The setting sun looked like blood and the wind-blown sand rolled on.

The world beyond the hive city was deathly silent.

No green grass, no water sources, no sign of people.

Only an unsettling stillness.

Looking around, it was an ocean of sand grains with no visible end and under that vicious crimson sun, wisps of white steam rose again and again.

Even through a full set of expensive combat gear, Li Chen still felt discomfort inside his body as he walked.

‘Hah, so it really is that I haven’t trained in too long and my physical condition’s dropped?’

Even though he was only a low-tier martial artist, they were still within the “safe zone” for now.

There was no need to face ferocious mutated monsters, no need to deal with the automated combat robots left over from the “old world” and certainly no need to worry about the bandit gangs that roamed the desert.

For any martial artist, it didn’t count as difficult.

‘But I’m not even a proper martial artist.’

Li Chen could only unwillingly face that ironclad fact again.

Back then, even with his knowledge of the plot, he’d gotten himself all kinds of combat drugs, premium secret techniques and pre-civilization treasures.

He’d forcibly boosted his innate qualities by more than ten times and yet he could only hover at the low-tier level, unable to break through that bottleneck.

That experience had left Li Chen incredibly frustrated.

‘But…’

Just as Li Chen’s mood sank, his fiancée’s gentle smile surfaced in his mind and the discomfort instantly eased.

“So what if I don’t have talent?” Li Chen lifted a smile, “Unlike those bad women, Bai Wei won’t look down on me.”

Yeah.

He was no longer that daydreaming, self-righteous idiot from ten years ago.

After being beaten down again and again by the hive city’s cruel reality, Li Chen finally understood that compared to something grand and earthshaking, like “changing humanity’s fate,” living his own small life properly was the real truth.

‘And even though I never got gratitude from that bunch of bad women, I really did change a lot of the original tragedies and I pushed the main plot forward properly so the hive city won’t face any danger in the future.’

It was just that he’d paid the corresponding price.

Feeling his unusually “frail” body, Li Chen gave a complicated, bitter smile.

‘Thinking about it, I really was crazy back then. Daili and Lin Caining, fine but I even tried to save the game’s supposed final big villain?’

Shaking his head speechlessly, Li Chen almost laughed at his past stupidity.

‘She was born a max-level psionic, for crying out loud. Even if she came from a forbidden laboratory, she was destined to carve out her own road. Why would she need a useless guy like me meddling?’

With a sigh, Li Chen gently stroked the precious Security Bureau medal his fiancée had gone out of her way to obtain for him.

“Compared to those female leads, my Bai Wei is the best!”

He shouted sweetly then remembered how busy Bai Wei had looked when they parted.

‘So… I should do what I can to earn more money for the household.’

Tens of millions of credits!

Even as a high-level employee in the Security Bureau and a dignified sixth-tier martial artist, Bai Wei’s annual income was only three to four million.

She’d have to eat nothing and drink nothing for ten years to save that much.

And what did he need to do?

Just take the risk of stepping out of the safe zone, follow the coordinate map to a safehouse and deliver the basic healing drug in his hand to that unlucky high-tier martial artist Liu Yu.

Was there any deal in the world more worth it than this?

Glancing at the coordinate map he’d bought from Miss Weasel, Li Chen planned his route carefully.

Relying on his old familiarity with the game, he mapped out a foolproof safe route.

‘Great, in that case, I’ll reach the safehouse in just two hours. And if I calculate it right, once I finish this job, I might even get home earlier than Bai Wei～’

Carrying bright hopes for the future, Li Chen strode hard toward his destination.

Swish swish swish!

* * *

Even though he spent a huge amount of stamina, thanks to Li Chen’s rich experience and supplies so ample they were practically luxurious, he arrived without incident within the expected time and finally saw his target—an underground safehouse located not far outside the safe zone.

‘Tch, it’s the Solares family again?’

As expected, if something could be connected to the hive city, it was almost impossible to avoid Solares.

‘In the original story, among the hive city’s top ten consortiums, Solares was ranked high, sure, but it wasn’t the sole overlord. If I’d known, back when I was that bad woman’s bodyguard, I shouldn’t have given her so much precious information.’

Li Chen couldn’t help but feel annoyed at how naïve he’d been and yet he was also helpless.

‘Some ‘business genius,’ huh. Wasn’t she just copying my strategic development plan?’

Thinking about the sincerity he’d poured in back then left Li Chen disheartened.

‘We said we’d be friends for life. And the moment she succeeded and rose to power, she kicked me out like a stray dog.’

Yet despite his harsh words, when he brought up those bitter memories, Li Chen’s tone held not a shred of agitation.

Only the breezy ease of having let go.

The past was the past.

Li Chen had already made up his mind.

He would embrace a brand new life that belonged to him—no other bad women, only his fiancée Bai Wei, that pure goodness, that happiness that wasn’t earthshaking, only calm and ordinary.

Beep beep—

[You have left the SkyNet connection range. Warning: You have left the SkyNet connection range.]

While Li Chen was immersed in his memories, a rapid warning sound jolted him awake.

Li Chen slowly stopped.

What entered his sight was a lifeless world filled with black mud and lava, patches of dark-green, violently toxic contamination, towering ruins everywhere like a forest of high-speed rail pillars and a dead silence that made the skin crawl.

The wasteland.

Li Chen had reached his destination.

The hive city’s official name was “Pureland.”

Once upon a time, Li Chen, born in the lower hive slums, had always felt that calling it “Humanity’s last refuge, Pureland” was a joke drenched in irony.

But after he truly became a martial artist and started venturing out, Li Chen realized something.

