Chapter 3: Lone Battle Against Elite Monsters! Replicate God-Level Bone Armor!

The screeching scrape of the rolling shutter being pulled down sounded like the final death knell for the old world. The hardware store instantly fell into relative dimness, only bloody seeping light from the gaps in the door and window security mesh filtered in, casting each person's face in an eerie, strange glow.

The strong smell of blood mixed with metal and machine oil, irritating the nostrils.

The shop clerk and middle-aged woman in the corner stared in terror at this group of uninvited guests, especially Chen Mo, who held a blood-stained metal display rack and had a cold, sharp gaze.

Chen Mo ignored them, his gaze sweeping across the whole store like a searchlight. Shelves stood in rows, tools complete—this was an excellent initial stronghold, and… a temporary prison.

"Wang Hu, Li Siwen, dispose of that." Chen Mo pointed at the corpse that had been gnawed on, his voice flat, "Move it to the innermost corner and cover it with canvas."

Wang Hu and Li Siwen turned pale, their stomachs churning, but under Chen Mo's indisputable gaze they staggered forward, suppressing strong nausea as they dragged the heavy corpse.

"You, go see if there are any first-aid kits, gauze, alcohol, that sort of thing." Chen Mo told the middle-aged woman. She shuddered in fright, nodded repeatedly, and hurriedly rummaged through the shelves.

The shop clerk still gripped the wrench tightly, warily watching Chen Mo.

Chen Mo walked up to him, extended his hand: "Give me the wrench, you go fetch the fire axe and those few solid steel pipes from the shelves over there."

The shop clerk instinctively pulled the wrench back a bit.

Chen Mo's eyes turned cold; his enhanced keen sense of smell could clearly detect the fear sweat emanating from the other. "Either cooperate, or I'll throw you out now to feed those monsters. Choose."

His tone was flat, yet carried a killing aura honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The clerk's body trembled, his face turned deathly pale, and he eventually shuddered as he handed over the wrench, then staggered to fetch the fire axe and steel pipes.

Chen Mo took the wrench, feeling its solid weight, far more reliable than that hollow metal display rack. He casually tossed the rack aside.

Su Yu silently walked to the rack holding the blades and took the gardening machete she had earlier eyed. The blade was about forty centimeters long, with a slight curve, its edge flashing cold light; the wooden handle felt comfortable in the hand. She tested its weight, then found a suitable leather sheath to hang at her waist and slipped the machete in. Though her motions were still a bit clumsy, her gaze had become much more resolute.

Soon, the shop clerk returned clutching the fire axe and several solid steel pipes over a meter long.

Chen Mo took the fire axe, its heavy head giving a reassuring weight. He distributed the steel pipes to Zhang Yang, Li Siwen, and Wang Hu: "Use these; they're stronger than your previous fire sticks."

The three took the steel pipes, feeling them cold and heavy in hand; after a few swings they indeed felt more grounded.

At that moment, the middle-aged woman also found a household first-aid kit and handed it over.

Chen Mo took it and directly shoved it to Su Yu: "You're in charge of keeping it and treating wounds."

After a quick inventory and gear update, the hardware store fell into an eerie quiet. Only the distant monster howls and continual explosions outside reminded them of their situation.

"What… what do we do next? Keep hiding in here?" Li Siwen pushed up his glasses, his voice tinged with hope.

"Hide?" Chen Mo walked to the gap in the rolling shutter and peered outside, "Food and water are limited here. Hiding only leads to a dead end."

His gaze was sharp; his enhanced 【Keen Sense of Smell】 could detect more— the foul trails left by monster activity outside, and… further away, some faint, human-like "fresh" scent. There might be other survivors, or… it could be a trap.

"We must take the initiative." Chen Mo turned to face everyone, "Hunt isolated monsters, gain experience, level up, gather more supplies and information. Only by becoming stronger can we survive."

"But outside…" Wang Hu stared at the blood-colored world beyond the slit, his chubby face full of fear.

"No buts." Chen Mo cut him off, "We're a team now; if we want to live, we must follow orders. I'll lead, but you all must fight too."

He looked at Su Yu: "Your perception might be special; keep watch for any abnormalities around, especially…" He paused, not explicitly saying that 【???】 marker, "any unusual movement or sound."

Su Yu nodded and gripped the handle of her machete at her waist.

Chen Mo then looked at Zhang Yang and the two others: "You three will take turns guarding the gap, in pairs; report immediately if a few monsters approach, and if a large group appears, sound the alarm and prepare for battle."

