The wind roared, and the smell of death permeated among the broken walls.
Ian Gray tightly gripped the steel bars in his hands, his palms had been rubbed to the point of hidden pain, and his fingertips were flushed with a thin layer of sweat. He stared at the slowly approaching predator in front of him, his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, and his breathing gradually became rapid.
He felt the oppression of death like never before.
The predator opened its bloody mouth, revealing rows of teeth as sharp as daggers, and thick saliva dripped down along the corners of its lips onto the ground, emitting gouts of black smoke.
"God, what the hell am I doing ...," Ian muttered.
What was once a comfortable and mundane routine seemed like a distant dream in this moment. In the past world, his biggest obsession was nothing more than final exams, handing in papers, or how to woo the girl of his choice. But now, he was facing a monster that could easily tear him apart.
This absurd reality made him feel overwhelmed with strangeness and fear.
But he had no choice.
The predator roared violently, and its limbs were like steel as it suddenly stomped on the ground and lunged at him.
Ian's pupils contracted suddenly, and instinct drove him to roll sideways, narrowly avoiding the monster's first impact. He felt the wind brought up by the predator scrape against his face, and that overwhelming force shook him.
[System prompt: Observe the enemy's movement patterns and look for weaknesses.]
The system's mechanical and cold prompt echoed in his mind, slightly easing the panic within him.
"Weaknesses ..." Ian gasped, quickly recalling the fused memories, "Predators have bad eyesight, but unusually sharp hearing ... "
Information raced through his mind as he held his breath, minimizing the sound of his movements.
The predator growled low, its head turning slowly as if it was catching his movements.
Just as the monster was puzzled for a few moments, Ian leapt up and swung the steel bar to strike the monster hard in the head. The hard steel bar struck the predator's bone armor, and the violent vibration almost paralyzed his arm.
"This thing won't even hurt it!" Ian cursed.
The Predator roared with rage once again and backhanded him with a sweeping blow, Ian couldn't dodge in time and was knocked out by the huge impact, his body landed heavily on the ruins and pain swept through his body.
He gasped and struggled to get up, his vision becoming blurry.
[WARNING: Host's life value has dropped by 30%, please act quickly].
"Damn it ...," Ian clenched his teeth as blood slowly seeped out of his forehead. He forced himself to calm down and desperately thought of a countermeasure.
"Weakness ... Weakness is in the ears!" The remaining memories of Kane Ward instantly surfaced in his mind.
No longer able to think about it, Ian got up violently and copied a broken brick in his left hand and smashed it fiercely towards the predator's head. The brick exploded on top of the monster's head with an ear-splitting sound.
The predator instantly screamed and violently threw its head around, roaring in pain.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ian quickly rushed forward, aiming the steel bar at the sensitive ear holes on the side of the monster's head, and stabbed it in as hard as he could.
Accompanied by a mournful scream, the predator's body convulsed violently and struggled backward.
Ian felt the steel bar in his hand constantly vibrating, and he clutched it with all his might, the tragic scene just now repeatedly floating in his mind.
This was the first time he had faced such a bloody and cruel scene directly, the touch of the piercing into the flesh, the warmth of the blood and the monster's hiss of agony were all hitting his mental defenses.
"Why ... why did it turn out like this?" A wave of bitterness and helplessness welled up in the bottom of his heart.
The predator finally fell to the ground with a loud thud, its heavy corpse raising a large cloud of dust that gradually returned to calm.
Ian gasped and sat paralyzed on the ground, his eyes staring vacantly at the mess. His hands were still trembling slightly, and complex emotions rolled within him.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully defeating the predator, do you loot the talent?]
The system's voice sounded again, waking him up from his trance.
Ian froze for a split second and clenched his teeth, "Plunder!"
Instantly, a warm power surged into his body, his muscles and bones felt like they were being reforged, and his body exuded new vigor.
[Plunder Successful, Gain Talent: Predator Power (Strength +20%, Perception +15%)]
Ian took a deep breath and stood up, feeling the newborn strength gradually spreading throughout his body. He looked down at the predator's massive corpse with a complex expression.
"Is this the new world ..." he whispered, his eyes gradually becoming determined.
He knew that this was only the beginning.
No matter what awaited him next, he had to bravely go on.
He slowly turned around and took his first step into the unknown and dangerous post-apocalyptic world.
This world, may not be welcoming to him, but he had decided to live and become strong.
He would do anything to survive.