Chapter 19: Black Iron Chest, Fine Steel Sword

"As the first player to kill a Level 3 monster."

"You have received a Black Iron Chest."

That’s it? Just this? Where’s the reward for a level-skipping first kill?

Is this reward nonexistent, or was it taken by someone else first?

Fang Shi was filled with regret; he had a strong feeling it was very likely taken by someone else.

It was already the third day of the apocalypse; surviving humans must have already organized themselves.

Before individual strength diverged significantly, large organizations were powerful, and with their numbers, they might have already achieved a level-skipping first kill.

Even without many people, some traps could accomplish it.

Fortunately, no one had yet claimed the reward for the first Level 3 kill.

So it seems the level-skipping kill was of a Level 2 monster—meaning the reward for the first Level 2 kill was also taken.

"Forget it, don’t push too hard; the level-skipping first kill reward was probably just something like a Black Iron Chest."

"At most, a Bronze Chest."

"Black Iron Chests only drop equipment matching the character’s level, and offer no particularly good rewards."

"Bronze Chest equipment is slightly better in quality than Black Iron Chest equipment."

"After all, level-skipping kills aren’t that difficult; it’s class-skipping kills that are hard."

"The reward for a class-skipping kill is definitely worth an attribute point."

Fang Shi comforted himself: since it had already happened, better to focus on securing the next first kill than dwell in regret.

Still, he was somewhat surprised—apparently, each level’s first kill had its own reward.

So this time, at least, he had gained something.

But what about the reward for the first Level 1 kill?

Fang Shi thought again: he had been the first to open his attribute panel—wasn’t that the first Level 1 kill?

Since no reward appeared, it was very likely merged into the reward for being the first to open the attribute panel.

No wonder such a reward, involving a degree of luck, was so valuable—it granted a random attribute point directly.

Now it was time to test his luck.

The area chest Fang Shi had long dreamed of was, in reality, just a subpar Black Iron Chest.

If not for his bad luck, constantly failing to encounter Level 2 Elite Corpsewalkers,

he would have had the strength to obtain the area chest back when he leveled up to 2 yesterday.

But it wasn’t too late now; compared to area chests, which randomly drop food, medicine, and other materials,

a Black Iron Chest always drops equipment matching the character’s level.

There’s a saying: System-made items are always top quality.

The equipment from a Black Iron Chest wasn’t necessarily outstanding,

but for Fang Shi at this stage, it was absolutely vital.

Fang Shi most wanted to obtain a weapon suited to him; for enemy attacks, he could dodge using experience and agility.

But his own attacks were different—a good weapon could kill in one strike, conserve stamina, expand battlefield gains, and enable effective parries.

Moreover, against monsters with high defense, if he couldn’t break through, no matter how skilled his techniques, they’d be useless.

As Fang Shi focused his mind, the Black Iron Chest on his attribute panel trembled.

After shaking for about five seconds,

a long sword forged from fine steel appeared in the chest’s place.

"Son of a bitch!"

Fang Shi cursed inwardly—he got a weapon, but why was it a sword?

It left him slightly frustrated; he’d have preferred a greatsword, or even a staff.

It wasn’t that Fang Shi looked down on swords; it was that in combat against monsters, swords were less effective than blades or staves.

Swords have edges on both sides, seemingly offering dual attack potential,

but in reality, they weaken weapon durability and momentum; without advanced sword techniques, ordinary users were better off swinging a greatsword wildly.

Honestly, Fang Shi wasn’t skilled in swordplay; before his rebirth, the environment

didn’t allow him to learn such an indulgent art.

Yes, indulgent—sword weapons required considerable training time to become truly effective.

And in the apocalypse, time was the scarcest resource.

Danger lurked everywhere; if progress was slow, he might not see tomorrow’s sun.

To maximize combat power as quickly as possible, Fang Shi had focused on blade techniques before his rebirth.

His panel still had numerous proficiencies enhancing blade damage.

That’s why, after rebirth, he handled his cleaver so naturally.

Now he had a sword—while it didn’t outright weaken his combat power, it was far from ideal.

"Fine Steel Sword"

"Hardness: 10"

"Sharpness: 5"

"Durability: 10"

"Damage Type: Slashing / Piercing"

"Damage Range: 1d8"

"Critical Range: 18–20 / ×2"

"Weight: 1500 grams"

"Type: One-handed"

"Evaluation: This is a sword that can slice through iron as if it were mud."

"Forget it, I’ll use the sword for now—I’ll just chop with it like a blade. At least the system’s weapons are tougher than my cleaver."

Fang Shi glanced at the weapon’s stats and sighed.

Regardless, a sword was still a weapon—better than his nearly broken cleaver.

In Huaxia, swords and blades were tightly regulated; if his cleaver broke and the Black Iron Chest didn’t drop another weapon,

Fang Shi wouldn’t know where to find a weapon with both hardness and sharpness.

If his cleaver broke and no weapon dropped at all, that would be the greatest blow to his combat power.

