The Hungry Monkey bellowed in anger.
He swung the hammer and charged into the crowd like a tiger plunging into a flock of sheep, whirling around with ferocity. The heavy hammer, weighing several dozen pounds, was too much for the skull of a robust young man to endure, let alone for the fragile, elderly bodies.
Perhaps because it wasn't yet night, these old people didn't display any special abilities—they were just ordinary elderly folk.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Standing alone in the middle of the stone bridge, the Hungry Monkey faced only old men advancing with knives. With each blow of his hammer, the ease and decisiveness were palpable, giving him an aura of a one-man defense against a thousand foes. Chen Miao didn't even have time to react before most of them were wounded or dead.
"..."
Chen Miao expressionlessly looked down at the small pistol in his hand. Who exactly was the one with the Supernatural Occupation? Wasn't the Hungry Monkey just a Physical Labor Profession? How could a Lifestyle Occupation seem to have much more combat power than him?
Could a normal person really have such strength?
Probably not, right?
He shook his head, dismissing these thoughts, and joined the fight with his "Python R6 Revolver." He wasn't confident in his shooting skills. Firing at this angle, there was a high chance he might hit the Hungry Monkey's back directly, but he didn't need to aim. He only had to walk behind the Hungry Monkey and extend the barrel directly onto those old men's foreheads before pulling the trigger.
Taking point-blank shots, could he really miss?
For some reason, at that moment, he suddenly felt like he was back in his gaming days, an attacker securely positioned behind a tank, outputting damage in a frenzy. It couldn't be denied—having someone swinging a giant hammer in front of him provided a profound sense of security...
In less than a few minutes.
All of the old men had died here, not a single one left alive.
"Phew!"
Chen Miao glanced at the somewhat bloody scene with a slight frown and turned to ask the Hungry Monkey, "Have you killed before?"
"Nope."
"Then how come you killed so effortlessly just now?"
"Oh, they're not people, just NPCs in the secret realm."
"..."
...
Time flew quickly.
Before they knew it, 11 and a half hours had already passed in this secret realm. After killing those old men, they remained, since the secret realm mission required them to survive for 12 hours, and time wasn't up yet.
Just as the secret realm was about to end and they sat by the central well of the village, warming themselves by a fire and chatting to pass the time, a wisp of white smoke began to emanate slowly from the mouth of the well. The smoke rapidly enshrouded the entire village.
Almost instantly.
By the time Chen Miao noticed the white smoke rising from the well behind him, he had already started feeling dizzy and disoriented, and right before losing consciousness, his last thought was that the previous team must have been wiped out just like this.
Doing nothing, just waiting, until they met their own demise.
After Chen Miao and the Hungry Monkey fell unconscious, the whole village once again fell silent, devoid of any sound. They had slaughtered everyone in the village, including those who were working in the fields at the beginning.
All in all, exactly 33 people.
They also took advantage of the spare time to explore outside the secret realm, but the village was surrounded by a transparent membrane, like the boundaries of the realm. They could see the fields beyond the membrane but couldn't get through.
Finally—
After Chen Miao and the Hungry Monkey had spent the final half-hour unconscious in the secret realm, their bodies vanished from the spot and reappeared on the outskirts of Fengtian City, right where they had entered the secret realm together.
At that moment, the white swirling entrance nearby had disappeared without a trace.
Meanwhile.
A notification sounded faintly in Chen Miao's ear.
'Ding, secret realm settlement announcement.'
'Congratulations to Chen Miao, player of the Supernatural Occupation, for successfully completing the F-ranked two-player map "Blood Night Cannibal Village" with a 100% perfect progress rating. You are awarded a perfect clearance and the following rewards.'
'Player Level Experience +100.'
'F-grade Material "Saltpeter" *1, F-grade Material "Fox-Tail Grass" *2.'
```
"Star Coins*200."
"And has the honor of being ranked No. 789 on the Fengtian City 'Perfect Clearance Leaderboards', please continue to make an effort and strive for further success."
"Additionally, it has been detected that player Chen Miao achieved a perfect clearance rating on his first entry into the Secret Realm, granting an extra reward of Star Coins*200, Free Attribute Point Exchange Ticket*1, and the limited-time item 'First Show of Sharpness'."
A transparent panel popped up in front of Chen Miao.
At this time, Chen Miao had already regained consciousness and was meticulously checking the panel before him.
Perfectly clearing a Secret Realm on his first attempt gave him 100 experience points, meaning he could directly level up to 1, and he was also rewarded with 400 Star Coins, fully meeting all the prerequisites needed to fully activate the 'Gunman' profession.
He was slightly thrilled.
Upon reaching Player Level 1, a detailed Attribute Panel would become available.
And his current personal panel had changed its appearance.
"Player Name": Chen Miao.
"Player Level": Level 1 (0/200)
"Profession Name": Gunman.
"Occupation Exclusive": Can use firearms.
"Player Strength": 8 points.
"Player Agility": 9 points.
"Player Resistance": 8 points.
"Player Backpack": F-grade weapon 'Python R6 Revolver', E-grade limited-time item 'First Show of Sharpness'.
"Player Assets": 200 Star Coins.
He had received a total of 400 Star Coins, but one of the prerequisites for activating the Gunman profession was to spend 200 Star Coins. The moment he got the 400 Star Coins, half was spent, leaving only 200.
"Am I this weak?"
Chen Miao looked at his panel with a somewhat peculiar expression, furrowing his brows. The average attribute points of a normal person was 10, but all of his were below 10, which was somewhat hard for him to accept.
Leveling up had awarded him one Free Attribute Point, and he was just rewarded another Free Attribute Point Exchange Ticket, making a total of two Attribute Points he could distribute.
After a brief contemplation.
Without the slightest hesitation, he allocated both to Agility.
Thus, his Agility had increased to 11 points.
Strength determined how much force his body could exert, Agility determined his running speed and flexibility, and Resistance determined how long he could endure against certain control effects. For instance, if his Resistance had been a little higher, say above 15 points, perhaps he wouldn't have fainted in the presence of the white fog in that Secret Realm earlier.
He had made up his mind to primarily invest in Agility and Resistance from now on, both of which were crucial for survival in key moments.
Especially Resistance.
As for Strength, only a fool would increase that.
What use was great strength to him? He was a Gunman—why did he need so much strength? Was he supposed to swing a Gatling around to smash his enemies' heads? Besides, no matter how strong he was, could he ever be stronger than Hungry Monkey beside him?
Compare one's own weaknesses against someone else's strengths?
Wasn't that just foolish?
He didn't need to be stronger than anyone.
He just needed to run faster than others and let Hungry Monkey take the lead.
Initially rewarded with 400 Star Coins, he had spent 200 to activate the Gunman profession, leaving him with just 200 in his pocket. The profession panel also displayed the prerequisites for the next stage of promotion.
"Gunman Profession Promotion Prerequisites":
When the player level reaches 3, an Occupation Promotion can be performed.
The next stage of profession promotion does not allow for self-selection; there is only one path.
"Heavy Gunner".
```