As Kane stepped through the heavy metal doors of The Hunter’s Tavern, a few low sneers drifted from behind him.

  "Another greenhorn heading off to challenge Windspire Tower."

  "The missions at the top of Boss Felix’s list are never the easiest—they’re just the ones most likely to get someone killed."

  "Tsk. A waste of that stone armor. It’s a bit beat up, but it looks solid enough."

  The voices didn't bother to lower themselves; every word sounded like an appraisal of a soon-to-be-dead object.

  Kane’s pace didn't falter for a second.

  He cut through the outskirts of Blackrock Town and quickly reached the mission site—the abandoned industrial zone on the edge of the Old District.

  This was a graveyard of steel, forgotten by the world.

  In the air, the scent of rust and dust was thick enough to choke the throat.

  The towering Windspire Tower resembled a massive iron skeleton piercing the gloomy sky, covered in rusted scars and radiating the breath of death.

  In front of the tower, a massive, bottomless fissure in the earth completely severed all forward paths.

  Across the rift, the base of the signal tower was visible in the distance.

  That gap was an insurmountable chasm for anyone without the ability to fly.

  This was the reality behind the mission description's understated warning: "Standard access routes are destroyed."

  Just as Kane was scouting the edge of the fissure for a suitable jump point, a flurry of noisy footsteps approached from behind.

  Another team of three scavengers had arrived.

  The leader was a bald brute. When he saw the despair-inducing crack in the earth, he spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground and cursed loudly:

  "Fuck! The intel didn't say the gap was this goddamn big!"

  His two companions looked equally frustrated.

  Immediately, their attention shifted to Kane, who stood alone at the edge of the rift.

  The bald brute sized up Kane’s damaged but still menacing Basilisk Stone Armor, his eyes lingering on the horrific claw marks. His mockery softened slightly, replaced by a probing tone: "Hey, kid. You dare come here alone? Found a way across yet?"

  Kane ignored him.

  He didn't even bother to turn his head. He simply backed into the shadow of a collapsed building, suppressing all his presence until he resembled a lifeless rock.

  Exposing one's trump card was the primary taboo of wasteland survival.

  Seeing this, the bald leader wanted to say more, but a lanky man beside him grabbed his arm.

  "Leave him," the lanky man whispered. "Look at that armor. He survived a direct hit from a big one. These lone wolves are the craziest."

  The bald man’s expression shifted, and ultimately, he didn't dare step forward.

  After a few futile attempts to find a way across, the three cast a wary glance toward the shadow where Kane was hidden before finally giving up with a string of curses and turning to leave.

  The roar of an engine faded into the distance.

  Silence returned to the surroundings.

  Once he confirmed no one else was present, Kane stepped slowly out of the shadows.

  He stood at the edge of the fissure, backed up dozens of meters, and lowered his body into a slight crouch, like a panther locking onto its prey.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The next moment, he suddenly ignited!

  His entire being transformed into a dark green afterimage, hurtling toward the opposite side of the rift!

  The ground beneath him receded at high speed. At the final microsecond before the edge, the muscles in his legs bulged, and he lunged upward with everything he had!

  His body traced a high arc through the air, soaring over the abyss.

  Just as he reached the apex and gravity began to drag him mercilessly toward the depths—

  Kane slammed his right foot down into empty space!

  Bang!

  A muffled air burst exploded beneath his boot.

  It was as if he had stepped onto an invisible, solid stair, and a fresh surge of explosive power erupted from his legs.

  His descending body, in a posture that defied all logic, suddenly shot upward and forward once more!

  A dark green phantom silently glided across the distance that would have driven any other person to despair.

  His feet tapped lightly on the opposite ground, landing steadily.

  He didn't make a single unnecessary sound.

  Without pausing, he immediately began to scale the signal tower.

  The rusted frame was covered in sharp protrusions and weathered holes; the vertical steel structure was almost entirely devoid of ladders.

  But this was no obstacle for Kane.

  He used a protruding rebar to leap upward.

  At the instant his momentum failed and he began to fall, he drove his tungsten steel dagger deep into the upper metal wall with a dull thud, creating a new pivot point for himself.

  Using the dagger as an axis, he swung his body upward while slamming both feet against the vertical tower wall.

  [ Aerial Step ]!