Moreover, Fang Shi harbored a quiet ambition.

Since he’d been reborn, why repeat the same path? Couldn’t he walk a better one?

The weapon path of a Martial Master wasn’t so simple.

Using a sword wasn’t just about looking cool—it could lead to a transformation into a Swordsman, Sword Saint, Sword God, and ultimately, a Sword Immortal who roamed the azure heavens.

Riding swords through the air, snatching heads from a thousand li away—those were basic skills.

A single sword’s light chilling nineteen continents—that was true mastery.

Of course, this was merely one of Fang Shi’s future development plans.

In the apocalypse’s harsh environment, key items for transformation were hard to obtain.

Even with his rebirth experience, he couldn’t guarantee success with certainty.

Still, even if hard to get, he’d give it his all.

Unless Fang Shi was content with mediocrity and refused to transform entirely.

He glanced at the 732 experience points on his attribute panel.

"Soon. Very soon, I’ll reach Level 3."

…

"Hurry, move it!"

On the rooftop, Fang Shi urged Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan.

It was already past six; the sunset bathed the earth in gold, the entire city bathed in amber light.

Nightfall was only an hour away.

Under Fang Shi’s pressure, Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan were exhausted, their clothes soaked in sweat, then dried under the sun.

White salt crystals clung to their backs, glinting in the sunset.

Even though both had undergone attribute enhancement, this level of physical labor was nearly at their limit.

After Fang Shi killed the Level 3 Elite Corpsewalker, he immediately came down to push Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan to work.

Upon hearing Xiao Xi’s request to open the attribute panel, he didn’t hesitate—he smashed open a house and dragged out a Corpsewalker for Xiao Xi to kill.

Xiao Xi was initially deeply moved, thinking Fang Shi was cold on the outside but kind inside.

But his next actions made Xiao Xi scream: "Demon!"

Fang Shi knew exactly the limits of 10 Strength; every time he looted, he pushed them to their absolute limits.

He worked alongside them, acting as supervisor, preventing even the slightest laziness.

When they could no longer go on, he tied them up to prevent escape attempts.

Then he returned to the rooftop to farm Corpsewalkers.

He repeated this cycle several times; Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan were nearly broken.

"Big brother, my good big brother, spare us—we can’t take it anymore!" Xiao Xi croaked.

During this time, she cried more than once, but Fang Shi’s heart was stone and utterly unmoved.

Zhai Yan, who could comfort her, was himself a laborer and could not solve the problem—only offer helpless outbursts.

“This is the last time. After this, you’ll be free, and I won’t bind you anymore.”

Fang Shi’s eyes held a flicker of urgency, but his tone was utterly firm.

Hearing Fang Shi’s promise, Zhai Yan hurriedly asked, “Really? Big Brother, you won’t lie to us, will you?”

No wonder Zhai Yan doubted him—during this period, Fang Shi’s methods were even more capitalist than the capitalists.

“Never!” Fang Shi said decisively.

Once it’s 7:30, the alien creatures will emerge from the spatial rift—what use will you be then?

So far, Fang Shi had accumulated only 2,607 experience points.

He was still nearly 400 points short of leveling up.

He had overestimated the number of zombies on the streets; the farther he went, the fewer he attracted.

First, the apocalypse began at 7 p.m., when most people were at home and the streets were nearly empty.

Second, some zombies had died during the initial golden ten minutes, and later, some survivors had hunted them down.

This forced Fang Shi to spend more time and energy luring monsters.

He didn’t understand where the countless zombies in the movies came from.

Especially in foreign countries, where population density was far lower than in Huaguo.

If he didn’t improve efficiency, he might not gather enough experience to reach Level 3 before the spatial rift opened.

As a result, Fang Shi resorted to extreme measures, squeezing Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan as much as possible.

And Fang Shi himself did not slack off—even when Xiao Xi and Zhai Yan rested.

He was clearing zombies, luring them, pulling them, and emptying rooms of corpses, never once letting up.

Even so, he still hadn’t gathered enough experience to level up.

Fang Shi was somewhat grateful to the unknown survivor who had lured the zombies over.

If not for her recklessness, which had drawn a massive horde at the start, his current shortfall would be at least two or three hundred points higher.

“That’s wonderful!” Xiao Xi cheered, working with renewed vigor.

She had decided that once free, she and Zhai Yan would climb over the wall and find a room to hide in.

What if tomorrow this demon started forcing them to work again?

Working for this demon was worse than fighting zombies.

Fang Shi looked at the two joyful figures and shook his head helplessly.

Once, he had been just as naive—after surviving the Law Transformation, he thought the apocalypse was merely zombies.

He believed that by eliminating zombies, humanity could rebuild its glorious civilization.

As for the monsters appearing at night, he thought they were just a curfew.

He assumed that once humanity organized itself and grew stronger, they would eventually find a way to destroy them.

But he never expected those monsters, which only appeared at night, to show up in broad daylight on the fourth day of the apocalypse.

The alien creatures emerging from the spatial rift once again shattered humanity’s fragile order.