nonsense! Solo-clearing Dark Forest and beating Tianlong Squad for first place screams top-tier power. Ever seen a rookie with Combat Power that crazy?"
"Right—he's probably some hidden bigshot who's finally stepping out to start his own faction!"
"Bro, your analysis makes sense—but Tianjian City already has three huge powers. Each of their leaders has over ten million Combat Power. No matter how strong he is, he can't take all three alone, right?"
"Who knows! Either way, Tianjian City's about to get lively!"
They chattered on, yet none were optimistic about Beiming's chances.
Unless he joined one of the existing powers, founding his own would pit him against a united front of the Three Major Forces.
A one-man army—no matter how strong—couldn't withstand their combined might, could he?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.