Liu Guanan began sorting through the loot.
The dagger? Sold. He already had one.Iron sword? Sold. Too heavy for his style.Machete? Kept. Good for chopping wood.Shoes? As he pulled out a pair, something triggered in his memory—his eyes widened in surprise.
Black Mango Shoes!
He recognized these instantly. He'd seen them before in a city equipment shop. They were high-grade—worth several gold coins. Crafted from some unknown beast's hide, they looked light and supple, but were deceptively durable.
Without hesitation, he tore off his straw sandals—his toes half-exposed—and slipped on the Black Mango Shoes. Instantly, he felt it. Lightness. Warmth. Comfort. Each step now carried a breeze, and a faint black aura rippled around his feet. He felt like he was gliding. His movement became easier, his speed—multiplied.
A true treasure.
He moved on. The iron ore he'd collected could be smelted into metal for crafting weapons. The herb? Silver Spirit Grass—rare and valuable, worth twenty silver coins alone. He still remembered witnessing a brutal brawl over a single stalk of it on day three in the game. Hundreds had died or been maimed. Since then, he made it a habit to study any plants he found. Unfortunately, most had turned out worthless—only good for a copper or two.
Then came the real jackpot.
One of the broken meat sacs he almost tossed aside revealed a Topwood Bow—a bow on the same level as the Black Mango Shoes. Its craftsmanship was leagues beyond his old iron poplar bow. Comparing them was like comparing heaven to mud.
He spent twenty minutes getting a feel for the Topwood Bow, then resumed the hunt.
He tossed a corpse—over a hundred pounds of flesh—eight meters into the graveyard. Before the crystal enhancements, that would've been impossible. Now? It was easy.
His blade sliced the corpse's body open. Fresh blood spilled out. Moments later, the graveyard stirred.
Rotting corpses began to rise.
They were Wang Bai's crew. Once people. Now… resources.
Liu Guanan didn't dwell on ethics. In this world, survival came first.
Thwack!
An arrow ripped through the air, slamming straight into the forehead of the first carrion, burying itself to the shaft.
His eyes gleamed. The Topwood Bow was no joke.
He'd only used sixty percent of his strength, but the arrow still hit harder than his full-powered shots with the iron poplar. It sliced through the air so fast, he could barely see it. Ferocious. Precise. Clean.
This... was exhilarating.
His doubts vanished. Dropping to one knee, he held his bow steady. Like a mountain. Wherever his eyes locked, an arrow followed.No hesitation. No mercy.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip...
More than twenty carrion fell in seconds. Dozens more burst from the earth. A few made it to the bait corpse and began tearing it apart.
Liu Guanan didn't flinch. At fifteen meters, he entered a zone—deadly calm. Arrow after arrow flew, each one hitting its mark. The Topwood Bow had clearly been fine-tuned by a master. Even with his amateur archery skills, he was landing hits with 100% accuracy within twenty meters.
Genius? Maybe.
He'd only been using bows for under two months, and all self-taught. But in this fifteen-to-five-meter window, he was deadly. At one point, he reached one arrow per second.Draw. Nock. Aim. Fire. Repeat.
The bowstring hummed like a swarm of bees. Blood sprayed midair. One carrion fell as the next was already pierced through the skull. The third dropped before the first even hit the ground.
His bait corpse absorbed most of their attention, giving Liu Guanan the opening to unleash. But eventually, he ran dry—quiver empty, arms shaking, strength fading.
With gritted teeth and burning muscles, he loosed one final shot.
Crack!
It tore through a carrion's brow and launched the corpse backward a full meter. The one behind stumbled in confusion.
Liu Guanan spun and ran—vanishing like wind.
Thanks to the Black Mango Shoes, he reached a hundred meters in seconds. Carrion weren't keen on chasing prey that got too far. They gave up and returned to feast.
Liu Guanan watched coldly. His arms throbbed with exhaustion. Seventy arrows in a single burst had drained him.
He downed a white crystal. Power surged back.
Five minutes later, the corpses had been stripped clean—bare bones. The carrion wandered off.
Liu Guanan moved in. He cracked skulls and slit stomachs, gathering 64 white crystals and 64 meat sacs. Then came the tougher task—harvesting their nails.
Two hours later, it was done. He wrapped a hundred carrion nails in a piece of Wang Bai's clothing. The rest? Buried.
Next, he opened the meat sacs.No weapons. Just 386 copper plates.Some were even empty.
He frowned. Disappointment.
Dragging five bodies into the city would've taken over two hours at normal pace. But with the Black Mango Shoes, it only took one hour twenty minutes.
At the pharmacy, he sold one corpse for a silver coin, and the Silver Spirit Grass for twenty. The blacksmith gave him 20 coins for the ore but didn't buy weapons. So he went to the equipment shop. The daggers and iron sword earned him 78 silver.
Counting the Black Mango Shoes, he realized—
Killing for loot was far more profitable than grinding monsters.
Near the city gate, his eyes lit up—oxcarts!Basic, two-wheeled flatbeds pulled by oxen. Perfect for hauling corpses.
He picked a trustworthy-looking guy named "Black Bull"—obviously a fake name, but who cared?After haggling, they settled on 125 copper.
Liu Guanan did four round trips, loading corpses from the cemetery to the city. The place was remote enough not to attract looters, and few dared touch corpse venom anyway.
He followed the cart each time—not trusting Black Bull, and wary of robbers. On the second trip, three thugs tried to ambush him.They didn't live to regret it.
His cartloads of carrion caused a stir in Stone City. People stared. Some in awe. Some in disgust.Selling rotting corpses wasn't exactly... mainstream.
But he didn't care. Eighty-five carrion sold. Eighty-five silver coins.
By day's end, his total haul reached 1 gold, 95 silver, and 59 copper coins.It was the most money he'd ever seen.
Still dazed with joy, he remembered one last errand.
The Plum Blossom Chamber of Commerce—one of the top ten trading conglomerates in the human world. Their influence spanned three major planets. They'd been among the first to enter the world of "Loot."
Even tiny Stone City had one of their branches—dealing in gear, clothes, materials, and…
Express delivery.
Not your typical delivery. This was cross-world service—sending items from the game to the real world. Only the wealthiest or strongest could afford it.
Liu Guanan stepped in. His second visit.
His first? Upon spawn. "Loot" developers had been ruthless—every new player started near-naked, wearing only triangle briefs. Women had it worse: bras and panties, nothing else. It was so extreme, few women dared walk the streets at launch.
The Plum Blossom Chamber of Commerce had seized the opportunity—offering clothes for 4 copper coins, with the option to owe 5 if paid within ten days. Late? One copper extra per day. Couldn't pay? They'd kill you once.
They were that powerful.
Liu Guanan stepped up to the counter and handed over a bundle of white crystals.
"I'd like to express this," he said.
The clerk, a pretty girl in her twenties, smiled and weighed the package.
"That'll be two gold coins," she said sweetly.
Liu Guanan's jaw dropped.
He knew it was expensive—but this?Eighty-nine white crystals, each barely the size of a grain of rice, together smaller than a pigeon's egg.
Two gold coins?
"I… I'll come back later," he stammered.
"Be my guest!" the girl said cheerfully, handing it back.Clearly, she'd seen this happen many times before.