Sure, the hive city was a miserable world—glittering on the surface, cruel and dark underneath.

The upper levels were controlled by consortiums and top martial artists while the bottom struggled and got exploited.

But the hive city still qualified to call itself “Pureland” because it was still, at the very least, a civilization.

And outside the hive city?

Outside the safe zone where the desert still had faint traces of people, once you reached the wasteland proper, there was truly nothing left but endless danger and suffering.

[The nearest supply safehouse is 10 kilometers away. It is a supply station operated by Night Hawk Security under the Solares Consortium. Charges include: …]

That was it.

Li Chen had done this same mission countless times before transmigrating, freeloading tens of billions of credits from that woman.

He quickly locked onto the target and marched toward that underground chamber—one of the few places in this crisis-ridden world where you could rest without fear.

Pat.

He split open a few pieces of wreckage blocking the way and near what looked like the ruins of a commercial building, he found the safehouse’s exact location.

Outside, it was smeared with blood everywhere and mutant monster corpses were scattered all around.

Especially several giant rats the size of wild bulls.

Even though they had been dead for a long time, they still gave Li Chen immense pressure.

‘At least fourth-tier or higher.’

Li Chen felt his heart jolt.

A beast tide.

The most terrifying kind of danger in the wasteland.

Even though most of the monsters in a beast tide weren’t that strong, their endless numbers were enough to make even high-tier martial artists avoid them at all costs.

‘Good thing my planned route was right. Along the way I only ran into a few scattered creatures and they were all the lowest kind. They don’t even qualify as monsters, at most they’re just gene-mutated lifeforms.’

Li Chen wiped a cold sweat for himself.

Even if rescuing Liu Yu was the lowest-difficulty option compared to other missions, for Li Chen—who only had apprentice-level strength—it was still full of danger.

[Life signs detected. Would you like to apply for shelter in this safehouse? Below is the price list…]

Li Chen tapped agree without hesitation.

Kacha.

Hidden within the pre-civilization ruins, a bunker made from a sturdy special alloy slowly opened its door.

The hundred-plus electromagnetic cannons equipped inside also lifted their guard state after Li Chen completed payment.

‘Worthy of a three-star safehouse.’

Li Chen clicked his tongue in amazement for a while, then entered the elevator and slowly descended into the underground living area.

* * *

Underground safehouse.

Medical room.

Bang—

A slender figure slammed a pink fist into the wall.

That copper wall of iron built from top-grade alloy let out a huge sound, sparks flew and it dented slightly under that seemingly soft fist.

“No medical supplies? Say that again.”

[We are very sorry, respected high-level member, seventh-tier martial artist Ms. Liu Yu. We are very sorry. This safehouse’s medical supply reserves have been exhausted. Please proceed immediately to the nearest other safehouse for treatment.]

[Your current wounds carry an extremely high risk of TT mutated virus infection. Please carry out basic initial treatment within thirty minutes. If you exceed the time limit and danger occurs, our company will be exempt from liability under Protocol No. 6.]

On the projection screen, that gentle AI spoke words that drove Liu Yu into despair.

She never would have thought that after escaping the beast tide with immense difficulty and finally finding a supply station, she would run into a complete depletion of medical supplies.

A coincidence?

“Did those bastards do this?” As a high-tier martial artist, Liu Yu’s ability to analyze information was naturally extremely strong and in an instant, countless possibilities flashed through her mind.

“If I’d known, I never would’ve waded into that black-market medicine mess. What do I care if those low-tier martial artists live or die?”

Liu Yu sighed gloomily.

“Well, great. I blocked someone’s money road. Maybe even the security company people have been bought off. What’s next? We’re going to get a wanted martial artist passing by, tempted by wealth, murdering and robbing for loot?”

Dingdong!

Right as Liu Yu was halfway through her bitter rant, the safehouse door rang with a crisp sound.

“Damn it?!” Liu Yu jolted, twisting to the side as she looked at the newcomer, coiling to strike.

Clang.

The moment the elevator doors slowly opened and a dusty, travel-worn figure stepped out, Liu Yu didn’t hesitate.

“Hello…”

Looking at the pale-faced, tall, pretty-bodied mature woman clinging to the medical room wall and barely holding herself upright, Li Chen wore a friendly smile, about to greet his “walking fortune.”

Whoosh—

Bang!

But the words barely reached his lips before he was slammed to the ground.

The Liu Yu who was “flirtatious with her mouth but a good person” drove him down with a long leg wrapped in combat boots, stomping him hard against the cold floor.

Her chest heaved like waves.

In a burst of emotion, she drew a dagger and held it to his throat.

“Talk. Who sent you… huh? A man?”

Liu Yu froze for a moment, only then noticing that the person under her foot didn’t match her expectations at all.

After studying him for a bit, she sensed no aura of an expert on him.

Instead, there was only an inexperienced, youthful feel.

Her expression stiffened.

She… didn’t mess up, did she?

“Senior, did I do something wrong?”

Pinned so hard he couldn’t move, Li Chen asked innocently.

Clatter.

The medical supplies he’d prepared long ago spilled all over the floor.

Liu Yu lowered her head at his words and happened to meet Li Chen’s crystal-clear eyes.

Her heartbeat slowed by half a beat and her gaze practically couldn’t pull away from his handsome face.

“Alright then. If you’re sending me off, you even arranged such a spicy man for me?”

Liu Yu muttered in troubled confusion and for some reason, all the dissatisfaction and anger in her heart vanished the moment she saw him and refused to ignite again.

It almost felt like… getting sent off by this man wouldn’t be a loss?