Smack! Smack!
Stinging pain on my cheek. Like I was being slapped repeatedly with sandpaper. Along with the pain, a voice exploded in my head—anxious, yet laced with disgust.
"Hey! Wake up! Stop playing dead! Who's going to buy me meat if you die?!"
I struggled out of the boundless darkness. Eyelids felt like lead. As soon as I opened them, the world was a blurry double image. A high-pitched buzzing tinnitus filled my ears, like ten thousand cicadas screaming in my skull.
Vision slowly focused.
A magnified, furry dog face occupied my entire field of view. Shadow had his paw raised, ready for a third slap. Seeing me open my eyes, he visibly relaxed, left his paw hanging in mid-air for a second, then put it down casually.
"Luck of the devil," he scoffed. "Struck by lightning and not even medium-rare. Your hide is thicker than I thought."
Cough...
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry as a desert. Only a raspy cough came out.
Pain.
That was the first sensation after consciousness returned.
Not in one spot. Every single cell in my body hurt. It felt like someone had dismantled my skeleton and wired it back together with rusty steel.
I tried to move a finger.
Zzzzt—
The moment my fingertip brushed the ground, a faint but distinct blue arc jumped from under my fingernail, hitting the concrete with a tiny pop.
I flinched. Pupils constricted.
"What... what is this?"
I raised my hands in horror.
By the faint light of the fire, I saw my arms.
The dozens of layers of fashion magazines I taped on for insulation had turned into black ash. With my movement, they crumbled away, revealing the skin underneath.
It wasn't the skin I knew.
My entire arm was a weird purplish-red, like a massive bruise. And on this bruised skin, hideous, branching white patterns were etched.
They stretched from the back of my hand all the way up to my shoulder, disappearing under my clothes. These patterns glowed faintly, as if energy was flowing beneath the skin.
Lichtenberg figures.
I'd seen pictures online. The scars left on lightning strike survivors.
But mine... seemed alive.
"Mutation."
Shadow sat nearby, staring at my arm with complicated golden eyes. "Congratulations. A blessing in disguise. The lightning didn't turn you to ash; instead, some of it stayed in your cells. It activated your... potential."
"Potential?"
I tried clenching my fist.
Zzz-zap...
As my muscles tightened, the tree-like patterns lit up instantly. A numbing current flowed through my meridians, pooling in my palm. It was weak—maybe the strength of a lighter's piezoelectric spark—but it was real.
"So I'm... Pikachu now?"
I laughed bitterly. Tried to sit up, but my body was limp. Muscle spasms from electrical overload.
"Close enough. Budget version," Shadow shrugged. "This energy is unstable. If you can't control it, it'll fry your nerves eventually."
"Deal with that later..."
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself upright through the pain. I looked toward the center of the battlefield. "Is... is it dead?"
Shadow stepped aside.
Not far away, the Rock-Armored Tyrant—the invincible monster that brought us despair—was now a mound of charred black meat.
It lay in the fetal position. Its indestructible head had exploded like a rotten watermelon. Black brain matter pooled on the ground. The air was thick with the sickening smell of burnt flesh.
And in the middle of that charred mess, a fist-sized crystal floated.
Unlike the dull grey of normal cores, this one was semi-transparent pale yellow. Earthy halos swirled on its surface, and deep in the core, a wisp of purple lightning flickered.
[C-Rank Mutant Core (Rare · Dual Attribute: Thunder/Earth)]
Even from meters away, I could feel the seductive energy radiating from it.
"We... we're rich..."
I swallowed, the pain in my body fading slightly. A C-Rank Core! Worth 500 Energy! With this, I could buy the Particle Blade! Or the Nano Suit!
"Stop grinning like an idiot. Get it." Shadow urged. "The energy fluctuation is too strong. Like a lighthouse in the dark. It'll bring trouble."
Trouble?
My heart tightened.
I crawled over on hands and knees. Every movement sent needles of pain through me.
Finally, I reached the Tyrant's corpse.
The core hovered. I reached out a trembling hand and grabbed it.
Zap!
The moment my fingers touched it, the residual electricity in my body found an outlet. It surged into the core. The core vibrated, its glow retracted, turning into a seemingly ordinary yellow stone.
Warm. Tingling.
Holding it felt like holding a beating heart.
"Store!"
I focused my mind, trying to put it in System Space.
But then.
Tap, tap, tap...
Messy, hurried footsteps echoed from the other end of the alley.
Beams of bright flashlight cut through the darkness, sweeping around until they locked onto the Tyrant's corpse. And me.
"Holy shit! Boss, look!"
A shrill male voice rang out, full of shock and greed. "Look at the size of that thing! What the hell is that?"
"It's dead! Struck by lightning!" Another rough voice shouted. "Look there! A Crystal Core! That kid has a core in his hand!"
My heart dropped.
Worst case scenario.
I looked up, squinting against the glare. I made out three men.
Wearing tattered camo gear, covered in makeshift scrap metal armor. The leader had a scar across his face, holding a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. To his left, a skinny guy with a modified nail gun. To his right, a brute with a fire axe.
Scavengers.
The hyenas of the apocalypse. They don't produce, they don't fight zombies. They scour the ruins for supplies, or... hunt lone survivors.
"Hey! You!"
Scarface stepped forward, pointing the black muzzle at me. Arrogant. "Drop the rock! I saw it first!"
"You saw it first?"
I used the Tyrant's corpse to pull myself up, standing shakily. Sneered. "I killed this monster."
"You killed it?" Scarface laughed like he heard a joke. Pointed at my shredded clothes and trembling legs. "You? A half-dead cripple? And a lame dog?"
He glanced at Shadow.
Shadow was in bad shape. He took a hit from the Tyrant to create the opening for me. His left front leg wouldn't bear weight. He crouched low, growling a warning.
