Chapter 8: Burning Hunger
Fire..
The world was ablaze, with searing heat permeating every inch of his body and the acrid stench of burnt flesh invading his senses.
The moment his eyes gradually opened, revealing narrow pupils reminiscent of those of a wild animal.
They shone like amber in the flickering light of the flames dancing around him.
As he surveyed his surroundings, he saw a shadowy meadow filled with quivering objects that emitted a soothing warmth.
But then he realized that not only was he surrounded by the shadowy meadow, but also a horrifying face with lifeless eyes staring directly at him.
The warm radiance of the sun filtered through the tattered curtains, casting a golden glow across the second floor of the Luminous Sky Lounge.
As the golden light seeped in, the photocatalytic air purification process commenced.
The thick, pungent air, reeking of blood, seemed to be combusting, giving way to the rejuvenating freshness of the sun.
The sun's rays touched the blood puddle, sparking minuscule flames.
The flames quickly engulfed the surroundings, setting the entire floor ablaze.
Iridescent ash particles cascaded from above, resembling a gentle rainfall, as the humanoid corpse underwent a strange combustion, revealing glimmering crystal formations within.
Among the corpses lay Jin.
As he saw the raging fire around him, his eyes blinked several times.
"Huh?!" these words shouted in his mind.
It was only when the intense heat finally burned a part of his skin that his senses kicked in.
Quickly, he tried to mustering all his slumbering strength.
But it didn't budge an inch.
Only then his mind registered that hands that were suppressed by many bodies.
He tried to lift his fingers, but somehow his nails pierced something soft and springy.
In addition to that, his stomach kept grumbling and he felt wanting to sleep as if there was no power left even to to blinking his eyes.
Furthermore, the excruciating burning had already consumed a part of his body, but thanks to that, it also gave a shock to his mind to stay conscious.
At that moment, using this chance, Jin summoned his stats.
[
• Name: Jin Tianyi
• Class: -
• Level: 7
• Race: Human
• Health: 7.00/102.38
• Mana/Stamina: 93/93
• Attributes: Strength: 9.7| Agility: 8.6 | Intelligence: 6.5 | Dexterity: 11.5 | Luck: 20 | Charisma: 20
]
[Free Attribute: 14]
"Increase strength by 10 points!" Jin shouted inwardly.
With his health dangerously low, he had no choice but to use his available attribute points to increase his strength and survive.
However, he did not spend them all, saving a little in case of an emergency.
[Free Attribute: 14 -> 4]
[Strength: 9.7 -> 19.7]
[
• Name: Jin Tianyi
• Class: -
• Level: 7
• Race: Human
• Health: 6.00/119.4
• Mana/Stamina: 93/93
• Attributes: Strength: 19.7| Agility: 8.6 | Intelligence: 6.5 | Dexterity: 11.5 | Luck: 20 | Charisma: 20
]
[Free Attribute: 4]
Looking at the game screen before him, Jin felt anxious.
As he was not yet completely familiar with this entity.
However, based on his gaming experiences, strength attributes should relate to health points, physical damage, and endurance.
Time was ticking like a death scythe hanging an inch from his neck, yet Jin could not feel any changes.
The fire had already touched his face; his ears were twitching as he barely looked with two opened eyes.
The aura of death and threat was already ringing in his inner instinct.
If the changes did not appear in the next few seconds, he would be roasted alive.
However, he still did not give up and looked at the remaining available attributes.
Just as he wanted to assign the remaining attributes, a surging wave of energy coursed through his body; his weak muscles suddenly gained power.
It was intoxicating and pumping his body like a drug, and the hint of despair in his eyes vanished, replaced by a narrowed and dangerous glint.
"Argh!" Jin roared, his mouth foaming with saliva, as he put all his strength into his body; the corpses surrounding him instantly blasted.
Yet that only gave him more space to move.
"But this is enough!" With just a short moment, he continued to punch the corpses, creating a long path that led him back into the view of the second-floor nightclub.
...
A few moments later, light shone upon his bald head, and the burnt mark had already peeled off half the skin on his face.
"Finally, I'm out!" Jin sighed in relief, having experienced his first near-death ordeal
Taking more distance, he avoided the raging fire behind him.
He turned around and watched as the corpses slowly burned and turned to white ashes, waiting for all the fire on the second floor to extinguish.
...
A few minutes had passed and the once luxurious and grand nightclub was now an abandoned building.
The ceiling was broken, leaving a dark space that led up to the attic and the structure that held the roof.
The expensive-looking glass lights had melted in the fire while the long counter bar had been turned into a dark, burnt wooden table.
Now, Jin was sitting on the floor, looking at the remaining shards of mirror that reflected his appearance.
"I look like a monster," Jin sighed as he touched the burn marks on his face.
He used to be a normal-looking guy, not too ugly or handsome, but now his entire image and being would make others mistake him for the same monster, the Blood Salves.
Not to mention his bald head.
"Hmm, is it just me hallucinating or have my jaws become sharper and my eyebrows thickened?" he pondered, grabbing the mirror and ignoring the sharp tips.
