Chapter 30: Super Soldier Serum
[Due to achieving an S-rank rating for the first time, you've been awarded 1 skill point.]
[Congratulations, player. You've cleared the level. A new map and new features have been unlocked.]
[Your current alignment: Lawful Neutral.]
[Please select your reward as soon as possible.]
[Option 1: Randomly receive three skills or feats acquired during your journey.]
[Option 2: Randomly receive three items obtained during your journey.]
So this "alignment" must be the new feature… Seems like each simulation adjusts your behavioral tendencies and affects how you behave in the next one.
When he saw the reward details clearly, Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. He never expected to receive an S-rank rating this time. The rewards were incredibly generous—not only did he receive 29 traversal coins in one go, but he also earned a precious skill point.
But he found himself torn between the two options. The Legendary Vampire template he used this time was free, yet its power exceeded that of the Supreme Gambling God or the Yakuza Fiend. Template traversal could grant skills from the template itself, making it highly likely to pull overpowered expert or even master-level skills.
However, among the items was something he wanted very badly—the Super Soldier Serum.
After some careful thought, Zhou Ning chose the second option.
[You selected Option 2.]
[You received an Epic item: Super Soldier Serum.]
[You received an Epic item: Phoenix No. 1.]
[You received a Rare item: Broken Infinity Gauntlet.]
[Super Soldier Serum]: Epic item. A diluted (30%) version of the Super Soldier Serum. Can be directly injected. Enhances metabolic functions and all physical attributes. Unlocks latent potential.
[Phoenix No. 1]: Epic item. A battle suit created by Phoenix-Man Tony Stark from Universe Earth-83716. Lacks firearms, but packed with a wide array of functions.
[Broken Infinity Gauntlet]: Rare item. A shattered gauntlet, broken after the Snap.
"I knew I'd get the Super Soldier Serum!" Zhou Ning's spirit surged. Phoenix No. 1 was just a delightful bonus.
He opened his inventory and took out the serum. It was a syringe containing around 5 milliliters of pale yellow fluid, with tiny black particles suspended at the bottom.
According to the simulator's description, this wouldn't be lethal. Even in the worst-case scenario, he might just end up looking like Red Skull.
So what's there to be afraid of? Zhou Ning never relied on his looks anyway!
He inserted the syringe into a vein in his arm and slowly pushed the serum into his bloodstream.
A sharp pain instantly surged through his entire body.
"Hiss—"
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth. Agonizing pain erupted from every part of him, like he'd been hit by a dump truck. His body felt like it was being torn apart, even his bones seemed to be shattering one by one. The pain was so intense he almost passed out.
He didn't know how much time had passed before the pain finally began to subside. Zhou Ning exhaled deeply, feeling utterly drained.
He glanced at his status panel—it was filled with new messages.
[You used Super Soldier Serum (30% concentration), fusion progress: 48%. No life-threatening radiation… Serum absorbed!]
[You used Super Soldier Serum (30% concentration), fusion progress: 77%. No life-threatening radiation… Serum absorbed!]
[You used Super Soldier Serum (30% concentration), fusion progress: 100%. Fusion complete! Compatibility: Perfect.]
[You gained +10 Strength, +10 Agility, +10 Endurance, +5 Spirit.]
[You acquired the feat: Extraordinary Physique.]
"Extraordinary Physique?"
Zhou Ning blinked in disbelief and looked over at his attributes. Sure enough, a new feat had appeared—Extraordinary Physique.
"Wait… Is this an Elite Feat?" he muttered in surprise.
In the game Apocalypse, there was a special category of feats known as Elite Feats. These were usually exclusive to elite NPCs and bosses and were extremely powerful—even most elite NPCs didn't necessarily have one.
Just like the Extraordinary Physique he now had—it provided a +0.35 main attribute bonus per level. That meant every 3 levels, he'd get 1 additional point in a core stat. With the level cap of 60 in the first expansion, he'd gain an extra 20 attribute points—completely game-breaking.
For example, Zhou Ning's main class was level 1 Student. His sub-classes were level 2 Linguist and level 1 Alchemy Apprentice. Each level in Linguist gave him +1 Spirit and +1 free point. That 1 Spirit point counted as a main attribute and would be multiplied by 1.35.
That's how powerful this feat was.
For Zhou Ning, Extraordinary Physique guaranteed long-term growth. It meant he might one day be able to go toe-to-toe with Legendary NPCs.
Status Panel Updated:
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC [Beta Countdown: 45 days 12 hours 22 minutes]
Level: 3
Class: Student / Teaching Assistant [1/10]
Sub-Class: Linguist [2/10] / Alchemy Apprentice [1/10]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talents: Tony Stark (Purple), Gun-Fu – Deadly Rhythm (Blue)
Attributes: Strength 20, Agility 23, Endurance 18, Willpower 9, Spirit 15, Charisma 99
HP: 180/180
Stamina: 196/196
Willpower: 9/9
Mana: 0
Life Skills: Alchemy (Intermediate), Occultism (Intermediate), Precision Machinery Crafting (Expert), Gambling (Advanced)
General Skills: Expert English Proficiency, Pickpocketing (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Beginner), Flirting Mastery (Expert), Ripple Breathing (Beginner), Mozambique Drill (Beginner), C.A.R System (Beginner), Ripple Shot (Beginner), Rapid Pursuit (Beginner)
[Others hidden]
Pretty damn impressive—even the template had evolved into an elite NPC. According to the description, he was now on par with a typical awakened character at the start of the game.
This journey had yielded rich rewards. Besides the serum, the real highlight was Phoenix No. 1...
That reward was an unexpected bonus for Zhou Ning—after all, what man hasn't dreamed of wearing a high-tech suit of armor?
He checked to make sure the door was locked, then clicked "Equip" on Phoenix No. 1 in his inventory.
In an instant, a gold-and-red suit of armor clamped onto his body—helmet, arm guards, torso, back, legs—all locked into place with precision.
His combat rating soared to 995—an instant fivefold increase!
It looked awesome, felt powerful… but was a bit flashy. No wonder nobody asked Tony to do their fashion design—his sense of style could only be pulled off by Tony himself.
The helmet was semi-covered, with wing-like protrusions resembling bird feathers on each side, leaving the mouth exposed. It was equipped with night vision and thermal imaging. The suit had excellent defense and was resistant to fire, shock, and slashing.
The gloves had an adhesive function, useful for climbing. The bracers had about a dozen buttons—he didn't dare test them indoors in case they shot out hidden blades or something.
The utility belt carried a rope, a cutter, a breathing apparatus, and even two throwing knives.
The cloak on the back was clearly custom-made—once powered, it unfolded into a pair of wings. He guessed it could probably handle short-range flight or gliding.
In short, it was a somewhat limited version of Batman's suit—but man, it felt incredible!
This armor would serve as his trump card. He just needed to repaint it at some point—the current color scheme was way too attention-grabbing.
Zhou Ning admired himself in the mirror for quite a while before reluctantly deactivating the Phoenix Suit and turning to check his other gains.
[Detected: player has perfectly cleared "Endless War." You are entitled to draw one real-world trait. Proceed? Yes / No]
[Yes!]
[Draw complete: You received Blue Trait – Athletic Prodigy.]
Athletic Prodigy (Blue): Your athletic abilities are exceptionally strong.
Zhou Ning was a bit disappointed not to have drawn one of the purple traits, but the red notification dots flashing on his achievement and mission tabs quickly made him forget about it.
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