Chapter 55

Ma Le drew out a short knife, the very one that Brad had taken from Jasmine. He had picked it up on his way out of the mall. It was a blue-quality weapon with decent attributes, dealing 48 points of damage. Besides the basic sharp and piercing effects, it had a special effect of a 15% chance for a 1.5x critical hit, making it a fine piece among blue weapons. However, he could only carry it on his person and couldn't store it in his inventory. The Miracle Badge indicated that the item did not belong to him and could only be used in this world. When the original owner left this world, the knife would automatically follow.

With a weapon in hand, Ma Le took light steps and followed the strange sounds to a tightly closed bedroom door. He tried turning the handle, but it was locked. Just as he was considering whether to break in, there was a "crack," and the wooden bedroom door suddenly deformed and split open. A blood-red giant claw burst through, catching Ma Le off guard and leaving three long, thin wounds on his shoulder. Immediately, the Miracle Badge gave a warning: "Unknown biochemical virus has entered the body... The virus has been eliminated..."

From the warning, this must be a monster mutated from the zombie virus. Ma Le grabbed the giant claw and pulled it outward, dragging the entire arm out. Then, he twisted it backward, and with a "snap," the arm broke, sticking to the wall at an odd angle. Ma Le raised his knife and nailed the giant claw to the wall. He then kicked the wooden door open and dragged the entire monster out, finally getting a clear look at it:

It was a monster similar in size to a human, with no skin covering its body. Its muscles and brain were exposed, and its limbs had mutated into sharp, giant claws. Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, had a long, blood-red tongue that flicked about.

Ma Le immediately recognized this monster as a Licker from the Resident Evil series. So, this damned virus was the infamous T-virus! Looking at the struggling Licker, Ma Le suddenly felt a surge of hunger. He swung his fists, and with just a few punches, the monster's health dropped below 100. Ma Le's hands transformed into countless tentacles, which disintegrated and absorbed the Licker.

Although the Licker was terrifying, it was no match for Ma Le, so this absorption didn't provide any significant enhancement. However, it wasn't entirely fruitless. Absorbing the Licker triggered a side quest for Ma Le:

Side Quest: Collect Viruses: Your absorption ability allows you to consume almost all living beings, including those terrifying biochemical viruses. These viruses are a terrifying nightmare for ordinary humans, but for you, they are rich, nutritious supplements. Absorb five different bio-infected creatures to obtain their virus-combined DNA, and you will receive unexpected rewards!

Current Progress (1/5)

Collected Viruses: T-virus

...

This sudden side quest had no rewards or time limit, leaving Ma Le somewhat puzzled. However, having a quest to do was always good, and since there were no failure penalties, he could treat it as a decorative task without any loss.

Ma Le thoroughly inspected the house, ensuring the security door was locked tightly to avoid being caught. He then took out his main purpose for coming here—the Killing Key that Brad had dropped.

The Killing Key could be used in the mission world, but in return, when Ma Le entered the reward challenge space, the system would mark the location in the mission world for easy access. This mark was invisible to ordinary people but not to adventurers. It was subtle, like a broken mirror on the street occasionally reflecting light. However, if a wandering adventurer from Hurricane City discovered it and waited outside for Ma Le to come out, he would be in trouble. Therefore, Ma Le chose this secluded house and opened the challenge space in the bathroom without any windows.

It was still the same empty white room with the same wheel. It seemed to confirm Ma Le's previous guess that this time, the challenge was a race, which matched Brad's incredible speed.

The white room transformed into a massive open-air stadium, with hundreds of small hover racers parked inside. Ma Le was in the cockpit of one of them. Through the holographic camera, he could see the grand, sci-fi-style stands filled with tens of thousands of spectators eagerly waiting. Strange facilities floated in the sky, and a giant screen above showed a man with a microphone enthusiastically introducing: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! I'm your old friend Piero! Today, in our Speed City, the annual Ultimate City Speed Race is about to begin! I don't know about you, but I'm very excited! Have you all placed your bets on your favorite racers? If not, our stadium offers on-site betting services, and you can't bet once the race starts, so hurry up! I wish you all good luck with your bets! And for our TV audience, stay tuned..."

