Chapter 28: Epic Gear

The voice came through telepathically. 

Lin Yi was no stranger to this method, similar to team communications. However, only those with Tier 3 power could master such a technique.

With no one else nearby, it could only be Black Snake. 

Surprise and disbelief flashed through his mind. 

Could it be that Black Snake had requested the necklace from the mutated figure for him?

Lin Yi instinctively grabbed the necklace, completely ignoring the slime coating it. Who cares about slime? An epic gear piece that could complete his set was worth fishing out even from a mountain of corpses.

The necklace felt cold to the touch. 

"Ding! You have obtained a blue (superior) item: [Soul Shard]!"

**Item Attributes:**

- Willpower +5

- Mental Power Amplification +10%

- Mental Recovery Speed +30%

- Attack Speed +10%

- Special Effect: Mental Shock (When attacking, causes a mental shock to any life form with mental power. The effect depends on the power gap and includes a stun.)

**Item Description:**

A broken soul shard. It looks like it can be embedded somewhere. Perhaps you can find its host.

**Note:**

This fragment is incomplete. Combine it with other shards to unlock its full power.

Too powerful! 

Lin Yi's heart raced. 

Even without using the [Soul Shard] to complete the [Skull Crusher's Hand], the effects of this single item were already formidable. Especially the mental shock effect—it was top-tier among blue items.

In his previous life, Lin Yi had only seen a few of such epic items flaunted in chat rooms. And even then, the special effects of those items were just basic fire or ice enhancements.

Compared to mental shock, those seemed far inferior. 

Either of these two blue items would drive any player mad with desire.

Lin Yi could hardly imagine how powerful the completed [Skull Crusher's Hand] would be. 

"Hurry... fuse them."

The voice of Black Snake urged him with a sense of urgency. 

The serpent coiled up, lowering its head in a weary state. It no longer had the overwhelming presence it had while battling the red-clad mutant.

It seemed that the earlier fight wasn't as effortless as it appeared.

Snapping back to reality, Lin Yi quickly took off his gloves. 

"Fuse!" 

A humming sound resonated as the obsidian on the necklace emitted a dazzling light, merging the two items.

As the glow faded, the empty spot on the glove was filled with the obsidian piece. 

Under the expectant gazes of Lin Yi and Black Snake, intricate patterns began to form on the once pitch-black glove.

"Ding! You have obtained an orange (epic) item: [Soul Devourer Gloves]!"

**Item Attributes:**

- Strength +6

- Constitution +6

- Willpower +6

- Agility +6

**Additional Effects:**

- Attack Speed +20%

- Mental Power Amplification +20%

- Mental Recovery Speed +50%

**Special Attack 1:**

Each attack carries a mental shock, causing a brief stun. Additional effects based on the user's Willpower.

**Special Attack 2:**

Soul Devour. After killing an enemy, you can absorb their soul to replenish mental power.

**Skill:**

Soul Shriek (B-tier): Instantly generates a circular mental shockwave, dealing damage to all life forms within range. (One use per day, recharges the following day.)

The attributes were stunning!

Lin Yi was overjoyed. 

Gazing at the beautifully patterned [Soul Devourer Gloves] in his hands, he was speechless with excitement.

An epic item—worth as much as a medium-sized safe zone.

With all attributes boosted by +6, it was like an instant leap to Tier 2 for both awakeners and players alike.

Even the weakest player, with such luxurious boosts, could rival an awakener.

For an awakener like Lin Yi, this gear alone would allow him to overpower a Tier 2 being with ease!

What's more, attack speed and mental amplification were extremely rare stats.

With Lin Yi's current agility, he could swing his sword five times in a second. With the gloves equipped, he could push that to six swings per second—an insane boost. 

In future battles, if enemies gauged him by the usual standards, they'd be caught off guard. A single strike could mean the difference between life and death!

The mental amplification would allow him to use his innate skill, "Power Burst," more frequently. Right now, he could activate it about seven times, lasting for around 15 minutes. With the gloves, he'd get an additional two uses.

And that's not even counting the increased mental recovery rate, which would allow for even more uses over time. He could practically maintain his "Power Burst" in combat continuously!

But what excited him most were the skill and effects of the gloves. 

The mental shock had become significantly stronger. 

Lin Yi had witnessed the power of the red-clad mutant's mental shock. It wasn't something you could evade; the only defense was sheer willpower.

And the stun effect that came with it was incredibly potent.

In combat, if his opponent were stunned by every mental shock he delivered, how could they possibly fight him?

In battles between mutants and awakeners, even the smallest mistake could be fatal. One slip, and it could mean instant death.

The [Soul Shriek] skill alone was god-tier for large-scale battles. It dealt damage to all enemies within range without consuming his own mental power.

That was like having an extra ability every day—like having a mental-type awakener by his side at all times!

As for the soul devour effect, Lin Yi was a bit puzzled.

Absorbing souls to restore mental power? 

He had never heard of such an ability, and without testing it, he wasn't sure how effective it would be. 

But it had to be useful, perhaps just another way to recover his mental energy.

Running his hands over the gloves, Lin Yi felt the cold, lightweight material. The pressure he had felt over the task of killing the [Stitcher] was completely lifted.

With this epic gear, he no longer needed to worry about being outmatched in strength. 

Just the +6 to all stats would allow him to physically overpower the [Stitcher].

After all, no matter how strong the [Stitcher] was, it was still a Tier 2 being with stats no higher than 30. 

Plus, with the gloves' mental shock effect, every one of his six strikes per second would leave the enemy stunned six times over.

Just from that alone, Lin Yi was confident he could swiftly slay the [Stitcher]!

And the [Soul Shriek] would make up for his lack of crowd-control skills. 

Originally, he had been worried about the hordes of zombies inside the Wanda Plaza. But now, clearing them out with the [Soul Shriek] would be a breeze.

Those zombies with only 0-1 points in willpower wouldn't stand a chance against his mental shock!

He couldn't understand why the previous group that had obtained the gloves in his past life hadn't completed the set. 

If they had known how absurdly powerful the completed gloves were, the entire Southeast War Zone survivors would have done anything to find the missing pieces.

Lin Yi calmed his emotions and sighed in relief. 

[Stitcher], I'm coming!

An Jing Tian, An Xia, you won't need to wait seven days in fear anymore. 

I'm ready to take down the [Stitcher] and rescue you now. 

His nose tingled with emotion. 

The siblings were his only attachment in this world, and now he was finally confident enough to complete the mission. 

Beside him, Black Snake stared curiously, unable to understand why Lin Yi's emotions were fluctuating so wildly.

Noticing the snake's curiosity, Lin Yi smiled slightly. 

Human emotions were complex and precious.

"Let's test this out!"

Unable to wait, Lin Yi eagerly equipped the gloves, ready to give them a try.

But the moment he put them on, the cold mechanical voice of the system echoed:

"Ding! You have lost the epic (orange) item [Soul Devourer Gloves]."

"What the hell!!"