Chapter 13: Specialization Reward: Fang

“Thud.”

Fang Shi leaned against the security door, gripping the meat cleaver tightly, breathing slowly and rhythmically, inhaling and exhaling in a steady pattern.

This was the breathing technique he had learned before his rebirth, used to restore his physical fatigue.

This breathing technique was the most valuable thing Fang Shi had obtained before his rebirth, costing him a full thousand gold coins.

Gold coins were currency re-cast after human settlements were established, using supernatural forces, said to possess mysterious power.

In terms of purchasing power, one gold coin equaled one hundred yuan from before the apocalypse; a thousand gold coins equaled one hundred thousand yuan.

Most importantly, purchasing the breathing technique required signing a soul contract, forbidding any external transmission.

It could not be resold to recoup costs, or the soul would be torn apart by the contract’s power.

Even after his rebirth, Fang Shi had no intention of revealing it to anyone.

The anomaly in his attribute points proved he was a soul-reborn individual; the contract’s power still resided within his soul.

Before he gained sufficient strength, he dared not attempt to defy the contract’s power.

“Under the effect of an unknown technique, your stamina has slightly recovered.”

…

“Under the effect of an unknown technique, your stamina has slightly recovered.”

…

“Under the effect of an unknown technique, your stamina has slightly recovered.”

“After continuous use, have you created a new specialization??? (I)? Please name it.”

“As the first player to create a specialization, you have received a ??? (I) Tier I reward.”

“After continuous use, you have attained a new specialization??? (I).”

“As the first player to attain a specialization, you have received a ??? (I) Tier I reward.”

Is this even possible?

Fang Shi’s heart swelled with joy—he had never received such treatment in his past life, let alone encountered four rewards in a row.

Moreover, this reward was entirely accidental.

His original intent was merely to use the breathing technique to restore stamina, preparing for any imminent threat.

Unexpectedly, he had become the first player to create and attain a specialization.

In his past life, he had spent three full days just to turn the breathing technique into a specialization, so he had never considered profiting from it.

Fang Shi’s original plan had been to leverage his 19 Perception and rich combat experience to attain Weakness Insight during battle.

Thus securing the reward for being the first to attain a specialization.

But fate had other plans—the breathing technique became the first specialization ever created and attained.

“Naming successful: ??? (I) → Fang’s Breathing Technique I.”

“Reward distribution in progress: Fang’s Breathing Technique I → Fang’s Breathing Technique II.”

“Reward distribution in progress: Fang’s Breathing Technique II → Fang’s Breathing Technique III.”

“Ah!”

Fang Shi groaned, gritting his teeth, one hand gripping the door handle, the other still clutching the meat cleaver.

At this moment, every muscle in his body contracted and expanded continuously, like a wriggling eel.

Inside him, his blood surged violently, muscle fibers shattered and reformed, fat broke down—pain like knives twisting through his insides.

A mysterious force continuously optimized Fang Shi’s bodily structure, enhancing his physical capacity.

The pain came swiftly but lingered long, lasting a full half-hour.

In the end, Fang Shi was drenched as if pulled from water, his skin flushed red, veins bulging, nearly drained of all strength.

Yet, a radiant smile appeared on his face.

“【Fang’s Breathing Technique III】: This is an advanced training method. After prolonged practice, your stamina recovery speed increases. (Stamina recovery speed +30%)”

“Through cultivating Fang’s Breathing Technique III, your attributes have been completed.”

“Your Strength has gained permanent increase: 12 → 15.”

“Your Agility has gained permanent increase: 14 → 15.”

“Your Constitution has gained permanent increase: 12 → 15.”

»

“Good! Good!”

Feeling the power surging within his body, even though he remained weak, Fang Shi couldn’t help but cheer.

What the breathing technique had been called before no longer mattered.

What mattered was that in this life, he was the first to cultivate it, the first to name it—calling it Fang’s Breathing Technique was perfectly fitting.

In his past life, Fang Shi had labored for two full years just to reach the fourth level.

As a result, his Strength attribute could never surpass 20 through self-cultivation alone—he had been forced to beg for free attribute points.

Now, after claiming just two rewards, Fang’s Breathing Technique had already reached the third level.

Most importantly, it even granted attribute completion.

He needed no further time to train—it was as if he had personally trained hard to reach the third level himself.

With just a little more training, he would surpass the achievements of his past life.

At that time, his total attributes would exceed those of his reborn self.

If this continued, there was no reason he couldn’t reach the third tier—becoming a legendary fourth-tier powerhouse was no longer a fantasy.

