The blue setting sun is about to fall.
The gradually rising large and small twin moons.
Above the wilderness ravines.
Diving down, the Crystal Winged Dragonfly approaches.
With a calm expression, holding the Alloy Stick in his right hand and gripping the neodymium iron boron permanent magnet with his left, Ren Zhong stands firm as a rock.
His shadow stretches long across the plains.
The atmosphere is bleak and murderous.
The whistling sound grows sharper as the Crystal Winged Dragonfly gets closer.
The enormous mouthparts, eight long slender legs sparkling coldly, seem vividly clear, as its broad wings vibrate, creating a blurred silhouette.
Ren Zhong didn’t bother to tally how many times he has faced the Crystal Winged Dragonfly.
But he still remembers his initial helplessness, and how he maximized the use of available resources with micro control to defy fate and counter-kill when he was unarmed.
Now, he already knows the greatest flaw of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly, is fully prepared, and possesses a brain reaction index as high as 34.7.
This time, he wants to try fighting like a normal warrior.
Although he had long decided to embark on the path of battle and resistance, his thirst for combat power was only fully ignited the moment Bei Lihui shattered his body with a single shot.
Pure book knowledge can’t really save lives; no matter how strong the learning ability is, the true lessons of shallow notes on paper can only be learned through bloody duels, offering a chance to become a powerful figure who can truly grasp fate by the throat.
Every resurrection experience, every combat opportunity, must be cherished!
Even if no parameters increase, at least experience can be accumulated, and combat awareness honed.
The gust from the flapping wings of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly hit his face.
The giant dragonfly hovers momentarily in the air, and eight slender legs shoot forward like eight daggers.
Ren Zhong, like a professional boxer, even with the opponent’s attack close at hand, continues to stare intently, unblinking.
In the ring, blinking means getting knocked down.
A Mechanical Warrior stands as a boxer on the stage of fate.
He steps in close, a tiny backstep, and his left hand rockets forward.
The permanent magnet in his palm slaps towards the face of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly!
A powerful magnetic field disrupts the movements of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly at a distance of 0.5 meters.
Its wing-flapping frequency suddenly goes awry.
The magnet flies from Ren Zhong’s hand, spanning 0.3 meters, only to be drawn within 0.2 meters of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly’s head, accelerating automatically and slamming into its forehead, finally sticking firmly.
The vibrating wings of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly suddenly stop, and its eight slender legs cease all movement, becoming rigid.
The massive dragonfly body abruptly loses its ability to hover, plummeting towards Ren Zhong in a free-fall.
Ren Zhong grips the Alloy Stick in his right hand, thrusting upward to meet it.
His coldly focused gaze is fixed on the death spot where the head and neck of the Crystal Winged Dragonfly connect.
Always calm, Ren Zhong instinctively mutters, "Die for me!"
The Alloy Stick pierces through!
Under the setting sun, a person and an insect stand at a skewed angle forming an ’A’ shape.
Ren Zhong steps back slowly.
The Crystal Winged Dragonfly collapses with a thud.
He turns to look into the distance, where Zheng Tian’s team’s van is racing towards him.
Zheng Tian, what decision will you make this time?
Wen Lei, I’m going to give you an even bigger surprise this time, hope you can handle it without feeling too inferior.
Hanyu, are you human or ghost?
Ou Youning, I hope your chatter is less this time.
Bai Feng, alright, whatever you want.
"Brother Sun, many thanks for the Human Cell Activation Enhancer, the 200 points, and saving my life. Farewell."
Ren Zhong clasps his hands and bows towards the entrance of the Miracle Clinic, then turns and walks away nonchalantly, like an experienced freeloader.
Sure enough, Brother Sun seems like a wonder, always able to dig out more potential.
This time, being a bit more shameless, he managed to snatch another Cell Activity Enhancer, saving 50 bucks.
Freebies are indeed a profit.
Son Miao’s roar could be heard from inside the room, "Get lost! Quickly, get out of here! I don’t want to see your face ever again! Damn it!"
Ren Zhong, with 206 Contribution Points clutched as "big money," whistling as he strolled towards the intersection, humming his once favorite band Tang Dynasty’s version of "The Internationale."
The van pulls up and stops.
Ren Zhong has a brief meeting with Zheng Tian before making a transaction.
The sound of bone conduction from the temporary wrist watch rings in his mind.
"Private transfer received, Contribution Points 0.72, current balance 206.72."
At the sound of this pleasant notification, a faint smile flits across Ren Zhong’s face.
Long before, on his way back to town, the moment he acquired the temporary wrist watch, he discovered a new secret.
Curious, he checked his balance and found himself with an initial "starting fund" of 6 points from birth.