  He immediately catapulted diagonally upward!

  Pulling out the dagger, stabbing again, kicking the wall, leaping...

  His silhouette performed an unthinkable zigzag ascent between vertical plates, shattered platforms, and jagged rebar, moving like a ghost rebelling against gravity.

  As he climbed past the midpoint of the tower, a sudden change occurred!

  Three black shadows lunged out from a massive structural hole in the tower. With a piercing whistle of sliced air, they aimed straight for Kane!

  Rust-Wing Bats.

  Mutated creatures that had turned this abandoned tower into their nest. Their leathery wings had been replaced by sharp metallic plates that reflected a lethal, cold light.

  Right now, Kane was in a brief moment of mid-air suspension after a jump—exposed, with nowhere to find leverage.

  He did not panic.

  Facing the first Rust-Wing Bat charging head-on, he calmly allowed it to close the distance.

  A second before those metallic wings could slice his throat, Kane’s body twisted violently in the air.

  [ Aerial Step ]!

  He catapulted downward and to the side in a sharp dive!

  The lethal attack brushed past his scalp, the gale-force wind making his hood flap wildly.

  He utilized the momentum of the dive, sliding his body along the freezing tower wall, while his reverse-gripped tungsten dagger silently moved into position behind him.

  The bat, overshooting its mark as they crossed paths, had essentially delivered its fragile neck directly to the blade's edge.

  Shing!

  A faint cutting sound.

  Kane didn't even look back. The massive kinetic energy from his high-speed movement allowed the sharp tungsten steel to slice through the Rust-Wing Bat's entire neck with clean efficiency.

  The headless carcass tumbled, spiraling into the abyss.

  With one kill confirmed, the remaining two Rust-Wing Bats let out a roar, flanking him from the left and right in a pincer attack!

  Kane’s pupils held no emotion, only the reflection of his prey.

  He slammed his foot against the tower wall, launching himself not up or down, but parallel to the ground, exploding toward the bat on the left!

  Caught off guard by the prey actively charging it, the left-hand bat instinctively extended its metal claws—claws sharp enough to tear through sheet metal.

  An instant before the collision, Kane triggered his second jump!

  His body snapped away at an incredibly sharp angle, catapulting toward the upper right in mid-air!

  In a flash, he appeared diagonally above the bat on the right.

  The right-hand bat had no time to react; it only felt the light above it vanish.

  Kane descended like a falling star, slamming his foot into its back. The sheer force sent the creature screaming as it was pinned against the hard surface of the tower.

  Thud!

  The dagger in Kane’s hand lunged downward, piercing precisely through the back of its skull and ending its life instantly.

  On the other side, the left-hand bat—having lunged at empty air—was just about to adjust its posture when it realized with horror that the human who had just finished its companion had used the tower wall as a pivot to launch another short-range [ Aerial Step ]!

  Kane’s silhouette moved like a jagged line, appearing at its side in an instant.

  Before the bat could respond, the cold gleam of the tungsten steel dagger slashed upward, precisely severing the joint between its metallic wing and its flesh!

  Rippp!

  Accompanied by a piercing tear, the entire metal wing was wrenched off.

  Losing its balance, the Rust-Wing Bat shrieked as it spun uncontrollably, falling into the dark depths.

  Conflict resolved.

  Kane wiped the blood from his dagger on the bat's carcass. He expertly harvested the valuable metal wings and stuffed them into his rucksack.

  Then, he continued his ascent.

  A few minutes later, he successfully reached the summit.

  At the top of the tower, the gale howled with such ferocity it was nearly impossible to stand.

  Kane stayed in a low crouch against the fierce wind. He pulled the data repeater from his pack and skillfully installed it into the port of the auxiliary antenna.

  Beep.

  With a faint chime, the personal terminal on his wrist vibrated slightly. A notification popped up on the screen: [ MISSION COMPLETE ].

  Kane did not leave immediately.

  He stood atop the tower, letting the whistling winds whip his tattered hood.

  He slowly raised his hand, feeling the flow of the air.

  The characteristics of the pistol named "The Cyclone" flashed through his mind.

  Kane’s gaze pierced the gloom, looking toward Blackrock Town. His eyes were calm, yet carried a trace of burning intent.

  That gun—it was his.

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