"Cut the crap, Boss!" The skinny guy stared greedily at the core. "That's big loot! At least C-Rank! We can trade that at the Shelter for a year's worth of food! And women!"
"Kid, be smart."
Scarface racked the shotgun. Click-clack. "Toss the core. Leave the sword on your back. Since I'm in a good mood, I might let you live."
Let me live?
Even ghosts wouldn't believe that lie.
In this world, killing for loot is the norm. Leaving no witnesses is the only safe way.
"Shadow..."
I whispered. "Can we fight?"
"Fight my ass." Shadow's voice was weak. "I'm out of mana. You're crippled. They have a gun. Checkmate."
"Then what?"
"Run."
Shadow looked at the ruins behind us. "Sewer entrance over there. On three."
"Three."
I gripped the core tight. My other hand crept toward the Tang Dao.
"Two."
Scarface seemed to sense my intent. Finger tightened on the trigger. "Choosing the hard way? Number Three, go take it!"
The brute with the axe grinned, stepping toward me.
"One! RUN!!!"
Shadow let out a thunderous roar. He lunged—not at the enemy, but at a stack of empty oil drums nearby.
CLANG-BANG!
The drums toppled, creating a massive noise and blocking the brute's path.
At the same time, I used the last ounce of my strength to turn and sprint!
BANG!
Gunshot.
The bullet hit the concrete at my heels, spraying sparks and gravel.
"Chase him! Don't let him get away!"
"He's wounded! He can't get far!"
Footsteps pounded behind us.
I gritted my teeth, dragging my heavy legs, sprinting through the ruins.
Every step sent random currents shooting through my body, needle-like pain. Lungs felt on fire. Every breath tasted of blood.
But I dared not stop.
Stop means death.
We dove into a narrow alley. Complex terrain, collapsed walls, abandoned furniture. Best place to lose a tail.
"This way!"
Shadow led. Even on three legs, he was faster than me.
We wove through a skeletal building. Climbed a wall. Jumped a pit.
The curses behind us got closer.
"There! I see the dog!"
BANG!
Another shot. This time, the bullet grazed my shoulder, taking a chunk of flesh.
"Hiss!"
I grunted, stumbled, and fell into a pile of rubble.
"Bai Shi!" Shadow stopped, looking back anxiously.
"Go... you go..."
I tried to get up, but my legs wouldn't obey. Exhaustion plus lightning aftereffects pushed my body past its limit.
"Can't run anymore?"
A sinister voice came from behind.
I turned.
The skinny guy stood on a wall, nail gun aimed at me. The brute with the axe was flanking. Scarface walked out slowly, wearing the look of a cat playing with a mouse.
"Run? Why don't you run?"
Scarface walked up to me and stomped on my hand.
CRACK!
Agony drilled into my brain. I screamed. The Tang Dao slipped from my grip.
"Stubborn."
Scarface bent down, reaching for the core in my chest pocket. "Next life, get better eyes."
His hand was inches away.
Despair washed over me.
Am I really going to die here?
I just killed a Tyrant. Just got the core. Just saw hope... and I die to this trash?
I refuse!
A violent rage exploded in my chest.
My heart hammered. Blood pumped faster. The erratic electricity in my body seemed to sense my anger. It suddenly surged toward my right hand.
"GET OFF!!!"
I roared like a beast. Ignoring the pain of my fractured hand, I snatched Scarface's wrist.
ZZZ-ZAP!!!
This time, not a weak spark.
A blinding, blue-white arc of high-voltage current!
It erupted from my palm like an angry lightning snake, drilling straight into Scarface's body.
"AAAAHHH—!!!"
Scarface screamed.
His body went rigid, convulsing violently. Hair stood on end. Eyes rolled back. The current wasn't enough to charcoal him, but it was enough to seize his heart and cramp every muscle.
"What?!"
The skinny guy and the brute froze. Watching their boss glowing blue and breakdancing.
"ROLL!"
I shoved with all my might.
Scarface fell back stiff as a board. Foaming at the mouth, twitching.
While the others were stunned.
"Shadow! Bite him!"
Shadow had no mana, but he had teeth. He lunged at the skinny guy with the nail gun, clamping onto his calf.
"Ah! My leg!"
Skinny guy went down screaming.
I grabbed the Tang Dao. Hand shaking, but I swung it wild, putting on a desperate show of force. I roared at the brute:
"COME ON! WHO WANTS TO DIE?!"
Residual electric arcs still crackled over my body, buzzing in the dark. I looked like a lightning demon.
The brute was terrified.
Looked at his boss, half-dead on the ground. Looked at the mad dog. Looked at the electric freak.
Fear beat greed.
"Monster... it's a monster!"
He dropped the axe and ran. The skinny guy kicked Shadow off and limped away, wailing.
They didn't even care about their boss.
Silence returned to the alley.
I held the pose until I was sure they were gone. Then I collapsed again.
Zero energy left.
"You... that was..."
Shadow limped over, looking at my hand. Complicated expression.
I looked at my palm. The lightning patterns seemed faded. The swelling was gone.
"Discharge."
I said weakly. "Guess I really am Pikachu."
"Good skill." Shadow licked my face. "Life saver. But looks like a long cooldown. You look like a dead dog."
"Takes one to know one."
I struggled up. Picked up the core. Searched Scarface.
A shotgun. A few shells. A pack of cigarettes.
"Poor bastard."
I cursed. Didn't kill him (no strength left). "Let's go. Back to the shelter. We're really going home this time."
Leaning on each other, we disappeared into the night.
Behind us, the unconscious Scarface twitched involuntarily.
The farce of greed and survival was over.
And I, with a body full of pain and a destiny-changing lightning power, finally stepped over the threshold of becoming strong.