Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

In the eyes of a seasoned Hunter like Blackmoon, the assailant was a complete and utter novice.

Although they had managed to get the kill, their technique was riddled with openings.

Even the Battle Wolf looked like it had only recently reached adulthood and had never undergone truly brutal training.

A truly battle-hardened Battle Wolf would never leave its prey’s corpse intact.

This was to prevent prey from playing dead and launching a surprise attack.

For a Battle Wolf, being injured by weaker prey—especially in a surprise attack—was a matter of great humiliation.

"Let’s go. We have more important things to do."

After restoring the ground to its original state, Blackmoon led his team away from the area.

The incident was just a minor interlude. He didn’t dwell on it, quickly putting it to the back of his mind. Now, he had to focus on how to complete the decapitation strike.

While Blackmoon was trying to devise a comprehensive, viable plan, Moira Lynch and Kai York were preparing to pull off a big score.

After much effort, the two finally made contact with Hugh Finch and Shane Rhodes.

Hugh Finch’s mission was to infiltrate the pirates, gather intelligence, and help the forces on the outside exterminate them.

Meanwhile, Shane Rhodes, thanks to his exceptional talent, had been assigned to the military unit for this operation.

His mission: to exterminate the pirates.

The two of them were working in concert—one on the inside, one on the outside.

In contrast, Moira Lynch and Kai York were basically just cannon fodder.

To defy their unfair fate, the two decided to give both the pirates and the army a little taste of shock and awe.

[Shane Rhodes: You two better not screw this up. Be careful this doesn’t blow up in your faces.]

[Kai York: C’mon, boss, you gotta have some faith in us. Besides, with Moira here, there’s no way we can fail.]

[Shane Rhodes: ...]

Staring at Kai York’s message on his Intelligent Brain, the corner of Shane Rhodes’s mouth twitched. ’I don’t know whether to call him blindly overconfident or just way too trusting of Moira Lynch.’

[Shane Rhodes: Just... be careful, you two. If you get caught, I can’t bail you out.]

[Hugh Finch: Don’t worry, if you get caught, I’ll get you out. Go for it.]

[Kai York: See? Hughie’s the man! He believes in our abilities. Looks like you’ve already read our fortunes for us, huh?]

Dressed as a pirate but still unable to conceal his scholarly air, Hugh Finch saw the nickname "Hughie" on his Intelligent Brain, and the corner of his mouth twitched. ’That damned familiar nickname.’

’As for telling their fortune, he hadn’t done it at all. It wasn’t that he believed in Kai York; it was that he believed in Moira Lynch—in SoySauceDrunkard.’

[Hugh Finch: When this is done, I’m taking one-third of your cut!!]

[Kai York: ...]

[Shane Rhodes: In that case, I’ll take a third, too.]

[Kai York: ...]

Meanwhile, Moira Lynch, who had witnessed the entire exchange, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She reached out and patted Kai York’s shoulder, but the grin on her face was impossible to conceal.

’Serves you right for that smart mouth of yours. Now you’re paying the price.’

"Hmph. If our plan didn’t depend on those two, I wouldn’t have been so nice,"

Kai York said, trying to sound tough. Moira just rolled her eyes at him, as if to say, ’Yeah, right. As if I believe you.’

Their plan was actually quite simple. The pirates were here for Ariel Crystal Stones, and they had already gathered a considerable amount, including many high-quality Ariel Crystals.

It was worth noting that the pirate invasion hadn’t just happened in the last few days; it had started half a month ago.

In that half-month, all the Ariel Crystal Stones the pirates had collected were being stored in one location, not yet having been shipped out.

You might think that Moira Lynch and Kai York’s target was these Ariel Crystal Stones waiting to be shipped out.

But you’d be wrong.

Stealing that many Crystal Stones would attract the attention of not only the pirates but also The Federation. Offloading them later would be a nightmare.

Ariel Crystal Stones were mainly used as a material for machine components, meaning they had a niche market and would be difficult to sell.

What the two really had their eyes on were the hand-picked Ariel Crystals.

They were few in number, high in value, and had a broad customer base.

Moreover, according to intelligence from Hugh Finch, the pirates’ third-in-command had secretly stashed away a large number of high-quality Ariel Crystal Stones, planning to keep them all for himself.

Following the information provided by Hugh Finch, the pair rode on the back of the Black Wolf, heading swiftly toward their destination.

Soon enough, they found the pirates’ main base.

When they were still several kilometers from the Pirate Base, Moira Lynch had the Black Wolf stop.

"Why are we stopping now? We should still be a good distance from the Pirate Base," Kai York asked, confused.

Moira Lynch said nothing, simply pointing upward.

Dozens of meters above their heads, a device resembling a Magnemite from Pokémon hovered in the air.

In its center, an eye-like sensor scanned back and forth rhythmically.

"What is that thing? It’s so ugly."

"It’s a Heavenly Eye," Moira Lynch explained. "It’s used for surveillance. The moment it detects a suspicious object in its range, it fires a laser to kill the intruder."

"We’re currently positioned just outside this Heavenly Eye’s detection perimeter."

"It’s that powerful?"

Skeptical, Kai York picked up a rock and tossed it lightly in front of him.

The rock flew for about a meter, entering the Heavenly Eye’s detection range. A red laser instantly shot out from the device, and in the next second, the hard rock vaporized into dust.

Just then, their Intelligent Brains chimed with a notification—a message from Hugh Finch.

[Hugh Finch: I forgot to tell you, the area around the Pirate Base is crawling with Heavenly Eye monitors. Don’t get too close.]

[Hugh Finch: You’re not there already, are you?!]

[Hugh Finch: The monitors are at heights ranging from ten to several dozen meters, and their detection ranges vary. However, the pirates have managed to achieve total ground-level coverage. I remember you two can fly, right? The ground is a no-go, so you’ll have to fly over.]

[Hugh Finch: I’ve already prepared what you need. It’s at this location. The rest is up to you.]

[Moira Lynch: Okay, got it. You stay safe, too.]

After closing their Intelligent Brains, they both looked up at the sky.

The ground was out, which meant they had to travel by air. But the sky offered no cover at all. They might be able to evade the Heavenly Eyes, but what about human eyes?

"If only it were nighttime," Kai York said.

Unfortunately, ever since the game began, the sky on Ariel Planet had been stuck in a state of perpetual twilight.

"Patience," Moira Lynch said, "check the item storage. See if there are any items that can conceal us."

[Right away!]