Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

However, the thought only lingered in Moira Lynch’s mind for a fleeting moment. After all, regardless of her mental age, she was still young.

She wasn’t thinking that far ahead just yet.

After making sure she hadn’t missed anything, Moira Lynch prepared to leave.

Just then, she suddenly heard a clamor in the distance.

Moira Lynch frowned when she determined that people were heading her way—and quite a few of them at that.

It was too late to run now. She thought for a moment and decided her best bet was to hide first, regardless of who was coming.

Meanwhile, Redlight and his two teammates were running for their lives, each carrying a heavily wounded person on their back.

Behind them trailed a dozen other players, all fleeing in a similarly wretched state.

Farther back were three ferocious Gathors and seven or eight giant, rabbit-like creatures.

Giant-Claw Lapines!

Rabbits are usually herbivores, but Lapines are not. They are even more vicious creatures than Gathors.

The group fled in disarray. Gathors were naturally skilled runners, and with the addition of the Giant-Claw Lapines, every leap the creatures took shortened the distance between them.

"Boss, they’re about to catch up! What do we do?" one of Redlight’s teammates asked anxiously.

"Maybe we should just drop the people we’re carrying. It would lighten our load," another person said.

They had been chased the entire way, but on their own, they didn’t feel tired.

The current exertion was nothing compared to their usual training regimen.

Even so, the people they were carrying severely hampered their speed.

"No way. If we abandon them now, we’ll lose out on what they promised us," Redlight said.

Remembering the terms they had offered, Redlight flatly rejected his teammate’s suggestion.

Besides, they could still hold on for now.

’As for those monsters... In a bit, you two will work with me. We’ll see if we can take out one or two of them,’ Redlight thought, formulating a strategy.

Just as Redlight was devising a plan, a black shadow suddenly appeared, charging straight for the Gathors and Giant-Claw Lapines behind them.

With a few pained shrieks, the Gathors and Giant-Claw Lapines that had just been howling ferociously were reduced to bloody corpses on the ground.

After finishing off the Gathors and Giant-Claw Lapines, Black Wolf elegantly licked its paws. Its gaze seemed to say, ’You really needed me to step in for something this trivial?’

Redlight was the first to notice the commotion behind them. He turned his head and saw a very familiar creature standing there.

The creatures that had been chasing them were now nothing but corpses.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks.

When the others saw him halt his escape, they too stopped and looked back.

"Boss, why does that creature in the distance look so familiar? I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before."

"That’s Black Wolf."

By now, Redlight had recognized Black Wolf.

’If Black Wolf is here, then Moira Lynch must be here too.’

Just then, Moira Lynch emerged from her hiding spot. She smiled and greeted Redlight, "Captain Murphy, long time no see."

Though she was greeting him, Moira’s gaze fell upon the people they were carrying on their backs.

’Judging by their outfits, they probably aren’t players,’ she thought.

And one of them felt strangely familiar to her.

Seeing that it really was Moira Lynch, Redlight breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for that, just now."

Moira Lynch waved her hand. "It was nothing. By the way, how did you all end up in such a mess?"

Now free from their pursuers, the group, long since exhausted from running, could finally catch their breath.

To be honest, they had been running on sheer will to survive.

"We’ve been hunted by all sorts of creatures ever since we got here. We’ve even run into pirates several times."

Since the game started, they had barely completed any missions; most of their time had been spent fleeing.

Their wretched state was a stark contrast to Moira Lynch’s relaxed demeanor.

Her clothes, aside from a little dirt on the knees, were spotless.

Thinking of Moira Lynch’s talent, Redlight couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

He clearly attributed her easy time to her innate ability.

"By the way, are you alone? Aren’t the others with you?" Redlight asked.

If Shane Rhodes or Kai York were around, they would have another powerful ally.

Moira Lynch shook her head. "It’s just me. We were separated from the very beginning."

At that moment, Black Wolf walked over.

It first came to Moira Lynch’s side, then turned to look at Redlight and the others, its eyes gleaming with a covetous light.

Seeing this, Redlight immediately grew wary. He was just about to warn Moira Lynch to be careful—that her Black Wolf might be losing control—when in the next second...

SMACK!

Moira Lynch slapped Black Wolf right across the face.

She put every ounce of her strength into the slap, sending Black Wolf’s head whipping to the side.

"Snapped out of it yet?"

"Awoo..."

Black Wolf let out an aggrieved cry.

It was its way of saying she could just call its name next time; she didn’t have to hit so hard. It hurt.

"I was just afraid yelling wouldn’t be enough to snap you out of it."

Moira Lynch recalled Black Wolf into her storage space.

"Just now, that was..."

Redlight looked thoroughly shaken.

He had seen that look in its eyes many times before.

On their journey, all the creatures that had hunted them—aside from the pirates—had worn that same expression.

"It’s because the resource boxes you’re carrying emit a special pulse. Humans can’t detect it, but some sensitive animals can. And for those animals, this pulse is incredibly attractive."

"You must have seen the symbol on the boxes that looks like the signal strength bars on a phone, right? The stronger the signal, the stronger the pulse, and the more likely you are to attract the attention of those creatures."

Hearing Moira Lynch’s explanation, the faces of everyone present turned grim.

For the sake of a bigger reward, they had all chosen to carry the resource boxes for weapons and medicine, which had stronger signals.

’No wonder the payout was so much higher.’

"So if we just ditch everything now, we’ll be safe?" a player asked.

"That’s right! We just drop the stuff. The game rules don’t say we can’t. We’ve technically escorted the supplies safely to Ariel Planet, so that should count as barely completing the mission, right?"

Moira Lynch shot the man a look one might give an idiot. "What nonsense are you spouting? The game rules might not forbid it, but interstellar law does. You want to go to prison?"