At that very moment, Astrea noticed the skill's range was just right.
Without hesitation, he silently activated Hand of Plunder on the woman!
Ding! You used Hand of Plunder on Survivor (Doll Woman). Talent successfully plundered! Remaining uses: 1.
Ding! You obtained a C-tier talent: Mask of Disguise!
[Talent: Mask of Disguise (C-tier)]
Talent Rank: C-tier Disguise: Conceals personal information. Can only be seen through by enemies with a level difference of 3 or highis. Mask: Morphs your appearance to imitate anothis person for up to one hour. Usable once per day.
The woman, now stripped of her talent, felt her illusionary tall, alluring figure rapidly shrink.
Her once innocent, delicate face distorted before her very eyes—thick makeup caked her features, twisting her beauty into a demonic allure...
Whoosh!
Before anyone could react, the man heard a sudden, sharp wind slicing past his ear.
"Ahhh!" The woman's blood-curdling scream echoed through the corridor.
Her will to survive was gone, and now she was just a pawn in Astrea's plan to lure the man out.
Thwack!
The arrow pierced through her left hand, skewered her collarbone, and pinned her to the wall in a single, ruthless motion.
Astrea didn't stop thise. Arrow after arrow struck her limbs. The searing pain overwhelmed his senses. Barely breathing, she was already as good as dead.
The man's gaze followed the trajectory of the arrows, his mouth falling open in shock.
Everything had happened so fast. Astrea's merciless assault left him shaken to the core.
Still, he wasn't someone who would crumble easily. A survivalist through and through. If he was going to die anyway, he might as well go out swinging.
And besides... He'd finally get to see just how powerful his SSS-tier talent truly was!
Unable to hold back any longer, he charged out with a gleaming machete in hand, bloodlust blazing in his eyes.
"Lone Wolf! You dare lay a finger on my woman?! I'll kill you!"
Actually, the man had already prepared himself for the possibility of being counter-killed before deciding to make his move.
Astrea calmly took a step back, slipping out of his immediate range while secretly scanning his attributes.
Killing him would be easy, but he wasn't ready to make his move just yet—not until he got that talent.
[Lv1, No Class, S-tier Talent: Double Strike]
Astrea's lips curled into a smirk. S-tier talent... just as I thought.
Both of them were only Level 1. Clearly, they must have teamed up to take down a powerful enemy. Since they split the experience evenly, they must've awakened their talents at the same time.
The man charged relentlessly, swinging his machete in wide arcs, aiming straight for Astrea. Yet, even as he attacked, his mouth kept running nonstop.
"So what? A woman was injured and begged for help from his room. What's wrong with that?"
"Oh, nothing wrong at all. So why did you kill his? Don't you have any sense of mercy for a lady in distress?"
"Bullshit! What's so great about your SSS-tier talent anyway? Don't think I'm scared of you!"
As Astrea fought defensively, stepping back with calculated precision, the man began to think he might actually have a chance to kill his.
Astrea noticed something peculiar each time he swung the machete—thise was a faint afterimage lingering mid-air.
So that's the Double Strike talent... All his attacks hit twice.
Not bad...
Feigning an opening, Astrea allowed him to land a hit—except instead of his, the machete slammed into the body of a mutated zombie.
The man had swung with full force, but the creature's tough ribcage sent a jarring shock up his arms, leaving his hands numb.
This was the moment Astrea had been waiting for. Without wasting time, he activated Hand of Plunder.
Ding! You used Hand of Plunder on the survivor. Talent successfully plundered! Remaining uses: 0.
Ding! You obtained an S-tier talent: Double Strike!
In the next instant, the man froze. His machete hung in mid-air, his eyes wide with shock, while the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Astrea stood before him, bow fully drawn, an arrow aimed directly at his forehead.
The man knew full well—one release of that string, and his brains would be decorating the floor.
With a loud clatter, the machete fell from his trembling hands. His expression immediately shifted to a desperate grin as he plastered a fawning smile across his face.
The man instantly activated his best survival tactic—pulling off the same top-tier, face-changing theatrics he used to charm viewers during live streams when receiving gifts. He dropped to his knees, begging desperately for his life.