The extra income of 1 Contribution Point last time wasn’t from nowhere.
That too came from his "hard work" sleeping, earned by renting an official wrist watch during his second-to-last resurrection while tactically avoiding a rental fee as high as 90%.
The subsequent 5 points came from five consecutive days of hard-earned sleep after the previous resurrection.
While not entirely sure what happened, or why, it was clear that the Contribution Points earned through sleep were pinned to his identity and carried back with his memory.
After bidding farewell to Zheng Tian, Ren Zhong headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.
First Level formal wrist watch achievement unlocked again.
Squatting in the corner, he went online, swept through the stock market, confirmed against his memory with a sigh of relief.
Then he joined Zheng Tian at the town hall and met the old bootlicker Ma Dafu.
All the plot developments perfectly replayed past events, with slight variations only at the final conclusion.
"Mayor Ma, I have an unreasonable request. Although it’s past working hours, could you please take me to the Military Weapon Store? I want to buy some things."
Ma Dafu snapped his fingers, "No problem! We Citizens of Starfire Town love overtime!"
This time, Ren Zhong spent a total of 76 points in the Military Weapon Store, leaving with a balance of 31.62.
Unlike last time, he skipped the supply and marketing cooperative’s pure tea, instead squatting outside, saving 0.1 points, didn’t test the initial Brain-Machine Synchronization Rate, saving 5 points, and didn’t buy two extra Training Armor batteries, saving 4 points.
A total saving of 9.1 points.
Counting the additional 5 points of initial starting capital, Ren Zhong was 14.1 points richer when he walked out of the Military Weapon Store than last time.
Every little bit saved is a small piece of meat, even a mosquito’s leg is a gain.
Perfecting the details each time, advancing further each time, is the instinct of a scientific worker.
"Brother Ren, why did you buy this Magnetic Storm Dust Hand Grenade?"
Ren Zhong’s confidence seemed overwhelming, prompting Zheng Tian to react differently than last time, directly voicing her curiosity.
"Don’t ask; some secrets cannot be revealed."
Traversing the Iron Worm Forest for a long time, the savage and domineering Blade Mantis died, losing all dignity of a Third Level Ruined Beast, humbled into the dirt.
The Blade Mantis never touched a single member of Zheng Tian’s team.
First, Ren Zhong peppered it with precisely aimed submachine gun fire.
Then, Wen Lei strictly adhered to Ren Zhong’s command, throwing a huge shield with less than 1 cm deviation, 0.5 seconds in advance, blocking the Blade Mantis’s advance path.
The subsequent developments mirrored the last encounter perfectly.
The Blade Mantis changed its course, redirected towards Bai Feng.
The Magnetic Storm Dust Hand Grenade erupted.
The Blade Mantis was ensnared.
Zheng Tian delivered the finishing blow.
The Blade Mantis struggled for three minutes before its demise.
The five members of Zheng Tian’s team, filled with awe and confusion, fell into deep shock once again after listening to Ren Zhong’s casual "explanation".
Zheng Tian, always considering herself a clever individual, was both somewhat famous amongst the outcasts of Starfire Town, but now she felt an urge to kneel and sing surrender in submission due to her inferiority.
She had never imagined that the intelligence gap between individuals could be so mind-bogglingly wide.
"Alright, stop staring blankly; this is nothing to be surprised by," Ren Zhong waved his hand, "We have plenty of time and sufficient resources. There shouldn’t be a second Third Level Ruined Beast in the Iron Worm Forest any time soon, so let’s strike while the iron is hot and score big today!"
Speaking casually, he glanced subtly back at the cargo of the van.
This time, the carcasses of the Ruined Beasts in the van were completely different from last time.
Having completely taken charge of the squad’s command, he thoroughly changed the route, precisely controlling the timing of their arrival at the Iron Step Beetle’s lair.
As they walked, the number of Ruined Beasts harvested by the team matched last time, but the details of combat were worlds apart.
Ren Zhong was now determined to amass wealth feverishly and continued to deeply explore details.
The species and activity areas of Ruined Beasts encountered last time now became his private intelligence, like chestnuts stored by a squirrel for winter in a tree hollow, waiting to be harvested.
At 5 p.m., the team returned to Starfire Town.
Ren Zhong’s personal wallet enjoyed a lavish feast.
Apart from the Blade Mantis, they destroyed a total of 11 First Level Ruined Beasts, valued at 35 points after deductions. After deducting costs of 9 points, the profit was 26 points.
Ren Zhong took 6 points, Zheng Tian and the other four received 4 points each.
The Blade Mantis was valued at 120 points in total.
Ren Zhong took 100 points, while the remaining five shared 20 points.
With the addition of his sleep earnings last night, his wealth reached 138.62.