Ma Le had no patience for the host's nonsense and directly read the rules on the Miracle Badge: "Race Mode: Adventurers will drive hover racers capable of reaching supersonic speeds, racing against hundreds of other participants throughout the city. Rewards will be distributed based on the adventurer's ranking. During the race, you must follow a fixed route, and racers can attack each other. If a racer's vehicle is destroyed or goes off the track, they will be disqualified."

So, that's how it works. Ma Le was relieved. He had initially thought he would be racing against some special monsters, but now he knew it was a vehicle race. Although his agility was far inferior to Brad's, it was still superhuman compared to ordinary people. The driving method of the hover car was simple, and the race mainly relied on reaction speed, which ordinary people couldn't match.

Just as Ma Le was feeling confident, he noticed other drivers entering the race and getting into their racers. Seeing these other racers, Ma Le was stunned. They were all fully armed, looking like Iron Man! Clearly, they were wearing power armor. Wasn't that cheating? Ma Le, on the other hand, was still wearing the ordinary clothes from the Black Light Organization. It seemed the challenge space wouldn't give Ma Le any advantages. These "Iron Men" wouldn't be much slower than him even if they were running...

Soon, all the racers were in position, and a giant countdown appeared on the screen above the stadium. When the countdown reached zero, all the hover cars started simultaneously, reaching speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour within ten seconds and disappearing from the spectators' view in an instant. The giant screen above the stadium switched back to the host, Piero, who was passionately narrating the race. Automated camera robots scattered throughout the city transmitted the race footage back to the stadium, causing the audience to cheer.

Ma Le started at the back of the pack. Although the racing controls were not difficult, it was his first time driving, and he lacked the agility advantage. Facing professional racers, he was naturally at the tail end from the start. The navigation system in the racer guided Ma Le, but the city's streets, though wide, were not designed for racing. The complex network of intersections and turns made it difficult for Ma Le to keep up. Such a complex city would be easy to get lost in even on foot, let alone at high speed.

The city was enormous, and less than two minutes into the race, after a series of twists and turns, the other racers were already out of sight. Just as Ma Le was about to give up, he heard a loud noise from the next intersection. When he arrived, he saw a racer spinning in place, its engine roaring but unable to find the right direction...

The racers were attacking each other! Ma Le suddenly remembered the race rules, which allowed violent destruction of other racers' vehicles. This meant that some racers would be disqualified due to their vehicles being destroyed, and others would fall behind due to interference. Realizing this, Ma Le's spirits lifted. As long as he avoided being attacked, he could achieve a good ranking!

With this in mind, Ma Le focused entirely on driving. Sure enough, he began to see wrecked vehicles on the track. Some of the "Iron Men" who had been eliminated were angrily pounding the remains of their racers. Gradually, there were also racers who hadn't been completely destroyed but were moving slowly or stuck on the barriers. Ma Le enjoyed the thrill of overtaking them!

However, soon, other racers started targeting Ma Le. A fire-red hover car, which had been knocked over but not seriously damaged, was the first to attack Ma Le after restarting. Ma Le, prioritizing his survival, didn't want to cause trouble and let the racer pass. However, the driver seemed determined to take Ma Le down, not rushing forward after overtaking but using skilled maneuvers to ram Ma Le's vehicle.

This enraged Ma Le. It was truly an insult too far, but his driving skills were still raw, and he couldn't retaliate. In a fit of anger, Ma Le opened his inventory, took out Isaac's harpoon gun, and, with a determined heart, opened the cockpit at over 200 kilometers per hour, standing up with the harpoon gun in hand!

The intense wind pressure tore at Ma Le's skin, and an ordinary person would have been blown away. But with 60 points of strength, Ma Le not only withstood the high speed and wind pressure but also steadily raised the harpoon gun, aiming at the adjacent hover car and pulling the trigger.

The driver of the red hover car didn't expect such a desperate move, not only opening the cockpit but also without any power armor protection! In that moment of surprise, Ma Le's harpoon gun shot out, embedding itself in the side of the red hover car's engine. Ma Le then activated the electric shock, causing the engine to malfunction. The red hover car spun out of control, crashing into the barrier with a loud bang, emitting a plume of black smoke.

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End of Chapter

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