The only fortunate aspect was that his right cheek had only suffered a third-degree burn.
Although this sudden change was good, there was more bad that he had experienced right now.
The skin appeared blackened like a scar, swollen as if he had been punched repeatedly, and the most prominent feature was the blood that was currently flowing down from the flesh.
Shifting his attention, finally his eyes wandered around the white ashes; a glimmering and shining thing caught his attention.
The next moment, he easily crushed the magic crystal, and it turned to ashes.
Simultaneously, a game screen appeared in his view.
[You have destroyed a Tier 0 magic crystal!]
[Your high Luck has begun to take effect!]
[You have absorbed +0.10 Strength!]
His eyes shone like glittering stars as he noticed his high luck beginning to take effect.
Without wasting any more time, his swift body turned around, and his slit pupil scanned the surrounding white ashes; only to find that the majority of them had the same glimmer.
…
A couple of minutes later, all of the magic crystals were stacked before him.
Without waiting, Jin crushed the magic crystals one by one.
[You have destroyed a Tier 0 magic crystal!]
[Your high Luck has begun to take effect!]
[You have absorbed +0.10 Strength!]
[You have destroyed a Tier 0 magic crystal!]
[Your high Luck has begun to take effect!]
[You have absorbe….]
…
Each time a magic crystal entered his body, Jin felt something inside him grew stronger, but not to the same extent as when he used the available attributes.
As time passed, a new notification screen appeared before him, doubling his joy.
[You have leveled up!]
[You gained 2 points to freely distribute between your attributes!]
[
• Name: Jin Tianyi
• Class: -
• Level: 8
• Race: Human
• Health: 122.9/122.9
• Mana/Stamina: 93/93
• Attributes: Strength: 20.9| Agility: 8.6 | Intelligence: 6.5 | Dexterity: 11.5 | Luck: 20 | Charisma: 20
]
[Free Attribute: 6]
A gust of familiar feeling washed over Jin's entire body, healing the pain in his muscles and some scratches.
Thinking of this, he immediately checked his appearance, but to his disappointment, the burn marks and his bald head were still there.
"So, it's probably permanent," Jin shook off his head.
Out of the 24 magic crystals, 12 of them brought random attribute rewards.
The random attribute he received was surprisingly a 1.2 increase. It brought his strength to 20 points.
"Now with only six available attributes, I need to save for emergencies..."
...
After sorting through all of his gains, Jin was ready to prepare to leave while pondering over the matter that was buried among the corpses.
Basically, after checking the transparent screen log, his passive skill had taken control and he probably looked like a blood slave.
The rest of the story was probably simpler.
Where Li Mei could not fight or was afraid of him, thus tried to bind him by placing him among the corpses.
Jin had also been checking his condition in case he was bitten to the point opening the curtains more widely.
Upon finding the light gave him no harm, only then did he sigh in relief.
Suddenly, the sound of his stomach rumbling brought a sense of weakness and sleepiness to him.
Only then did he remember the source of the problem.
"I wonder if my stomach is also mutated like a tiger," with his shoulders slightly lowered, he walked towards the burned wooden counter, hoping to find something to eat.
However, as he opened the drawer, he was stunned upon seeing what lay on the floor behind the counter, blocked from view by the long counter bar.
It was a familiar wooden stock and forend with a checkered grip pattern.
The receiver and barrel were made of steel, and the familiar shape and look of it...
"My shotgun," Jin squatted and took a look at the Mosberg 398.
Beside the shotgun were his five ammo pouches that contained the remaining 25 shotgun shells.
But to make him happier, he spotted a sight of a golden parchment lying right next to the ammo pouch.
"The scroll skill..." Jin carefully grabbed the parchment.
Ah, once again, he really misjudged her, but another question popped into his mind.
"Why was he so kind? What could he get by securing my gun, leaving some magic crystals, and giving a scroll skill?"
They had just met, and he could be considered rude in her view as he even rejected her kind offer before.
But it couldn't be blamed - that was his first time going to the club. Unable to find her motive, Jin just gladly accepted and slowly unfolded it.
[Congratulations, you have learned a passive skill!]
[New passive skill acquired: Regeneration!]
[Regeneration(Passive): The user's wounds heal faster, allowing them to recover from injuries more quickly. The user regenerates 5% of their maximum health every 10 seconds, allowing them to sustain themselves in battle]
As Jin was processing the astounding news of acquiring the new passive skill, he was abruptly seized with a titillating sensation in his head.
His raven tresses were in the process of resprouting while his cheeks contorted with spasms of pain, as the remainder of his burn scars appeared to be writhing in a fervent wriggle akin to worms locked in a desperate struggle.
Gradually, his scars began to heal.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
DragonKnov
DragonKnov There are reasons why I didn't include all of the notes in the synopsis or even in the auxiliary chapters.
I felt that doing so would undermine the purpose of the story, especially when some of the notes appear unrelated, like announcing gift mini-games or voicing my thoughts, etc.
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