Apocalypse Gachapon

After evolving to level nine, Ye Zhongming had no problem soloing a mutant lifeform of the same level.

Back on Earth, fully armed, even if he hadn’t reached the level of the Holy Father, he wouldn’t have flinched against the top ten high-level beings on the planet. If he factored in Cloud Peak’s support—with Mo Ye, Yangos, Red Hair, and others all mobilized—Cloud Peak alone could probably wipe out the top ten mutant lifeforms in the entire country.

But now, things were different. He didn’t have his most reliable weapons, none of the equipment that gave him a sense of security, and none of his loyal companions or battle pets by his side. Using a skill he’d only learned for ten days to kill a lifeform of the same level?

Seeing Ye Zhongming hesitate, Aslan suddenly felt disappointed.

For a piece of garbage, in her eyes, it didn’t matter if they were a bit weak, a bit stupid, or even unruly and hard to tame.

But the worst thing was if the garbage lacked courage!

That kind of garbage was truly garbage.

“I’ve already taught you everything about Double Poison Shadow. What you do next is up to you.”

With that, Aslan took two steps back, flapped her wings, and flew away.

Ye Zhongming stared at her disappearing figure, momentarily stunned, unsure why the birdman had suddenly left so coldly. After a moment, he realized.

Seems like, no matter where you go, females are emotionally unstable!

I was just thinking whether I should reveal my trump card now—why’d you have to fly off?

Though he wasn’t particularly fond of this birdman, Ye Zhongming was still grateful for her patient teaching. After watching her leave, he turned his attention to the slumbering beast.

Right now, it was sleeping so soundly that snot bubbles were forming, but Ye Zhongming was certain—the moment he stepped into its perception range, it would wake up instantly and attack.

Unless you were a true master-level assassin, ambushing a level nine lifeform was about as difficult as evolving to level nine itself.

Ye Zhongming didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he first sorted through his equipment:

A repaired short sword

A newly crafted leather armor

Two bone daggers

And a box he’d made using materials gathered over the past few days

Aside from eating, sleeping, training, and mocking the birdman, Ye Zhongming had spent his free time working on something mysterious, slowly assembling it into this box.

After checking his gear, he still didn’t move. Instead, he took out food and water, eating and drinking slowly to let his body absorb nutrients as quickly as possible.

This routine lasted at least twenty minutes. During this time, aside from silent chewing, Ye Zhongming didn’t move a muscle.

For a piece of garbage who had beaten a special training instructor to a pulp, the Star Eye Race was paying close attention. Right now, not only were Color Man and Masked Man watching nearby, but Aslan, who had flown away, had also rejoined them. Meanwhile, in the surveillance hall, over a dozen people were gathered, led by Commander Cheng Liuji, the highest-ranking officer present.

“Hmm, not bad.”

This Gold Commander, who had nearly issued a kill order when he saw Aslan getting beaten, didn’t show impatience at Ye Zhongming’s prolonged stillness. Instead, he unexpectedly praised him.

“A skilled assassin, a true Star Eye Race warrior, should have this kind of patience when hunting. How many times have we prepared for days—even months—before making our move?”

A Silver Masked Man nearby seized the moment to add some meaningless but agreeable fluff.

Right now, hearing praise from other races was nearly impossible for the Star Eye Race, so they had to entertain themselves.

“He’s moving!”

Someone alerted the group.

After staying still for so long, Ye Zhongming finally moved—but instead of attacking as everyone expected, he began circling just outside the beast’s perception range.

“Is he looking for a weakness?”

A staff member, who had some combat ability but not much, could only guess based on his limited understanding of the Star Eye Race’s skills.

“Sky Pillar has multi-limbed traits—visual organs on every arm. Its weakness isn’t in its field of vision. If this garbage is trying to exploit that, he’s wasting his time.”

A Gold Masked Man shook his head. The garbage clearly didn’t know what kind of lifeform he was facing. In truth, this wasn’t fair to Ye Zhongming—the beast they called Sky Pillar wasn’t an easy opponent.

“Raising a level nine lifeform isn’t easy. If this garbage can’t kill Sky Pillar, then he can become its food. A useless piece of trash is no match for Sky Pillar.”

Commander Cheng Liuji snorted coldly. The others exchanged glances, unsure whether to take his words at face value or not.

“Is he setting traps?”

Since the Gold Commander’s words were hard to respond to, they turned back to the screen. They noticed that after circling once, the garbage didn’t stop—he kept going, this time faster. At certain spots, he’d pause, take out his box, and carefully set something up.

It did look like traps.

This drew sneers from many in the room.

Traps weren’t useless—but it depended on the target. Sky Pillar, a mutant lifeform with thick, rugged flesh, only had weak points at its joints. The chances of ground or plant-based traps hitting those spots were practically zero.

Besides, in Darkstripe City—or any battlefield—what kind of traps were used? It was a high-tech skill, requiring precision materials and mechanisms, often involving factories from multiple races.

A truly effective trap was a luxury item.

The people here knew exactly what resources were available in the garbage trial space. They seriously doubted there was anything in there that could make a trap threatening to a level nine lifeform!

Useless effort—that was the unanimous verdict in their minds.

Color Man also understood Aslan’s expression when she returned. This guy really did give hope first, only to disappoint later.

“Let’s go. Why bother watching? Total waste of time.”

Aslan, visibly irritated, wanted to leave.

“Let’s keep watching. He… should be making his move soon.”

Color Man hesitated but decided to stay. He was disappointed too, but a tiny sliver of hope remained.

What if…

Under the collective gaze of zero expectations, Ye Zhongming finally stepped into Sky Pillar’s perception range.

The beast’s eyes snapped open, locking onto the stranger with a murderous gleam.

It stood up, shaking off grass and debris, revealing a body covered in thick, black-bristled arms.

Its face was ghastly green with protruding fangs, and its lower body supported by four legs arranged in a square. When it moved, its steps were small but rapid.

Ye Zhongming took two steps, stopped, changed direction, and repeated the process—studying his opponent.

After sizing him up, Sky Pillar suddenly roared and charged, two of its arms swinging forward with a sound like popping a wine cork.

Two invisible air blasts shot toward Ye Zhongming.

Faced with an attack from a peer, the King of Cloud Peak… turned and ran.