The sky turned blood-red.
Thick clouds churned above the destroyed Fortress Z-9, and from them, it began to rain not water, but crimson droplets that sizzled as they hit the ground.
Liu Feng stood outside the wreckage, his body tense.
"What is this rain?" Lin Xue asked, raising her arm to shield her face. A drop landed on her coat and burned a hole through the fabric.
"It's not normal rain," Liu Feng muttered. "It's acid… no, worse."
---
[Warning: Environmental Hazard Detected – Red Rain]
Effect: Constant Health Loss (2 HP per second). Additional effect on exposure: Mutation Risk.
[Recommended Action: Seek Shelter Immediately]
He grabbed Lin Xue's hand. "We have to move!"
They sprinted through the ruined hills, dodging puddles of sizzling red. Dead plants melted into mush, and the air smelled like rusted blood.
After 15 minutes of running, they found a half-buried bunker hidden behind thorny bushes.
Liu Feng pushed the heavy door open with a grunt.
CREAK…
Inside was dark, but dry.
They stepped in, and the moment they shut the door, the sound of hissing rain was cut off.
---
They collapsed to the ground, catching their breath.
Lin Xue wiped sweat off her forehead. "That rain… what the hell is happening to the world?"
Liu Feng leaned against the wall, staring at his hand. Some drops had splashed on his gloves,they were corroded halfway through.
"This is new. This rain wasn't part of any weather system."
---
Suddenly
[System Alert: World Mutation Event Triggered]
[Event: Crimson Rainstorm]
Duration: 12 Hours
Monsters become stronger and more aggressive
Rare attribute drops increased
Mutation Crystals may appear in affected areas
WARNING: Exposure for more than 5 minutes may cause body mutation
Liu Feng's heart thumped.
"A world mutation event…"
That meant opportunity and danger.
He looked at Lin Xue. "Stay here. I'm going back out."
"What?! Are you crazy?"
"This is the best chance to pick up stronger attributes. If I get stronger now, we won't have to run again."
She bit her lip. "Then I'm coming too."
---
They wrapped themselves in heat-resistant cloth and leftover hazard suits from the bunker's supply room.
Outside, the red rain fell like a storm of blood.
Lightning flashed in the sky, glowing red instead of white.
The ground steamed, and strange red crystals had begun forming on dead bodies and monster corpses.
[New Item Discovered: Mutation Crystal – Increases Random Stat by +5. Risk: 5% Mutation]
Liu Feng grinned. "Jackpot."
He picked one up and immediately used it.
[+5 Strength]
"No mutation," he whispered. "Good."
---
As they walked deeper into the red zone, monsters came.
Fast.
Mutated wolves, their bodies twisted with glowing veins, lunged at them.
Snarl!
Liu Feng didn't hesitate. He activated Gravity Pulse ,a wave of force blasted out, throwing five wolves backward.
He dashed forward, blade slashing, gun firing.
Slash!
Bang!
Thud!
Each kill gave new power.
[+2 Agility | +1 Constitution]
[+3 Strength | Skill Fragment Detected]
Suddenly, one wolf's body melted into red dust, and a small glowing book dropped.
[Skill Book: Blood Frenzy]
He used it.
[New Skill Learned: Blood Frenzy – For 30 seconds, increase Strength and Speed by 30%. Heals 10 HP per kill. Cooldown: 5 min.]
Liu Feng's smile turned cold.
"This is perfect."
---
Farther ahead, the rain was thicker. Visibility dropped.
Then,they heard it.
ROAR!
A massive figure appeared in the distance. It walked on two legs, covered in bone armor. Its head had no eyes, just a vertical mouth lined with jagged teeth.
[Mutated Alpha Creature Detected]
Name: Bone Maw
Level: 18
HP: 9000
Skills: Bone Spikes, Regeneration, Roar of Madness
Drops: Unknown (High Chance of Mutation Crystals + Rare Attributes)
Liu Feng whispered, "We're fighting that."
Lin Xue trembled. "That thing's huge…"
He cracked his neck. "I need to test my new power."
---
The Bone Maw charged, earth shaking beneath it.
Liu Feng activated Blood Frenzy.
His muscles bulged, his speed exploded.
He vanished from Lin Xue's view and reappeared in front of the monster, slashing its leg.
SLASH!
It howled in pain and swung a giant arm.
Liu Feng ducked and rolled away, then Shadow Stepped to its back and stabbed again.
STAB!
Blood poured.
It roared and shot Bone Spikes from its body.
Liu Feng raised his arm, and his Adaptive Shield absorbed the damage.
Still, his HP dropped by 60 points.
"I need to hit the core."
---
He looked closely and saw a glowing red lump beneath its ribs.
That's it!
He ran up a nearby rock, jumped off it, and aimed his pistol at the core.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The monster screamed.
[Core Exposed – Defense Dropped by 30%]
He dropped onto its shoulder and slammed his knife into the core.
The Bone Maw flailed, grabbed Liu Feng, and threw him into a tree.
CRACK!
He coughed blood but stood.
HP: 41/180
"I'm not done!"
He activated Gravity Pulse again, knocking the Bone Maw back.
Then he ran straight at it with Blood Frenzy still active.
SLASH! SLASH! STAB!
He hit the core again and again
Until finally
BOOM!
It exploded in red mist.
---
[Boss Defeated: Bone Maw]
EXP Gained: 3200
+20 Strength
+15 Agility
+10 Constitution
Drop: Blood Core Crystal
Rare Skill Book: Bone Armor
Item: Enhanced Mutation Crystal
Liu Feng fell to one knee, grinning.
He picked up the Enhanced Mutation Crystal and used it.
[Random Stat Boost: +10 Strength]
[No Mutation Detected]
He opened the skill book.
[Skill Learned: Bone Armor – Summon bone plates around your body. Increases Defense by 50%. Blocks 1 fatal blow per day.]
He chuckled. "Now I'm hard to kill."
---
Back at the bunker, Lin Xue helped patch him up again.
"You're insane," she said with a smile.
"Maybe," Liu Feng replied. "But now I'm stronger than ever."
He checked his system.
---
[Liu Feng – Status]
Level: 15
Strength: 141
Agility: 96
Constitution: 68
Skills:
Blood Frenzy
Bone Armor
Gravity Pulse
Shadow Step
Bullet Time
Combat Awareness
Iron Slash
Sprint
Threat Sense
Tough Skin
Equipment:
Adaptive Combat Armor
Combat Knife
Pistol
Mutation Crystal Pouch (x3 Crystals)
---
The red rain continued to fall, painting the land in blood.
But Liu Feng was no longer just surviving.
He was rising.
And soon, the world would know…
The hunter had become the storm.