“Name: Fang Shi”

“Race: Human”

“Attributes: Strength 15, Agility 15, Constitution 15, Intelligence 14, Perception 19, Charm 15”

“Class: Level 1 Martial Master”

“Health: 15/15”

“Experience: 280”

“Attribute Points: 0”

“Survival Points: 39”

“Race Specialization: Versatile I”

“Life Skills: Focus 12, Reading People 6, Science 14, Mathematics 12, Chinese 15, English 10, Finance 13, Computer 9, Cooking 8, Driving 6”

“Class Skills: Stealth 8, Hiding 10, Listening 10, Surveying 12, Rolling 15, Taunt 6, Medicine 10, Jumping 14, Intimidate 7, Swimming 6, Climbing 6, Spell Identification 5, Wilderness Survival 10, Throwing 12, Estimation 2, Balance 2, Deception 2, Focus 2, Craftsmanship 2…”

“Personal Specializations: Iron Will I, Athlete I, Excellent Memory I, Resilience I, Natural Armor I, Fang’s Breathing Technique III”

“Class Specializations: Windstorm Combo I, Unarmed Attack I, Steel Bones I, Shatter Fist I”

Fang Shi’s current physical condition could rightly be called the pinnacle of human potential.

And it was exceptionally balanced—those stronger than him in Strength didn't necessarily have equal Constitution or Agility.

Those superior in Constitution or Agility didn't necessarily have greater Strength.

Coupled with his chain of specializations, he could honestly be called one of the most formidable humans alive.

This starting point was vastly superior to his past life.

In his past life, even though his physical condition surpassed that of sedentary office workers,

in reality, anyone who successfully killed a single zombie, unlocked their attribute panel, could use attribute completion to raise Strength, Agility, and Constitution to 10.

Fang Shi’s two-point advantage in Strength was negligible.

Twelve Strength was stronger than ten, but against a fully developed twelve-Strength zombie, the difference was minimal.

To reach Level 2, cooperation was still essential—1,000 experience points was no joke.

That meant killing at least a hundred zombies.

This wasn’t a computer game where clicking a mouse sufficed.

In computer games, injury merely reduced a health bar.

In reality, every action consumed stamina, required eating and sleeping.

And once injured, one needed recovery time—combat effectiveness dropped, hunting became impossible, and escape during danger was out of the question.

Thus, an ordinary person needed roughly ten days to reach Level 2.

All of this assumed sufficient luck.

If one accidentally got injured—or worse, surrounded by zombies—it wasn’t about leveling up anymore, but about survival.

Based on Fang Shi’s original attributes, specializations, and past-life experience, taking on a single zombie was no challenge; three or five were manageable.

But beyond that, it became dangerous—not because he couldn’t win, but because in the apocalypse, conserving strength was vital to avoid being caught unprepared by sudden threats.

Now, he could handle at least ten at once.

Thus, Fang Shi’s plan needed adjustment. Originally, he intended to pick locks and climb to search house by house for isolated zombies.

Zombies couldn’t pick locks—they were trapped inside homes.

His residential complex was an old neighborhood, mostly six-story buildings.

Each building had four units, totaling ninety-six households.

Fang Shi only needed to find sixty-nine zombies to reach a hundred kills and level up to Level 2.

Even if that wasn’t enough, tackling one more building would be effortless.

This method was extremely inefficient, but it was safe.

Now, with his boosted attributes, Fang Shi was confident enough to hunt on the streets.

Although it’s easy to be surrounded by shamblers, it doesn’t matter—there are buildings everywhere along the streets.

With Fang Shi’s physical strength and his 6-point climbing skill, he can easily climb into an upper-floor building before being surrounded and escape the encirclement.

After all, shamblers can’t climb, and there are far fewer of them inside a single building than on the street.

But this plan can’t be carried out until tomorrow morning.

Right now, Fang Shi most needs rest—he hadn’t eaten dinner to begin with, and after the killing and transformation, he was already ravenously hungry and utterly exhausted.

His combat power has plummeted; going out now would be suicide.

As he returned home, he also picked up his takeout.

Even if the takeout was somewhat damaged, Fang Shi didn’t care.

What time is it now? There’s no room for pickiness.

He had no food at home, and going out again to search would be far too dangerous.

After all, in his past life, he’d endured every kind of environment—in the wild, to survive, he’d eaten insects and rats.

These takeouts were merely slightly damaged packaging and a bit of spilled food.

It didn’t affect eating or drinking at all; compared to the terrible rations of his past life, this was already far better.

At this moment, night fell completely, and the bright moonlight spilled onto the ground.

In a city without light pollution, it appeared exceptionally clear.

Shadows flitted constantly through the sky above the city, darting between buildings and streets.

Occasional cries rang out—unlike the decayed, weak moans of shamblers, these were loud and powerful.

Fang Shi locked his doors and windows, drew the curtains, and ate by feel, accompanied by the occasional distant screams.

In this pitch-black environment, his eyes could barely make out shapes, yet he dared not pull back the curtains even slightly.

After global gamification, shamblers were merely the lowest rank.

Under the cover of night, there were even more dangerous monsters—true alien creatures.

And only three days remained before they fully descended.

Fang Shi needed to rapidly strengthen himself within these three days, or survival would become far more difficult.