Chapter 285: Foot of the Void

Guesthouse top floor.

Under the night, Lin An clung to the key for a long time, unable to let go.

Gao Tian beside him dared not disturb, so he stood silently in place, waiting patiently.

Thinking in his heart, he felt doubtful and uneasy.

Is it a conflict between the two systems?

Or did I mishear...

If following Chu An's speculation, the Savior System is like a cheat; logically, it should not actively expose itself.

Even in Colonel Chu An's speculation, the system on him has been silently helping him conceal his tracks.

While giving generous rewards, it also deliberately suppresses his strength.

All so that the system would not detect any abnormality.

Just like Huang Shaohua, who was punished by the Doomsday System.

The fate of being detected by the Doomsday System is eradication.

The white fire burning deep from the soul starkly reveals the Doomsday System's cruelty toward rule-breakers.

Huang Shaohua was merely \"stuck\" at the edge of the forbidden word and almost died, let alone actually exposing himself.

Has something unknown happened, or what?

If I didn't mishear, the Savior System would rather forcibly oppose the system and disguise itself as a global announcement...

For what?

To raise his reputation? To establish his status as number one worldwide?

Various possibilities lingered in his mind, yet no evidence pointed to the correct answer.

Too little information, no way to start.

Lin An missed Chu An's presence for the first time.

If Colonel Chu An were here, with his reasoning ability, he could at least help share some of the problems...

Lin An couldn't help but wryly smile, stopped thinking further, and focused his mind into the light screen.

Such secrecy at this level cannot be guessed; it's better to solidly take each step.

On the light screen floated a key, a pair of boots, a set of scale armor, a slender iron nail, and a skill book, slowly drifting and rotating.

As for the material 【Leaping Corpse Tendon】, Lin An tossed it into the ring, too lazy to check.

Besides the key being the so-called 'system' reward, everything else came from the High Nailer's drops.

Two pieces of blue equipment, one piece of white equipment, plus a skill book.

It cannot be called not generous; it is worthy of being the product of consuming a Fusion Heart.

"Soul Key (A-rank, reward from the global first second-level Awakened One)"

"Soul Key: Use to briefly open one of the third-level gene locks (Power Lock, Speed Lock, Will Lock, Life Lock)"

"Note: After breaking a gene lock beyond one's level, there is a certain probability of gene collapse upon use ending; please use with caution."

"Remark: A key from the rules can forcibly break the gene limit. After breaking, when formally opening a gene lock, it can reduce mutation risk by 25%."

The key made of transparent crystal is only finger-sized, with internal twisted fluff resembling gene structure slowly rotating.

It is actually a prop for forcibly unlocking gene locks?

Lin An's heart jolted, and he was speechless for a moment.

Can this key let me prematurely feel the power of the third level?!

The terror of the third level is far more than simply raising one level.

If we equate the strength of first- and second-level Awakened Ones with conventional weapons, at best they resemble low-end tactical missiles.

Then the third level, at minimum, equals strategic-level weapons.

A single person slaughtering a city, resisting a ten-thousand-strong army, is merely easy.

Sea-of-people tactics will be completely ineffective before the third level.

There are five gene locks; a normal third-level Awakened One opening any one is already terrifying.

Take opening the Speed Lock as an example.

Before opening the Speed Lock, no matter how high the agility attribute, one cannot break the sound barrier, nor can agility be increased at all.

But as long as a third-level Awakened One opens the Speed Lock, even the lowest speed can easily exceed 1 Mach (kilometers per hour).

If one is outstanding, possessing talent or equipment for speed, breaking 5 Mach is also not difficult.

Meanwhile, the fastest muzzle velocity of a rifle bullet is only 1 to 2 Mach.

This means a third-level Awakened One who has unlocked the Speed Lock can even run alongside a bullet the moment it leaves the barrel!

As for supersonic cruise missiles.

Given the Awakened One's agility far surpassing any mechanical construct, basically no missile can hit him.

Especially after the apocalypse, most electronic equipment fails, lacking tracking and guidance means.

Exaggerating a bit, even if a nuclear bomb were detonated above a third-level Awakened One's head, as long as not at the blast center, such Awakened Ones have a high chance of directly running out of the nuclear explosion radius.

This is why Lin An has always believed that only the third level counts as a true powerhouse, possessing self-defense capability.

A powerful third-level Awakened One can kill weaklings in swaths merely by the sonic boom from sprinting.

The so-called sea-of-people tactic is nothing more than running a few extra laps.

After reviewing his past life's memories of the third level, Lin An's heart surged with excitement.

Facing the upcoming corpse tide assault, his confidence in holding the line increased by more than double.

The system explicitly said it would not arrange a third-level attack; if there were ever a danger of being overrun, he could simply open the gene lock.

Even a weak burst of third-level power cannot be matched by the second level!

As for the side effects, Lin An didn't pay too much attention.

Everything comes with a cost, and moreover, unlocking early also greatly helps later when formally unlocking the gene lock.

Seeing Lin An's face lit up with joy, Gao Tian couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.

Seeing Lin An silent for a while, he thought something had happened.

Just that.

The earlier anomaly in the high sky still left him with lingering fear, and yet Lin Dui is clearly the world's first Second Level—so why did the system strangely 'deny' it?

Could the system be suppressing Lin Dui?

Strangely, this idea rose in his mind unbidden, to the point that even he found it unbelievable.

Right now.

Lin An was checking his equipment, and for a moment he didn't dare ask further.

「Void Foot (Blue equipment, foot gear)」

「Equipment attributes: Agility +2, movement speed increased 20%, jump height increased 50%, direction-changing efficiency increased 30%. 」

「Equipment effect: Void Step, after activating the Void Step skill, you can consume spiritual power to freely change direction in the air. Continuously consuming spiritual power allows brief Void Control. 」

「Equipment description: A talent from the Sky Nailers, never used before. 」

? ？？

Lin An didn't quite understand the equipment description for a moment, and after a while he somewhat amusingly looked at the corpse of the monster beneath his feet.

Never used before...

Combining the equipment's Void Control effect, he realized this monster might also be able to fly briefly.

Unfortunately, the instant it hatched, it didn't even move before he blew its head apart...

Originally Lin An thought this monster was too easy to kill; after all, it was a fused mutant, and didn't seem formidable.

Only now did he understand the reason.

It turns out the monster hadn't even had a chance to activate its ability before its legs hadn't moved and it died.

If the monster could speak, it would probably shout before dying: 'Sneak attack! No honor!'

Sky Nailers are obviously agility-type mutants, paired with the Void Control attribute...

If I hadn't killed it instantly at first sight, I'd probably have a headache.

A monster that moves at high speed in the air and occasionally spits spikes is hardly different from a fighter jet.

But since it's dead, Lin An looks forward to the Void Control trait.

Without hesitation, after equipping the Void Foot, the thin, cicada-wing-like insubstantial gear felt as if it were invisible on his feet.

The speed was noticeably much faster, even feeling as if he had lost all weight.

Lin An ignored the high sky ahead and stepped forward.

Behind him, Gao Tian stared in shock, almost crying out.

Is Lin Dui going to jump off the building? Although this height wouldn't kill him, Lin An's manner looked exactly like he wasn't watching where he was going.

「Void Step! 」

Before he could say anything, he saw Lin An's figure, which had just fallen halfway down, suddenly flicker back and forth as if stepping on air.

In less than a second, he shot up to a height of a hundred meters.

Beneath his feet, Gao Tian stared blankly at the man hovering in midair.

Behind Lin An, the blocked moonlight was crimson.

His steps were slow, as if he were walking upon the celestial stairs from the night sky.