Having made his way through the pipes, Li Qingyu reached the entry point on the map a few minutes later.
He had three locations to choose from: "Northern Trenches," "Reactor," and "Duel Arena."
His equipment consisted of a third-class helmet and armor, a sniper rifle, a hundred rounds, a supply of food and water, a large first-aid kit, a surgical kit, painkillers, and one small ampoule each of strength and endurance stimulants.
The main goal was to improve his sniper rifle proficiency; the secondary goal was to search for junk and hunt drug addicts from the Chem-Dogs gang. The merchant's quest remained active.
He chose the "Duel Arena" map – the very underground space where the Chem-Dogs had clashed with the Fertilizers before.
Last time, Li Qingyu had sat higher up with a combat rifle and watched as if from the palm of his hand. Now he had switched his weapon to an optical rifle – anyone who appeared in the scope was doomed.
Map selection, countdown, teleport, landing.
The world spun, and Li Qingyu found himself in a large room with poor visibility.
Containers were piled everywhere – a former warehouse. Columns supporting the vault disappeared into the darkness. This place, the size of a dozen football fields, was once a strategic storage facility for the Hive, but now it had become an arena for gang shootouts.
Upon landing, Li Qingyu oriented himself and headed towards the edge of the Arena. Cranes protruded there, and residential modules were nestled between them. It seemed that workers had once lived here.
He injected stimulants – endurance, then strength. His stats increased by five points each. His body filled with the energy of nine dragons, his muscles hummed like steel under current.
Li Qingyu took out a sacred wafer, ate it, activating the "Blessing" effect, and strode forward.
Now his stats were: Strength — 19, Endurance — 20, Energy — 25.
Almost twice the average human level. He ran like the wind, and the dim light of the gas-discharge lamps didn't hinder him – on the contrary, the darkness seemed to recede.
He reached the edge of the Arena in one breath and found a row of iron dwellings by the wall. He burst in and began searching.
The places had been abandoned long ago. Marauders had already been here – they had taken everything clean. Five or six rooms in a row – nothing valuable.
"Damn, they licked it clean down to the last speck of dust!"
Li Qingyu kicked a metal cabinet – it was empty inside.
He went outside and looked at the buildings. It was obvious: easily accessible rooms had long been looted. Therefore, the loot awaited where others had not reached.
He looked up. High on the wall hung entire blocks of houses, connected by ladders. But the upper ladder had collapsed, cutting off seven or eight rooms. Unlike the lower ones, their windows and doors remained intact. No one had climbed there.
Inspired, Li Qingyu ran upwards. He climbed the metal spans until he was about sixty meters high. The iron creaked under his feet.
Reaching the last accessible level, he saw that the ladder to the very top had been torn off. To the platform – five meters diagonally.
He glanced down: a miss, and rebirth awaited.
He checked his stats: Strength 19, Endurance 20, Energy 25. With such stats – he could jump without a problem.
He tightened his straps, stepped back eight meters for a run-up. Inhale. Sprint.
Bang-bang-bang-bang! The sound of footsteps on metal, and then – silence.
He was already on the upper platform. He exhaled with relief: he had covered at least five meters in length and three in height, grabbed the edge with his fingers, and pulled himself up.
Looking around, he took out his flashlight and began searching. Everything looked untouched. It seemed no one had ventured here for years.
He threw open the door of the first house. The smell of dust and time hit him in the face. The items lay neatly – untouched.
From a drawer, he pulled out something resembling a tablet. A heavy device in a protective casing.
The heart beat faster. Electronics were a rarity and gold in the Hive world. He summoned the system description:
Name: Personal Electronic Terminal.
Estimated value: 120,000.
Description: A rare personal computer for middle management. Used for storing documents, communication, and entertainment.
Note: The device is encrypted. The price is for the casing. If data is found inside, the value could increase many times over.
One hundred and twenty thousand! A small thing, but what value. "Red drop" – no doubt.
Li Qingyu hid the find in his backpack and sped up the search. If the terminal belonged to the manager, there might be other valuables here.