After the simple division of labor was made clear, Chen Mo began reinforcing defenses with available materials. He used the found steel wire and iron chains to connect several heavy cargo containers to the inside of the rolling shutter, raising the difficulty of breaking in. He also had people scatter some nails and screws on the inner side of the doorway floor as a makeshift obstruction.

Time passed in tension and unease. During this period, a few demonized hounds drawn by the scent of living people inside lingered at the entrance, all spotted promptly by those on watch. Chen Mo didn't waste the chance, using the gap or briefly opening the door to strike out, quickly dispatching them and gaining twenty experience points; unfortunately, 【Death Echo】 still did not trigger. It seems low-level demonized hounds can offer only limited skills, or the probability is indeed low.

Su Yu carefully used the found rag and a little water to clean the blood off everyone's weapons and bodies, preventing the smell from becoming too strong and attracting more monsters.

About an hour and a half later, just as everyone's spirits began to relax——

"Mo, Mo-ge!" the on-duty guard Zhang Yang suddenly lowered his voice, a hint of tension in it, "Situation! Not monsters… but a few people! They're running toward us!"

Chen Mo immediately rushed to the edge of the gap.

At the far end of the street, three disheveled figures were desperately sprinting toward the hardware store—two men and one woman, all wounded, clothes torn, faces etched with terror. Behind them, four swift demonized hounds gave chase, and further back loomed a creature noticeably larger, its body covered in rough bone armor, like a miniature tank!

"Survivors!" Li Siwen exclaimed softly.

"What's that behind them? Looks really hard!" Wang Hu's voice trembled.

Chen Mo's eyes narrowed. The Bone-Armored Boar, considered a minor elite monster in the early stages of his previous life, had astonishing defense; for them, now mostly level 1 with crude equipment, it was extremely troublesome.

The three survivors also saw the hardware store with its rolling shutter half-open, like a beacon of salvation, and ran even harder, shouting hoarsely: "Save us! Save us! Open the door!"

"What should we do? Open the door?" Zhang Yang looked at Chen Mo, voice urgent.

Opening the door could invite wolves in, and more importantly mean facing that Bone-Armored Boar head-on. Not opening it, those three would surely die, and their screams and blood would likely draw even more trouble.

Su Yu also looked at Chen Mo, her eyes complex—filled with sympathy and worry.

In a flash, Chen Mo made his decision.

"Prepare to meet them! Su Yu, take this and aim at that big one behind, disrupt it!" Chen Mo quickly shoved the large wrench the clerk had earlier into Su Yu's hands—this thing packed a punch when thrown. "Zhang Yang, Li Siwen, Wang Hu, come with me, take out those four hounds! Quick and decisive!"

He yanked the rolling shutter up hard.

"Hurry in!" Chen Mo roared at the three sprinting survivors.

The three, like drowning men clutching at straws, tumbled and scrambled into the store, collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily, their faces full of the relief of having survived.

But at that moment, those four demonized hounds had already lunged up close!

Kill!

Chen Mo let out a low growl, the fire axe in his hand whistling with a vicious wind as he swung! He held nothing back, directly activating 【Corrosive Toxic Saliva】!

A faint greenish gloom seemed to coat the axe blade.

"Pfft!"

One axe strike precisely cleaved a demonized hound's skull, inflicting massive trauma; the accompanying corrosive and neurotoxic effects made the hound emit a painful wail, its movements instantly stiffening considerably.

Chen Mo didn't pause, sidestepping to avoid another's lunge, then swung the axe handle sideways, smashing it away.

Zhang Yang, Li Siwen, and Wang Hu also gathered courage, following their earlier drill: backs together, they thrust and swung the solid steel pipes at the oncoming hounds. Though their motions were clumsy, the pipes' weight meant blows to the hounds broke bones and tendons, barely holding them off for a moment.

At that moment, Su Yu drew a deep breath, lifted the heavy wrench, aimed at the Bone-Armored Boar rumbling forward, and hurled it with force!

The wrench sliced through the air with a whoosh, striking precisely the bone-armored head of the Bone-Armored Boar!

"Clang!"

A clear ringing sound rang out, sparks scattering.

The bone-armored tusk boar's charge stalled slightly, it let out an angry roar, its scarlet small eyes instantly locked onto Su Yu who had thrown the wrench!

It abandoned pursuing the few survivors, turning toward the hardware store entrance, charging at Chen Mo and the three others who had just jointly killed the last demonic hound!

The ground trembled slightly; its aura far surpassed that of the demonic hound!

