"Hey, why is he gone?"
The five people of Sister Li stood frozen.
They searched everywhere, but Yang Shung was nowhere to be found.
The tall male assassin in the group was puzzled: "Is this some invisibility skill? Does his profession have it? That's so cool."
The assassin's own class didn't start with an invisibility skill.
The five of them searched for Yang Shung for a long time but didn't dare to leave the safe zone. Disappointed, they returned to Shell Town.
Sister Li frowned: "It's too dangerous outside. We died once, and our lifespan has been halved. Let's check the town first, maybe we can find something useful."
The soft, long-haired girl brightened up: "Yes! Maybe there are treasure chests, NPCs, or something."
The tall male assassin, staying calm, chuckled: "Look at how nervous you are. Although this God-forsaken game is strange, it can't really affect our lifespan... We've resurrected, so we can go out and kill the creeper."
Another male warrior agreed: "I think so too. We got close, but he took almost half of our health. That guy from earlier could probably take it down alone."
Sister Li sneered: "We barely took down half of its health with five people. He can only rely on invisibility to save his life. Killing the creeper? He's dreaming."
---
Yang Shung didn't know or care about their conversation.
He knew there was nothing in the initial town to improve his strength—just a place to rest.
Reactivating his "shadow" skill, Yang Shung walked through the dark, scorched earth.
When invisible, every sound—his steps, breathing, heartbeat—was silent.
No one could detect him, unless they had an anti-stealth skill.
As a shadow profession, Yang Shung's skill gave him an extra stealth level, so no one, not even monsters, could see him at this stage.
He soon reached a sparse forest, about a hundred meters from the town. There, he spotted the shadowy outline of a creeper resting.
——
[Crawler (Lv1)]
[Grade: Ordinary (Advancing...)]
---
"This thing killed those five players and is consuming their lifespans?" Yang Shung narrowed his eyes.
He had seen this many times before. After monsters hunt players, they need time to advance. The creeper in front of him was greedy—it killed five players and stayed, wanting more.
Yang Shung found a hidden corner. When his invisibility wore off, he activated "hidden shadow," making his movement seamless.
With a scrap iron short knife in hand, Yang Shung quietly approached the creeper. The stench of decay grew stronger as he neared.
The creeper was faceless with thin limbs, lying near a tree, surrounded by gray mist—the visual representation of the lifespan it consumed.
Yang Shung knew: "The monster will convert any undigested lifespan into loot when it dies."
He didn't hesitate. He stayed invisible, sneaked up, and attacked.
The short knife flashed from the shadows, striking the back of the creeper's neck.
-372 (weak point attack)!
The creeper collapsed instantly, gray-white blood pouring from its neck.
"This shadow profession is terrifying!" Yang Shung was impressed by the damage. But he knew it wasn't just the class; his evolved "Prowl" skill added a massive boost.
---
[You killed 'Crawler (Lv1)'.]
[You gained 10 experience points.]
---
On the creeper's body, a fist-sized ball of gray-white mist floated—a visible lifespan ready to be taken.
Yang Shung reached out, absorbing the mist.
---
[You have gained 3 days of lifespan (tradable).]
[You have gained 54 years and 155 days of lifespan (untradable).]
---
Yang Shung shook his head. "Those five were killed, each losing 20 to 30 years of lifespan. This creeper only drops 54 years of untradable lifespan..."
He knew untradable lifespan was useless for now. The tradable kind, though, was key.
By consuming tradable lifespan, players could extract equipment, skills, or even their professions into reality!
"But killing small monsters only gives a few days of tradable lifespan. That's not enough."
He glanced at the loot: rotten leather boots and a skill book.
---
[Rotten leather boots (poor quality): Physical defense +3, movement speed +5%. Requirements: level 1]
[Skill book · Ice cone (normal): Mage skill book. Requirements: level 1]
---
"Two drops at once. Pretty lucky." He sighed. "But they don't help me much."
Yang Shung put on the boots and moved on. This monster didn't provide enough for him to evolve or level up.
He activated his "shadow" skill again and walked deeper into the woods.
Just then, other players from Shell Town started to explore. Some formed teams, others ventured alone.
A young couple arrived where Yang Shung had just killed the creeper.
"Did someone kill a monster here?" the man asked.
"This game doesn't seem hard. I told you not to be so nervous," the woman, Xiao Ya, laughed.
"Watch, there'll be more monsters later. I'll take you to kill them!"
They didn't notice the massive black shadow above them, hanging from the tree.