【Successful evacuation. Synchronization terminated.】
【Side missions completed: None】
【No supplies found.】
【Achievement unlocked: Returning Empty-Handed】
……
Achievement: Returning Empty-Handed
Unlock: Complete evacuation without holding any supplies.
Reward: [Envy]
Note: Forgot? How did you not forget yourself too?
……
"Fuck!" Feng Xue, who had rage-quit, darkened. If he hadn't seen that he triggered an achievement, he would have already cursed out the designer who came up with this mechanic!
Only...
Name: Envy
Type: Trait
Quality: Purple (Rare)
Effect: When an item equipped with this trait is hit by a skill attack, it records that skill as an item skill. Once used, that skill disappears. Until then, the opponent cannot activate the corresponding skill. Only one recorded skill may exist at a time, and only one trait with the same name can be active simultaneously.
Note: Your skill is pretty useful. Let me borrow it for a bit.
……
"Fuck! Do purple traits only ever give trash?"
After reading through this purple trait, Feng Xue's already speechless mentality immediately exploded.
Objectively speaking, this [Envy] couldn't be called bad. If this were really a game, it might even be among the most popular.
But whether something is useful depends on the environment. Just like [Cheap Goods]—in a game, it would absolutely be a gutter-tier trait that no one used. But ever since transmigrating, he had survived on that trait.
And [Envy] was clearly a PvP trait. In an arena environment, slapping it on big equipment like shields and armor, it would be a spellcaster's nightmare. Even in PvE, it could be used to counter boss skills. But in this world, where could he find enemies that used skills?
He couldn't possibly sell skill-bearing prosthetics to enemies and then use this to mess with them, right? That would be too abstract!
Of course, if he forced it, it wasn't unusable. For example, making multiple skill prosthetics and alternating recordings to indirectly reduce the cooldown of long-CD skills, or increasing skill flexibility to avoid repeatedly swapping prosthetics.
But just for this kind of reason, wasting a precious trait slot—that was somewhat using something for the sake of using it.
Moreover, because this thing was an achievement reward, it couldn't be farmed repeatedly like [Hatred], so it didn't even have value as fodder.
"Speaking of which, both [Envy] and [Hatred] are purple traits that need to take a hit to trigger. Could they be part of a series? Hmm, the names are similar too! Like the Deadly Sins series or something?"
Feng Xue's mouth twisted, and he stopped worrying about it. He'd just wait until he saved up two more similar ones to fuse together and see if he could mutate something usable.
Of course, that was for later. Right now, the urgent matter was to go back to fighting underground.
Well, it was fortunate that this cheat only limited character creation and didn't limit the number of challenges. The screen simply went dark, and Feng Xue once again returned to the fighter registration desk, unsure of where exactly it was located. This time, Feng Xue didn't mess around. He just quickly walked up to the provocatively dressed young lady at the front desk and said:
"I want to participate in a boxing match."
His words were direct, and the lady didn't waste time either. She took out a number plate, asked if he had a record, then gave him a novice match tag with his alias written on it and had a staff member lead him to the preparation room.
It wasn't that she was careless—this was just how the Outlaw Zone operated. While serving as a playground and money pit for the wealthy, it was also a path to heaven for the poor to change their fate. In fact, it was the simplest one.
According to what Johnny had said before, any random Outlaw Zone had eighty to a hundred poor people smuggling in every day through various channels. Compared to those in the arena who were forced into death matches for various reasons, these people who fantasized about being noticed by some big shot to change their fate were clearly cheaper and safer—and also more desperate.
And among these people, compared to relying on channels like sex dolls to receive the affection of big shots, relying on fighting ability to attract the attention of gangs and mercenary groups was much more reliable.
"Kong Wu! Fighter Kong Wu! Is Fighter Kong Wu here?"
Suddenly, a clear voice rang by his ear. Feng Xue was taken aback before remembering this was the alias he had given this character. He immediately stepped forward.
"I'm here!"
The staff member heard him, glanced at him, then looked down and called a few more aliases. Once everyone was assembled, they began moving while saying:
"First, go to the entrance for a check. We just need to confirm you aren't carrying firearms. Novice matches don't have a cut. Contracts and whatnot can wait until after you've won three matches and are still willing to fight."
Feng Xue had already learned about these rules from Johnny. He walked through the detection equipment first, but the staff member was slightly startled—
"You're a Flesh Source?"
"Yeah." Feng Xue had no reason to lie here. After all, even if he didn't say it, his physical state couldn't be hidden.
Seeing him admit it, the staff member immediately cast the others aside and looked at Feng Xue with the eyes of someone who had found a treasure, saying somewhat excitedly:
"This gimmick is great. If you're confident, you can sign immediately. I can directly arrange a promotion match for you. If you win, you can skip straight to the intermediate matches. Plus you'll get one-thousandth of the total profit from each match you win. The first few matches might not be much, but once you..."
Facing the staff member's endless chatter, Feng Xue directly interrupted:
"What are the risks? And how are the schedules arranged?"
"The risk is that without a novice match assessment, we can't accurately gauge your strength. If you don't have the ability to advance to intermediate matches, the death rate will be high. Also, we're signing you early because you don't have active prosthetics, so in your subsequent matches, at least until the Masters, you can't possess active prosthetics. Of course, installing them and then assimilating them with Source energy is fine.
"As for the schedule, you don't need to worry. Below the upper divisions, you just need to guarantee one match per month. No advance notice needed. Matches will be arranged within half an hour of your application. As for the Masters, if you can advance to Master, it would become us begging 'you' to participate. Other than that, you can't bet on matches you're participating in. Not even betting on yourself to win."
"Then let's sign." Feng Xue had no burden regarding the contract. After all, he didn't even know where this place was. If he really broke the contract, at worst he'd just scrap the character. It didn't matter!
In comparison, the staff member was actually more earnest. After leaving with the contract, they returned in less than two minutes, simultaneously bringing his match time—
Ten minutes later.
Feng Xue didn't know if this was normal speed for the Outlaw Zone or if his cheat had tampered with something. Either way, very quickly, he heard the staff member calling for him...
……
"Sorry to keep you all waiting!"
As the scantily clad women on the stage finished their performance, a gorgeous woman—whether an emcee or referee—wearing a tight leather outfit that wasn't particularly revealing but extremely figure-hugging walked onto the stage. With an expression so serious it paradoxically seemed seductive, she loudly declared—
"Next up is an impromptu promotion match! Yes, audience members familiar with the system have already realized it! The protagonist of this promotion match is a mere mortal of flesh and blood without any active prosthetics! Will it be instant fame in one battle, or death without a whole corpse? Let us welcome, height 182cm, weight 87kg, a challenger with no actual combat record—
"Kong——Wu——!!!"
The deliberately drawn-out tone incited the audience's roars. They weren't cheering for Feng Xue, this nameless nobody, but were like carrion vultures, eagerly anticipating the defenseless weakling being torn to shreds by a predator!
Feng Xue walked onto the stage, listening to the bloodthirsty audience's strange cries by his ear, yet his gaze remained fixed on the tall figure below the stage that made no effort to hide its killing intent—
"The other party, serving as Fighter Kong Wu's obstacle, is height 233cm, weight 120kg, possessing three 4-star prosthetics, with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, having killed every opponent in his victories—the 'Corpse Dismemberer'—
"Ri——chard——!!!"