Chapter 3

Creeping up the hill, Lu Li quickly found the mantis nest.

As he had expected, the nest was still in its early stages, with no guards at all.

Lu Li casually picked up a stone and threw it towards the entrance of the cave.

Not long after, a sharp howl came from inside the cave.

A mantis monster, its body entirely purple and as large as an adult, burst out of the nest, scanning its surroundings with a fierce gaze.

Its information instantly appeared on Lu Li's interface:

【Name: Mantis Queen (Lord Creature)】

【Level: Lv.5】

【Warning: This creature's level is far higher than the player's. It is recommended to immediately withdraw!】

Lu Li ignored the last line of the warning and boldly appeared in the Mantis Queen's line of sight.

Although his current level was Lv.0, in a one-on-one fight, this Lv.5 Mantis Queen was no match for him.

The terrifying aspect of a Lord Creature was its endless supply of minions, but the Mantis Queen's minions were currently just defenseless eggs.

With a thought, Lu Li's right arm rapidly transformed into a three-foot-long sharp blade!

The innate ability of the Blade-Armed Mantis—【Blade Arm】

As he slowly paced, 【Giant Strength】 and 【Rapid Speed】 activated simultaneously, further enhancing his combat power.

However, Lu Li did not rush to attack. Instead, he kept provoking the Mantis Queen with stones, acting in a very sneaky manner.

He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a moment when the Mantis Queen would expose a weakness.

Finally, the Mantis Queen could no longer tolerate it and howled as it pounced at Lu Li.

At that moment, Lu Li shifted his steps and quickly lay down on the ground!

The sharp blade formed from his right arm stabbed directly into the Mantis Queen's abdomen, piercing a wound with the help of inertia and the power of 【Giant Strength】!

The Mantis Queen, which had no idea that this level 0 player could be so powerful, immediately turned to try to escape back to the nest.

But Lu Li would not give it the chance.

With a burst of speed, he charged forward and swiftly beheaded the Mantis Queen!

The first battle was a victory!

A pleasant voice echoed in his mind—

【Player Lu Li has become the first player globally to defeat a Lord-level creature. Do you wish to announce this globally? Yes/No.】

【Note: After a global announcement, you can obtain a First Kill Treasure Chest ×1.】

The unique nature of the post-apocalyptic game was revealed for the first time.

When a player achieved a pioneering feat, a global announcement option would appear.

If the player chose not to announce it, they would not receive the pioneering reward.

Without hesitation, Lu Li chose to delay the reward.

Before his own strength was powerful enough, drawing attention would only bring trouble!

Raising his hand, he split open the Mantis Queen's head and extracted a red essence crystal.

A second-stage essence crystal, one of which could provide 10 experience points for a player.

However, Lu Li did not absorb it but put it in his pocket.

He then activated the Soul Devouring ability on the Mantis Queen's corpse.

【Devoured the soul of a Lv.5 monster, Divine Soul Points +10】

【Looted Ability—Blade Arm (Silver)】

【Looted Ability—Swarm Intimidation (Gold)】

【Detected that the ability ‘Blade Arm’ can be advanced. Do you wish to trigger the advancement quest? Yes/No.】

Lu Li's eyebrows raised, and he directly chose to trigger the quest.

Under normal circumstances, the quality of an ability could not be advanced without relying on items.

But Lu Li was different.

His 【Soul Devouring】 was extremely special!

Whenever an ability was devoured by 【Soul Devouring】 and the same ability appeared again, an advancement quest would be triggered.

Completing the quest would allow the ability to advance smoothly.

If the quest failed, only the ability would disappear, with no impact on Lu Li himself.

【Ding! The ability advancement quest has been triggered!】

【Quest Content: Kill 100 Blade-Armed Mantises within 24 hours!】

【Quest Reward: Challenger Treasure Chest ×1, the ability ‘Blade Arm’ advances to the Gold quality!】

【Killed: 0/100.】

"Advancement quests are still so unreasonable..." Lu Li sighed in frustration.

Killing 100 Blade-Armed Mantises on the first day of the apocalypse was simply impossible.

It seemed that the 【Blade Arm】 ability would have to be discarded before it could be fully utilized.

But Lu Li didn't mind. If necessary, he could devour the soul of another Blade-Armed Mantis and reacquire the ability.

He still needed to clear out the nest. The unhatched mantis eggs were all valuable items.

Although they wouldn't drop essence crystals, each egg could provide a small amount of Divine Soul Points.

Accumulated together, it would be a considerable wealth!

Subconsciously, he cast a reconnaissance spell into the cave and was about to crawl in.

But at that moment, a dangerous aura suddenly emanated from the cave entrance.

There were still monsters in the mantis nest!

Lu Li quickly retreated, a gust of wind passing in front of him, leaving a shallow blood mark on his chest.

A Mantis Queen, even larger than the previous one, emerged from the cave, baring its teeth and pouncing out!

"Damn, there's another Mantis Queen!"

Lu Li was greatly alarmed and rolled away, immediately increasing the distance between himself and the Mantis Queen.

If it weren't for the good habit he had developed in his previous life of casting reconnaissance before entering the cave, Lu Li would have been decapitated by now!

Just as Lu Li was adjusting his breathing and preparing to use the same method to kill the Mantis Queen in front of him, a cry of surprise came from behind him.

"Lu Li, run over here!"

"Xu Xiao?!"

Lu Li was slightly stunned, then immediately retreated, heading in the direction of the voice.

Three figures soon appeared in Lu Li's field of vision. The girl in the lead had a ponytail and a delicate face, clearly Xu Xiao.

"Why is she here? Did she follow me?"

Lu Li's eyebrows furrowed.

In his previous life, he and Xu Xiao had little interaction. After surviving the initial days of the apocalypse and leaving the school, he never saw this girl again.

Later, he heard that she had formed her own team, and then came the news of her tragic death in the insect wave.

Lu Li only knew that this girl was strong, but he wasn't clear about her specific abilities.

"Lu Li, why did you come here alone?"

Seeing Lu Li approach, Xu Xiao quickly asked, while her palms pressed down, and a faint glow emanated from her body.

Rings of light rippled out, making the girl look like a fairy.

"An enhancement-type ability?!"

Lu Li's pupils constricted, immediately understanding why Xu Xiao could form her own team in his previous life.

An enhancement-type ability could temporarily boost the quality of all players within a certain range, making it very valuable after the apocalypse.

A team leader with an enhancement-type ability could easily attract suitable teammates.

"I thought the back mountain would be less crowded, so I came to try my luck."

Lu Li made up a reason on the spot.

"You're really ‘loyal and dedicated.’ Zhao Hui treats you like this, and you still work so hard for him!"

Xu Xiao was somewhat exasperated.

However, she still protected Lu Li behind her.

"Wang Chao, Ma Han, quickly block that monster!"

"Sure, Class President!"

A fat and a thin boy responded in unison, revealing their abilities.

The fat boy, Wang Chao, had his skin harden, becoming as tough as a turtle shell!

The thin boy, Ma Han, stretched his arms and drew a flaming longbow!

Although their cooperation was still a bit clumsy, they had already formed the雏形 of a team.

This naturally could not be separated from Xu Xiao's command:

"Wang Chao, hold your ground, don't fight head-on! Ma Han, shoot its head, and keep moving back!"

Lu Li, who had retreated to Xu Xiao's side, felt the changes in his body and asked without showing any emotion:

"Why did you come to the back mountain?"

"Rubbish! Isn't it because I was worried you might get into trouble!"

...