"Retreat! Fall back quickly!" Chen Mo bellowed, yet he himself stepped forward, gripping the firefighter axe with both hands, his eyes locked on the charging bone-armored tusk boar.

He knew he couldn't let it charge into the store; otherwise, in the cramped space, everyone would be in danger!

It must be stopped!

The firefighter axe is ineffective against such heavy-armored units, but he had no choice!

The bone-armored tusk boar charged like an out-of-control truck, its tusks flashing with cold light as it slammed into Chen Mo!

At that critical moment, Chen Mo didn't meet it head-on but displayed superhuman agility and combat sense! He rolled sharply to the front‑side, narrowly avoiding the frontal impact, and using the momentum of the roll, he brought the firefighter axe down hard on the boar's relatively vulnerable hind‑leg joint.

"Roar!"

The bone-armored tusk boar winced in pain, its charge interrupted, its body staggered.

Chen Mo pressed his advantage, rose instantly, and swung the axe again at the same spot!

"Clang!"

The axe blade struck the bone armor but failed to breach the defense, leaving only a white mark!

What hard bone armor!

The bone-armored tusk boar, now fully enraged, swung its body around and brought its thick hooves down to trample Chen Mo!

Chen Mo kept retreating, dodging the violent assaults; the firefighter axe clanged against the bone armor but could not inflict effective damage. At this rate, he would be worn down to death!

At that moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of nails and small parts scattered across the store entrance.

An idea flashed through his mind.

He deliberately exposed an opening to lure the bone-armored tusk boar into lowering its head and charging again.

As the bone-armored tusk boar lowered its head to charge, Chen Mo darted sideways and kicked up a large screwdriver lying on the ground!

The screwdriver spun, flying true into the boar's exposed eye—unprotected by bone armor—because it had lowered its head!

"Pfft—!"

A soft sound accompanied the bone-armored tusk boar's piercing, agonized howl!

The screwdriver plunged deep into its eyeball!

Green blood mixed with murky fluid spurted out!

Opportunity!

Chen Mo's eyes flashed with cold light; he poured his full strength into his arms, raised the firefighter axe high, and brought it down with all his might onto the boar's throat—raised in pain and relatively vulnerable.

"Die!"

【Corrosive Toxic Saliva】cooldown just finished, reactivated!

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a grating bone‑crack and the sound of flesh tearing, the firefighter axe sank deep into the boar's neck!

Potent corrosion and toxin were instantly injected!

The bone-armored tusk boar's massive frame convulsed violently, it crashed to the ground, its limbs twitched a few times, then lay still.

【Successfully killed LV. 3 Bone‑Armored Tusk Boar, gained 80 experience points!】

【Level increased to 3!】

【Death Echo triggered! Successfully copied skill: Bone Armor (LV. 1)!】

【Bone Armor (LV. 1): Active skill. Consumes a certain amount of energy to generate a temporary bony armor on the body surface, boosting physical defense for 30 seconds, cooldown 5 minutes.】

A surge of heat, far richer than when he killed the demonic hound, flowed through his body, settled, and formed a new skill imprint; simultaneously, a faint but clearly visible gray‑white bony layer flickered across his skin.

Success! And he copied an excellent defensive skill!

Chen Mo leaned on the firefighter axe, breathing slightly, gazing at the boar's corpse on the ground, his heart exhilarated. This skill could be called a lifesaver in the early stages!

Inside and outside the store, all was silent.

Everyone stared agape at Chen Mo, at the figure who had single‑handedly slain the terrifying monster.

Su Yu's eyes shone with varied colors; her grip on the machete whitened her knuckles from the force.

Zhang Yang and the three others were filled with awe and lingering fear.

And the three survivors who had just been rescued looked at Chen Mo as if beholding a deity.

Chen Mo caught his breath, walked to the boar's corpse, split the bone armor at the junction of its skull and spine with the axe, and painstakingly dug out a white crystal about the size of an egg, emitting a faint energy fluctuation.

【Inferior Demon Core (LV. 3)】

This is the energy core inside a demonic creature; in his previous life it served as hard currency.

He put the demon core away, then turned his gaze to the three newly rescued survivors still shaken, his eyes calm and deep.

"Now, tell me your situation. And what is it like outside right now?"

He knew this temporary safety was merely an illusion. Greater dangers, and the truth of this Apocalypse Game, lay hidden beyond the blood‑colored mist, waiting for him to uncover. And the 【???】 mark on Su Yu's body, like a compass of fate, faintly pointed toward the unknown depths.