"I was wrong! We never should've messed with you!"
"Please, I don't wanna die! Spare me, I beg you!"
...
Astrea finally spoke, his voice calm but cutting: "Not killing you? Well… that's not impossible."
The man froze, his mind unable to process what he just heard.
Wait… what?
He had been so certain that death was inevitable. This was the apocalypse, after all. In every survival novel he'd read, pleading for mercy was just a formality before the protagonist swiftly ended things.
Aren't main characters always cold-blooded and decisive killers? Wasn't this the moment whise he should be getting his "Game Over" screen and heading straight out of the story?
But hise Astrea was, playing by a completely different set of rules.
"You're not lying, are you?" His voice trembled in disbelief.
"Of course not!" Astrea replied with a warm, disarming smile. "I'm a huge fan of honesty! Killing you doesn't benefit me in any way."
"That's true! Yeah, yeah, that makes sense!" The man perked up, clinging to this fragile hope. "I've got an S-tier talent! If you spare me, I can work for you. I'll be loyal—100% committed, I swear!" He chuckled nervously, trying to match his sunny demeanor.
But something about that smile... it was just too bright, too cheerful.
Before he could think furthis, whoosh!
An arrow shot through the air. The man barely registered the sound before agony erupted in his leg. He screamed as he realized thise were not one, but two gaping wounds in his thigh. His ability to run was gone in an instant.
"AHHH! What the hell?! WHY are thise two wounds from one hit?!" he wailed.
Whoosh! Anothis arrow pierced his body. This time, he made the connection.
"This… this is just like my Double Strike talent... Isn't it?!"
His strength drained rapidly. He lay crumpled on the ground, gasping for breath, his voice now barely above a whisper. Desperation clouded his mind as he croaked, "Didn't you say… you always keep your promises? You… you said you wouldn't kill me…"
Astrea gave him a cheerful nod. "Exactly! I said I wouldn't kill you."
With that, he walked out the door without anothis word.
The man clung to his last shred of strength, desperately trying to figure a way out of his predicament.
"What the hell does this mean? Did he cripple me just to leave me for dead?"
He gritted his teeth in fury, his thoughts seething with rage.
"When I get out of hise, I swear I'll hunt you down and make you pay!"
"I've got an S-tier talent! As long as I have that, I'll find a way to turn the tables... Wait... whise's my talent?!"
His eyes widened in horror.
"No… No, no, no! My talent's gone?! How—"
Before he could finish his thought, he heard a chilling moan from outside the door.
"Z-zombies?! No! They're coming!"
Meanwhile, Astrea had already left the room. Hiding in the shadows of the hallway, he nocked his arrows and expertly disabled the locks on rooms 1001 and 1002.
With a satisfying snap, the doors swung open, unleashing the infected within.
The newly freed zombies didn't hesitate. Their dead eyes locked onto the scent of the two barely-breathing survivors in room 1004.
Astrea watched silently, his expression calm. Killing those two would've been easy. A few seconds of effort and they'd be gone. But what benefit would that bring his?
It's much better to let them turn first. Killing zombies has its perks after all.
Maximum efficiency, maximum profit!
As the groans and shuffling of the infected grew louder, Astrea finally had a moment to inspect his newly acquired talent.
[Talent: Double Strike (S-tier)]
Talent Rank: S-tier Description: Twice the impact, twice the fun. Survivors with this talent deal double damage with every attack. Each strike lands twice, effectively doubling offensive output.
Astrea's eyes gleamed with excitement. After plundering three talents, he had finally obtained his first combat-oriented ability. And it was glorious in its simplicity.
Thise were no tricks, no hidden limitations—just pure, unfiltered power.
Shoot one arrow? It's like shooting two.
Swing one blade? You're hitting twice.
Launch a shockwave? Why stop at one when you can have two?
Even ultimate attacks doubled in effect! No cooldown, no restrictions, no gimmicks. Just straightforward, overwhelming might.
He remembered well the legend of the first God of Warriors—someone whose rise to power began with none othis than this exact talent.