The stench of the alleys was so thick it felt physical; every breath felt like swallowing rotting sludge.

  Kane leaned against the freezing wall. His lungs burned like wildfire, and every ragged gasp tugged at the wounds on his back, sending waves of numbing stings through his nerves. Sticky, lukewarm blood had already soaked through his tattered clothes.

  He looked down at his hands, stained with gore and bits of shredded flesh.

  Brutus’s blood.

  The Vulture Gang’s blood.

  A theory began to surface in Kane’s mind.

  "Why?"

  He muttered to himself, his voice as raspy as two pieces of metal grinding together.

  "Why did killing them drop nothing?"

  The pentagram seal on his right palm still held a lingering heat after absorbing the Shadow Stalker’s power. But regarding the lives he had personally terminated just now, it remained utterly unresponsive.

  No Essence Orbs had appeared like before.

  He had originally assumed this seal allowed him to plunder the power of anything he killed. Now, it seemed he was wrong.

  Is it because drops are based on probability?

  Kane compared the Shadow Stalker’s pure ferocity to the fear and malice Brutus and the others showed before death. This seal might only be effective against "beasts." Killing "humans" yielded no reward.

  This discovery was like a cold blade, accurately piercing the feverish heart he had just ignited, cooling it instantly.

  He had to hunt. Not for food, but for power.

  A clear plan formed in Kane’s mind. He was no longer a "corpse dog" passively processing trash. He was going to become an active hunter.

  He couldn't go back to Scrapyard 7. The Vulture Gang’s fury would soon incinerate that place. He had to leave—now.

  Without a hint of hesitation, Kane dragged his broken body back to the "dog hole" where he lived.

  Three hundred clinking Kunlun Credits.

  Half a bar of expired nutrient paste.

  And that half-vial of antibiotic—more precious than gold.

  He stuffed his entire life's earnings from the past three years into a battered backpack. He took one last look at the mountain of refuse; under the moonlight, the piled scrap looked like silent iron skeletons.

  There was no nostalgia in Kane’s eyes. This place buried his past and the identity of "corpse dog."

  The night was the best cover. Avoiding all familiar routes like a true predator, he used the complex shadows and terrain of the scrap heaps to vanish silently from the edge of Scrapyard 7.

  Over the next two days, Kane avoided the safe routes used by merchant caravans. Those paths were undoubtedly rat traps set by the Vulture Gang now. He chose to trek through ruins and wilderness, relying on half a bar of nutrient paste and the dangerous instincts inherited from the Shadow Stalker to struggle eastward.

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  Along the way, he stopped at an underground trading post known as "Blackrock Town." It was a black market built in an abandoned subway station, the air thick with the foul mix of machine oil, cheap alcohol, and sweat.

  With his three hundred Kunlun Credits and several energy cells scavenged from Brutus's corpse, he gritted his teeth and traded for a scratched-up, second-hand "Anti-Laceration Combat Suit," a heavy high-explosive grenade, and a crude map of the Wind-Eroded Canyon drawn on waterproof cloth.

  By the time he stepped out of Blackrock Town and into the howling sands of the canyon entrance, he had completely said goodbye to his past.

  Three days later.

  Wind-Eroded Canyon.

  Woooo—

  The howling wind, like a chorus of grieving ghosts, whipped sand and metal shards against the rock walls, creating a tooth-grinding screech of scraping flint.

  An ordinary person exposed here for even a few minutes would have their skin shredded into a bloody mess.

  Kane didn't care.

  The lethal wind-scythes lashed against his newly acquired Anti-Laceration Combat Suit, kicking up faint sparks and a rhythmic clink-clank of impacting debris.

  It was a mere nuisance.

  This godforsaken wind acted as natural camouflage; it perfectly masked his footsteps, his scent, and even his killing intent. To him, this was the perfect hunting ground.

  This place was home to a unique creature—the Blade Mink.

  They were incredibly fast and could manipulate airflow to form razor-sharp "air blades," making them the living nightmare of any lone scavenger. But for Kane, who possessed [ Kinetic Boost ], they were the ideal prey.

  He crouched behind a massive boulder, drawing his breath to a slow crawl and suppressing his heartbeat to a minimum. He merged completely with the jagged shadows of the rock.

  Not far away, a Blade Mink gnawing on a piece of scrap metal entered his field of vision.

  It was three times the size of a common mink, with metallic grey-white fur and a pair of ruby-like eyes that scanned the surroundings with twitchy paranoia.

  Kane was patient.

  Three years of processing corpses had taught him one thing: the greatest respect you can show your prey is a single, fatal blow.

  Waiting was part of the hunt.

  The Blade Mink seemed to sense something. It stopped eating, its nose twitching violently as it sniffed the air, a wary hiss vibrating in its throat.

  Now!

  The moment it turned its head, distracted, Kane moved!

  [ Kinetic Boost ] was pushed to its absolute limit!

  He wasn't "running"; he was "launched" by a massive force from behind. He stayed low to the ground, transforming into a blurred streak of shadow!

  The fifty-meter gap closed in a heartbeat!

  The Blade Mink only reacted when he was ten meters away. Its fur stood on end instantly as it let out a piercing shriek!

  A crescent-shaped, transparent air blade materialized out of thin air. Without warning, it lashed toward his skull like a lightning strike!

  Too fast!

  Kane’s pupils constricted into needlepoints!

  Physical instinct bypassed thought. He forcibly wrenched his torso mid-sprint!

  Shreeeee!

  A scalp-numbing sound of tearing fabric erupted.

  The air blade slammed accurately into his left shoulder!

  A massive force sent him stumbling, his entire left side going numb instantly. The composite surface of the combat suit—the one he’d spent his entire life savings on—shattered, revealing the metallic fiber mesh beneath.

  It had absorbed most of the cutting force.

  However, the residual power of the air blade still carved a deep, bone-chilling gash into his flesh. Without that suit, his left arm would have been severed entirely.

  The pain was agonizing!

  But the agony didn't make him flinch; instead, it ignited the feral savagery buried in his marrow!

  Using his forward momentum, he executed a brutal roll that brought him directly under the Blade Mink. His military dagger thrust upward with savage force, sinking deep into its soft underbelly!

  "Zhee—!"

  The Blade Mink let out a final, agonizing shriek. It thrashed wildly, its razor-sharp claws leaving several bloody furrows across his back.

  Kane refused to let go!

  His left hand—fitted with the cheap prosthetic fingers—clamped onto its head like an iron vice. With everything he had, he slammed the creature down into the gravel-strewn ground!

  Man and beast rolled and tore at each other in the sand, blood instantly staining the earth crimson.

  Finally, the Blade Mink’s struggles grew weak. Its body gave a violent convulsion and went completely still.

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