Ian and Alisa took the unconscious Ron back to the dilapidated truck three kilometers away and started the truck to move in the direction of the City of Ashes, after just a few hours, there were only three people left in the car, such was the cruelty of the end times.
Soon Eliza also fell asleep due to her physical exhaustion, Ian drove the car alone, traveling on the desolate road with only the ruins of the buildings on both sides accompanying him.
At this time Ian also finally had the time to look at the system's prompts in detail, during the battle just now, the system sent out several prompts, only due to the intense battle, Ian didn't have the time to watch them in detail.
[Talent looting successful, hunter instinct upgrade: agility +5%, strength +5%], [Talent looting successful, hunter instinct upgrade: agility +5%, strength +5%, perception +5%], [Talent looting successful, hunter instinct upgrade: agility +3%, strength +3%]...
Repeated looting of the same ability will boost the original attributes, but it seems that as the number of times the same ability is looted increases, the boosted attributes will decrease, it seems that the system is trying to get me to loot more different abilities.
[Congratulations to the host, successfully upgraded to Spark level, Reward: system mission function opened.]
The doubts in Ian's heart became more numerous as he finished reading the last system prompt.
"System, can you hear my voice?" Ian tried to communicate with the system in his mind.
[Yes, host. I am online at all times.] The system's mechanical and calm voice responded immediately.
"Tell me, what exactly are your full functions?" Ian continued to inquire.
[The main functions of the Talent Predator System include: plundering the enemy's talents and skills, fusing them and transforming them into the host's own abilities; this system also has the function of task release, and completing a task can obtain additional rewards and reinforcement. There are also more other functions waiting to be discovered by the host.]
"You said I've upgraded to Spark level, so what level was I originally, and how am I going to upgrade in the future? "
[The host's original rank was between that of an ordinary person and a Spark level alien, all upgrades for the host thereafter will rely on looted abilities, the more abilities that are looted, the faster the host's upgrades will be].
Ian frowned slightly, "What about the mission function, what kind of missions exactly?"
[Quests are categorized into daily quests, limited time quests, and mainline quests. Daily quests are refreshed daily and have more ordinary rewards; time-limited quests are unexpected events or special challenges with generous rewards but higher difficulty; mainline quests are important quests that guide the host's growth and reveal the truth about the world, and have the most generous rewards."]
Ian pondered for a moment and then asked, "What specific rewards will I receive after the mission is completed?"
[The rewards include but are not limited to source crystals, talent enhancement points, special skills, and rare equipment. The specific rewards will be determined based on the difficulty and degree of completion of the quest. In addition, the rewards of the mainline quests are fixed for the open access to other functions of this system]
Ian's interest gradually ignited within him, "So, are there any quests suitable for me now?"
The system was silent for a moment, then a translucent mission interface surfaced in his field of vision.
[Time-limited mission has been triggered: Safe Return] [Mission Objective: Lead the squad to safely return to the City of Ashes and protect at least two of your teammates from surviving.] [Mission Reward: Low-grade Source Crystal x 5, Talent Enhancement Points x 2.] [Mission Failure Penalty: Temporary weakening of the host's attributes by 20% (lasts for 24 hours)].
Ian's gaze slightly condensed, ripples rippling in his heart. This mission seemed simple, but in the post-apocalyptic environment, it was full of unknown dangers.
He quickly adjusted his mindset and secretly resolved in his heart to ensure the safety of his teammates no matter what.
Ian continued to communicate with the system in his mind, "I still have some questions, how on earth did you appear on me?"
[The Gifted Marauder System originated from the special energy fluctuations of the host traveling through time and space, and the host's consciousness created a perfect fusion with the system, thus the host was able to fully control and activate the system's functions].
Ian frowned thoughtfully, "So, my crossing over was not an accident, but some kind of inevitability?"
[To be precise, the host's crossing has the dual characteristics of high uncertainty and inevitability. The system cannot reveal more details, the host needs to explore and reveal the truth on his own."]
Ian sighed, although his heart was still full of doubts, he understood that the most important thing right now was to ensure the safety of his teammates.
At this moment, Ron's weak voice rang out, "Where is this? Am I dead?" Ian responded, "You're alive, Ron, we managed to escape." Ron's tone was slightly pained, "We did, it's a miracle we survived, but Mark and Bruno didn't. "Ian didn't know how to respond
Ron suddenly said, "Wait, stop!"
Puzzled, Ian said, "What's wrong?"
Ron lowered his voice and said, "My psychic ability is what gives me the ability to smell animals, my sense of smell is unusually sensitive, I feel some unfamiliar odors around me, something may be approaching."
Alyssa had awakened as well, her only remaining arm gripping her dagger nervously, "Could it be the hunters again?"
"No, not sure, but we have to be careful." Ian responded calmly.
The crowd held their breath as the silence around them was palpitating. Suddenly, a slight rustling sound came from among the ruins.
"Someone is following us!" Ron warned in a low voice.
Ian quickly prepared his defense, his eyes sharply scanning the surroundings, "Whoever it is, don't think it will be easy." Sure enough, none of the tasks given by the system would be that easy to accomplish.
Ron carefully discerned and quickly signaled his teammates to pay attention to the left side: "Three people, left side of the ruins, be careful!"
"We have no intention of hurting anyone!" A hoarse voice suddenly came from the ruins, "We just want some supplies."
Ron sneered, "There's nothing you want here, better leave!"
The other party was silent for a moment, then tentatively continued to speak, "We haven't eaten for days, please ..."
Ian struggled with complexity in his heart, he knew the preciousness of resources, but he also understood the difficulty of surviving in the post-apocalyptic world. Seeing Ian's hesitation, Ron reminded in a low voice, "We don't have many supplies left, if we share it with them any more, we won't be able to last ourselves."
Ian clenched his teeth and finally made a decision, "I'm sorry, we really can't help you guys anymore, please leave as soon as possible."
There was silence in the ruins once again for a while, then several figures slowly retreated and disappeared into the darkness. As the group resumed their journey home, Ian felt a twinge of guilt in his heart, he understood that mercy was sometimes not the best choice in the end times. But his soul was also just an ordinary college student, in this world, he needed to adapt, there was still a lot more.
Soon, the outline of the City of Ashes gradually became clearer, and several people finally saw hope.
[Time-limited mission completed, reward delivered, receive or not.]