Chapter 9 – Exchange System

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

"Huff, huff."

Wen Yu was gasping for breath, looking at the hundreds of meters he had just sprinted, leaving the Residential Area far behind. He couldn't help but slow down and catch his breath.

"What kind of ability was that? So freakish. That pounce just now had at least 20 points of strength. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd be dead for sure."

But what puzzled Wen Yu was that, despite One-Eye's enormous potential, he had survived in Mudanjiang City in his previous life and had never heard anyone mention this dog.

"Could it be that this guy ran out of Mudanjiang City?"

Wen Yu thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out the reason, so he simply let it go.

Looking at the Residential Area gate left far behind, Wen Yu felt helpless.

"Now I can't go back. Damn it, chased out of my own home by a Dead Dog. As a Reborn, I've really disgraced the Reborn Army."

Wen Yu complained bitterly, looked at his disheveled appearance, sighed at One-Eye's monstrous combat power, and once again considered his next move.

"I remember on the third day after the Apocalypse descended, a large Treasure Land appeared at Riverside Park. In my previous life, I didn't know what was going on there, only heard about it later from others. There were some very useful treasures inside. As a Reborn, how could I miss such an opportunity?"

"But before that, I should treat the wound on my arm, then use the Exchange System to get some weapons and equipment, and strengthen my physical attributes. Otherwise, if I run into that Beast again, I might die a miserable death."

Wen Yu thought of One-Eye's terrifying red eye, filled with killing intent and rage, and realized that things between them were far from over.

With its keen sense of smell, One-Eye would definitely be able to find him.

After resting for a while, the pain in his arm made Wen Yu's face pale.

Looking at his badly swollen arm, Wen Yu knew he needed treatment as soon as possible. Otherwise, he'd have to consider amputation and rely on Promotion to regrow it.

Fortunately, in this already demonized world, treating wounds was still very simple. Wen Yu ran several more blocks, shaking off the slow-moving Zombies trailing behind him.

Once he was sure he was far enough from One-Eye, he deactivated the Soul Beast's Combat State.

Scanning his surroundings, Wen Yu turned into a Hardware Store and began searching for supplies.

The Hardware Store was well preserved and empty; perhaps the staff had abandoned their posts and left early after seeing the chaos outside.

"Hmm, kitchen knife… Useless without a sharpened edge."

"Iron Hammer, not bad, just a bit short, but it'll do."

"Hey, Fire Axe, now that's a killer weapon. This is good."

A few minutes later, Wen Yu walked out of the Hardware Store, fully armed again: a Fire Axe in hand, a small Iron Hammer hanging from his waist, a pair of old sneakers-left behind by either the staff or the owner-on his newly grown hairy leg, and his other foot still in his own shoe. The whole getup made him look like a homeless man, but with the Soul Beast circling his ears, this "homeless man" had an air of mystery.

"Wham!"

The Zombie in front of him was smashed a meter away by Wen Yu, its head flattened, filthy brain matter splattering everywhere.

"Ding, gained 1 Point."

Wen Yu looked at the dead Zombie before him. The strength after Promotion made these filthy Zombies weaklings he could deal with effortlessly.

Most importantly, Class Holders no longer feared the virus carried by Zombies. Even with only one hand, Wen Yu's strength could crush the fragile Zombies to death.

"Check Points.

"Host has 100 Points remaining."

After Wen Yu found a weapon, he began slaughtering Zombies on a large scale, finally reaching 100 Points before nightfall. He ran to the Exchange Pillar a few meters away and gently touched it with his uninjured hand.

"Welcome to the Exchange System."

A clear female voice sounded, and Wen Yu quickly browsed the exchange options before him.

The entire Exchange Pillar was divided into four main categories: Class, Skills, Equipment, and Items.

Wen Yu first opened the Class option, looking at the three lonely choices before him: Warrior, Archer, Mage.

He then clicked on Skills, seeing a dazzling array of skills below D-rank. Wen Yu was disappointed.

"Nothing's changed. I thought the Exchange Pillar would have something good at the very start of the Apocalypse, but it was just wishful thinking." Wen Yu curled his lips.

Confirming that the Exchange Pillar was still the same old Exchange Pillar, Wen Yu no longer hesitated and directly opened the Items option.

Inside the Items category, there were no fewer than a thousand options, with all sorts of things in abundance. These included the Skill Forgetting Scroll that could erase skills, the Military Ration Pill that could sustain a Class Holder for three days with just one pill, and various attributes and levels of Magic Crystals that could provide evolutionary energy for Class Holders.

There was even food, vegetables, and all kinds of supplies, including items like sanitary pads.

In his previous life, Wen Yu had studied this Exchange System carefully. Basically, survivors could find everything they needed for daily life within the Exchange System.

This greatly reduced humanity's dependence on Settlements.

Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation-all aspects could be exchanged in the system. Unfortunately, except for some Super Powerhouses, very few people were extravagant enough to use their precious Points to exchange for these things.

In Wen Yu's impression from his previous life, the strongest group of people, aside from the Settlement Bosses, were those Lone Wolves constantly wandering outside.

Some Lone Wanderers were even far stronger than the Bosses of Settlements.

Because the stronger a being was, the farther they stayed from Settlements.

Wen Yu ignored all these miscellaneous exchange options and directly typed the keyword "healing" in the item search.

The entire exchange list quickly shrank, leaving only a few items:

Primary Healing Potion, which can heal basic injuries, exchange price: 100 Points.

Intermediate Healing Potion, which can quickly heal bodily injuries, exchange price: 300 Points.

Advanced Healing Potion…

Scroll of Rejuvenation…

Phoenix Blood…

Life Drain Scroll…

Grail of Life…

Looking at the sky-high Point requirements for the last few items, Wen Yu sighed helplessly.

For example, the Grail of Life-just put any liquid inside, even polluted water, and the power of the Holy Grail would directly convert it into Ultimate Healing Potion.

It could be said that this item could fully support the healing needs of a Super Settlement.

However, it required a full 100 million Points, making it clear to everyone that it was nothing more than a tantalizing bait, visible but unattainable.

Wen Yu didn't bother with these unattainable desires and directly chose the Primary Healing Potion.

"Ding, Primary Healing Potion exchanged successfully, 100 Points consumed."

Exiting the Exchange System, Wen Yu looked at the transparent glass bottle placed on the Exchange Pillar, bit open the wooden cork, and drank the Healing Potion.

"Hmm, grape flavor."