He gently rubbed the silver ring on his hand with his thumb. The ring was smooth; even with the faint, peculiar patterns etched on it, it felt exceptionally slick to the touch. Li Xuan sat in a bathtub filled with cold water, his thoughts in a bit of a mess.
This was his third day in this world of roaming zombies and rampant monsters. He had been terrified, sad, and homesick when facing the flesh-tearing Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts.
Transmigration isn't always a good thing, especially when you end up in a place teeming with monsters. But reality is cruel. He could no longer return to his peaceful world, nor could he attend his dream university. He was even separated from his parents by worlds.
Li Xuan had never been great at adapting to new environments. It was impossible for him to be like the protagonists in novels who immediately get their act together and start thriving. But what good was sadness and regret? People still had to eat and drink. So, to survive, Li Xuan could only afford to be sentimental during his breaks. Then he had to cast aside his distracting thoughts and push forward, to survive in this truly dog-eat-dog world. Because only by living does anything become possible.
Ever since that headache, his skin had become smoother and fairer. His strength had evolved from that of a feeble otaku to the level of an elite special forces soldier, and his running speed was comparable to that of a national athlete. Though he had no idea what principle was behind these changes.
Thanks to this, Li Xuan hadn't been torn apart by Honkai Zombies. But these changes weren't the most important thing. What mattered most to Li Xuan now was the knowledge about Honkai that kept popping into his head, the Gate of Vows inside the ring, and the Taiji mark on the back of his right hand.
According to the information in his head, the mark on the back of his hand was called a Stigmata. Stigmata appear due to Honkai energy, and they grant the possessor the ability to control and gather Honkai energy. The probability of one appearing is one in a million. That this astronomically low chance had fallen upon Li Xuan made him feel an urge to go buy a lottery ticket.
Then there was the silver ring that had appeared out of nowhere. It was a storage ring with a space equivalent to a villa, but it was completely empty except for a golden, door-like object. It was indeed a door, just not a very large one. Its design, however, was exquisite, covered in strange characters, somewhat resembling the Arc de Triomphe. But its most peculiar feature was the mirror-like surface in the center of the door, which was gray as if it led to another world.
The first time Li Xuan took it out of the ring and touched it, its function and purpose automatically appeared in his mind. The Gate of Vows. By defeating Honkai Zombies or Honkai Beasts, he could collect the Honkai energy within them and use his Stigmata to compress it into a high-density substance—Honkai Crystals. By collecting enough Crystals and placing them on the door, he could summon divine equipment with godly power.
The unscientific nature of this thing was simply outrageous! And the summoned items were completely dependent on luck; you get what you pull. This was clearly a little cheat given to him, a transmigrator, by some unknown entity.
Over these three days, Li Xuan had managed to extract ninety Crystals from the Honkai Zombies he had killed on arrival and from the lone ones he had subdued with brute force.
He had gotten pretty banged up in the process, but luckily, after acquiring the Stigmata, his physical resilience was quite high, and his recovery rate was maxed out. Minor external injuries would heal up in just a few hours.
For some reason, the Honkai Zombies that appeared on the streets were almost all female in appearance, but each one was as strong as a muscle-bound brute. Once, Li Xuan was almost strangled to death by one of them. The title of 'First Transmigrator to be Strangled to Death' was something even Li Xuan's thick skin couldn't handle.
But a great man from China once told us: no pain, no gain.
Li Xuan performed his first vow. On that day, the gongs and drums were deafening, the colorful flags fluttered... alright, that was his fantasy. The real scene was Li Xuan kneeling on the damp ground with the Gate of Vows in front of him. A light rain was falling, and he was inelegantly stretching his neck to drink the rainwater while carefully placing the Honkai Crystals into the gate. As the Crystals touched the mirror-like surface, they seemed to melt and were consumed. After ninety Crystals were inserted, the Gate of Vows suddenly flashed with a blue light, so bright he couldn't open his eyes.
The blue brilliance was fleeting, lasting only a few seconds. After the light faded, a silver gun lay quietly on the gate.
Li Xuan's hands trembled as he reached out to pick up the gun. Everyone knows that in an apocalypse, being without a weapon means you'll die faster than anyone else. And now, he finally had his first gun. As his fingers touched it, information flowed into him. His first gun—a three-star weapon: the Rifled Flintlock!
Weapon levels are divided by stars; the higher the star rating, the stronger the weapon's damage. Six-star weapons are also called Divine Weapons, and their power is unimaginable. At the very least, they can cut down ordinary Honkai Zombies like vegetables. There are even seven-star weapons beyond that, but their details are unknown.
The Rifled Flintlock had an initial ammo capacity of twenty-four and the ability to knock back enemies. The gun's bullets regenerated automatically, one bullet per minute.
Li Xuan stood up, holding the gun, just as a Honkai Zombie charged at him. The female Honkai Zombie's ashen face carried a faint, fishy smell. Between its bared teeth were faint reddish traces, the flesh and blood of some unknown animal.
Cock, shoot! In Li Xuan's vision, a bullet shot out from the gun, fanning out into four separate projectiles in mid-air. The Honkai Zombie was hit by two of them, its body sent flying as if struck by a heavy truck. It crashed heavily to the ground with the sound of breaking bones.
Under the post-rain sun, the Rifled Flintlock glinted with a metallic silver light.
After taking a bath, Li Xuan wrapped a bandage he found around the Stigmata on his right hand to cover it up—the red mark was a bit too conspicuous. He lay down on the bed of an abandoned house and fell into a deep sleep, the silver Rifled Flintlock placed beside him.
Tomorrow would be his fourth day in the Honkai world.
(End of Chapter)