Chapter 30: New Skills and Silver‑Grade Equipment

[Zombie Cat's Horn]This item summons a zombie cat that inherits Yazī's own attributes. In other words, it is a "growth‑based summon" tool. Many summoning items produce minions with fixed stats—which can quickly be outgrown as a player's power increases.

But a summon that inherits its master's attributes remains useful, essentially granting you a permanent extra fighter (so long as you're not too weak yourself). Moreover, this summon is modeled exactly after a BOSS, retaining all its original talents and skills. It's a huge windfall—a fitting reward for the world's first player to slay a BOSS!

Yazī retrieved the remains of the zombie cat from the carpet. In a post‑apocalypse world, zombified animals are treasure troves. Although the Apocalypse Game doesn't allow you to "harvest" resources directly like a true MMORPG, the fur, meat, and claws of a zombie cat can be crafted into attribute‑less coats, food, or even weapons.

With practiced efficiency, Yazī swung his Tang Blade repeatedly until the zombie cat was reduced to nothing but shards. Satisfied, he stored the cat's pelt, claws, and meat into his storage space and happily set down the creature's remains.

But the surprises weren't over. The silver treasure chest in the warehouse still awaited his "favor." With luck on his side today, he was sure it would yield a silver‑grade piece of equipment. With that thought in mind, Yazī strode into the warehouse.

Inside, the scene was even more gruesome than outside. It appeared that the zombie cat had made this place its home. Its "nest" was formed by a pile of cotton cloth spread along the wall, and right beside it was an area dedicated to its "collection." Yazī squinted. "Whoa—hundreds of human eyeballs, all stacked together like glass marbles!" The zombie cat's taste was truly peculiar.

While most would be horrified by a mass of staring eyeballs, Yazī wasn't fazed; he even searched through the pile with his Tang Blade, suspecting the cat might have hidden a treasure within. But to his disappointment, the cat had used them all to form its collection.

After a thorough scan of the warehouse, Yazī found that it was filled with brand‑new sports equipment—many of which had been damaged by the zombie cat (one even used a dumbbell as a cat toy). Finally, in the farthest corner of the warehouse, Yazī laid eyes on the silver treasure chest he'd been longing for.

This silver‑colored chest, tucked away in a secluded corner, bore carvings far more intricate and mysterious than those on the bronze chest. Beneath it, a rotating six‑pointed star glowed with a silver light.

Yazī approached, squatted down, and placed his hand upon the silver chest.  "Detected player 'Yazī' has discovered a Silver Treasure Chest—+20 Reputation."  "Player 'Yazī', would you like to open the Silver Treasure Chest? (Opening takes 60 seconds.)"

"Open," he declared.

  "Player 'Yazī' is now opening the Silver Treasure Chest—please wait patiently."  "60… 59… 58… 57…"

Those 60 seconds dragged on painfully. Yazī could do nothing but resort to his old "pray to every deity" ritual, reciting prayers to every god he knew in hopes of earning a good reward from the chest. Finally, the countdown reached zero.

  "Player 'Yazī' has successfully opened the Silver Treasure Chest."  "While opening, your storage space has been increased by 0.4 cubic meters."  "Player 'Yazī' has gained 50 XP from the chest's blessing on your experience."  "Player 'Yazī' has found 360 coins in the Silver Treasure Chest."

As the white light faded, Yazī eagerly peered into the chest's interior. Two items were laid out neatly. After close inspection, he couldn't believe his luck—this chest had yielded both a silver‑grade piece of equipment and a skill book that matched his "Whirling Slash" style of attack.

One was a silver‑grade cloak—a rare type of gear—and the other was a skill book for a warrior skill he'd used to dispatch countless zombies.

"My goodness—a silver chest that gives me silver‑grade equipment and a skill book! This is a truly magnificent haul!" Yazī exclaimed, hardly able to contain his excitement. He quickly picked up the skill book.

  [Explosive Twin Slash]: A Warrior‑class skill that unleashes two instantaneous slashes, each dealing damage equal to 70% of your base Strength. If both slashes hit the same enemy, they trigger an explosion, dealing additional damage equal to 70% of your Strength.

Not bad at all—this is exactly the kind of warrior skill he needed. And this skill, though difficult to execute, would be his advantage; ordinary players might miss the rapid double strike, failing to trigger the explosive effect, but Yazī was confident that his timing would be flawless.

  "System: Detected skill 'Explosive Twin Slash'."  "Player 'Yazī', would you like to learn 'Explosive Twin Slash'?"

"Learn it—why wouldn't I?" he replied.

  "Congratulations, player 'Yazī' has successfully learned 'Explosive Twin Slash'."

Thus, the second skill appeared on Yazī's skill bar. While "Whirling Slash" was a group‑damage skill, "Explosive Twin Slash" would fill in the gap for his current lack of single‑target output.

After mentally rehearsing the technique, Yazī then picked up the silver‑grade cloak. The cloak was entirely white, adorned with snow‑white feathers; its reverse bore a design reminiscent of bird wings.

  [White Wing Cloak]: A Silver‑Grade piece of equipment crafted from the feathers of rare birds. The back of the cloak is inscribed with a special incantation that grants temporary gliding ability.  Attributes: +2 Constitution, +2 Agility.  Skill: "Brief Suspension" – Grants a short period of weightlessness during jumping or landing. (Cooldown: 20 minutes)

"Ah, another silver‑grade item with an attached skill," Yazī murmured. Without hesitation, he equipped the cloak. Immediately, he felt an additional 4 points added to his attributes.

His updated base stats now read:  Strength: 23  Spirit: 19  Constitution: 18  Agility: 23

That was a massive boost! After a fierce battle with the zombie cat and reaping all these rewards, Yazī felt his power had been transformed utterly. Originally, he had planned to spend the day raising his level to 7 and acquiring two bronze‑grade items—enough to go and hassle Derek later that night. Now, that goal seemed trivial. Instead, a new, bolder target emerged:

"Why not… clear out everyone in the Li Estate?!" he thought.