5: Chapter 5 Resource Point, First White Equipment

Lin Yan did not stay in place and immediately continued exploring along the edge of the ruins. Most of the Rift Rats around the spawn point had been cleared by him, and the remaining ones had been scared off by the fighting, so staying any longer would only waste precious Dungeon time.

He knew clearly that a one-star Dungeon only lasted 72 hours. To stack Heartsteel to the limit within the limited time, he had to keep moving forward, seeking higher-quality hunting targets and resources.

As he went deeper into the Dungeon, the surrounding broken walls became denser, the building skeletons twisted and deformed, the ground was covered with rubble and dark red bloodstains, and the fishy, gamey smell in the air became even heavier.

The roars coming from the distance were no longer the shrill screeches of Rift Rats, but deeper, more intimidating sounds, meaning that higher-level and more threatening monsters had already appeared in this area.

Lin Yan did not advance rashly, still maintaining extreme caution. He restrained his aura, moved with light steps, and kept stealthily moving by utilizing broken walls, rubble, and shadows. He only operated on the edge of safety and danger, not actively provoking groups of monsters or stepping into completely unknown areas.

To him, the way of 'turtling' was not cowardice, but the growth method most suitable for Heartsteel. Only by surviving could he continuously stack health points, and only then could he form an absolute numerical suppression in the later stages.

While sneaking, he quickly recalled the Dungeon knowledge he had learned in class.

The terrain of a one-star Dungeon is generally distributed in a circular shape. The spawn point is in the outermost Safe Zone. The closer to the center near the Evacuation Point, the higher the level of the monsters, and the quality of the resource points will gradually improve.

The location he was currently in was just a transition zone between the outer and middle areas, considered a relatively safe buffer zone. But a buffer zone did not mean zero risk; any negligence could make the advantages he had accumulated so far go up in smoke.

Lin Yan calculated his current resources and status. His health points had exceeded one thousand, his Heartsteel stacks were over six hundred, and he had two bottles of low-level health potion left.

This configuration was already enough to walk sideways near the spawn point, but it was obviously not enough to cope with the upcoming middle area. He needed better equipment, more potions, and more important intelligence.

Turning past a half-collapsed concrete building, Lin Yan's gaze suddenly sharpened.

On the wall in front of him was embedded a rune stone emitting a faint green glow. The area around the rune stone was unusually quiet; there were no monsters wandering, no energy fluctuations, and no traces of traps or mechanisms.

This was the most common ordinary resource point in a one-star Dungeon, and also one of the most important opportunities for a novice Awakened.

But he did not go up immediately.

This was the first resource point he had encountered in the Dungeon, and also the first test question to verify the gap between classroom knowledge and actual combat.

In class, the instructor had repeatedly emphasized: 'No resources in the Dungeon are given for free. Even for what is claimed to be the safest ordinary resource point, one must complete the basic safety inspection process—first observe the environment to confirm no monster ambushes, then check around the rune stone for trigger traps, and only then can it be opened.'

Lin Yan lowered his body and slowly circled along the edge of the ruins, taking a full three minutes to observe the terrain around the rune stone from different angles.

There were no traces of monsters hiding behind the broken walls, no loose stone slabs or thin wires on the ground, and the frequency of the rune stone's faint glow was stable and soft, not looking like it had been tampered with.

Confirming there were no errors, he stepped forward quickly.

Dungeon resource points are divided into four grades: ordinary, elite, hidden, and BOSS. Most ordinary resource points have no guards and can be opened just by touching the rune stone. Although the rewards are not top-tier, they are enough to make a novice Awakened's strength leap forward. For Lin Yan at this moment, this was undoubtedly timely help.

He extended his right hand and gently pressed it on the rune stone.

Warm energy flowed into his body along his fingertips, and a faint green light instantly bloomed, covering a radius of several meters.

Accompanied by a slight mechanical sound, a half-person-high solid wood chest slowly rose from the ground.

The material of the wooden chest was simple and heavy, with no ornate decorations on the surface, but a few dim runes were embedded at the edges, emitting faint spatial fluctuations—these were storage runes, meaning the items inside would not spoil over long periods, a standard feature of Dungeon resource points.

Lin Yan was not impatient; he first circled the chest to inspect it, confirming there were no trigger-type monsters, no traces of toxin coatings, and no residual fluctuations of explosive runes, before slowly lifting the chest lid.

The inside of the wooden chest was neat and clean, with no dust or debris. There was only a fist-sized white orb of light, inside of which a glowing, lustrous breastplate lay quietly in the center. Beside it were three bottles of potions with blue labels, the bottles flowing with gentle life fluctuations.

Lin Yan's gaze first fell on the breastplate inside the white orb of light. This breastplate was dark iron in color, with a layer of delicate metal texture on the surface, emitting a faint cold light under the illumination of the rune stone.

The key parts of the breastplate—the chest, under the ribs, and the back—had all been thickened, and the edges were polished smooth and rounded, which would not affect the flexibility of movement.

Compared to the rough cast-iron texture of the standard-issue breastplate issued by the Federation, the workmanship of this piece of equipment was clearly at least two grades higher.

He picked up the white orb of light—the system prompt sounded immediately in his mind.

[Obtained Equipment: iron bone breastplate • Level 1] [Quality: White Ordinary] [Effect: Maximum Health +200, Physical Defense +10] [Wear Requirement: Level ≥ 1] (The numbers on the panel represent the maximum attack and maximum defense that can be provided)

Although white was only the lowest tier of equipment quality, this was the first formal piece of equipment he had obtained since entering the Dungeon that was not standard-issue from the Federation.

The Federation standard set was only the minimum level of protection, equivalent to giving every novice a thin paper shield, while this iron bone breastplate was true combat equipment.

Compared to the standard breastplate that could only increase physical defense by 5 points, the improvement from this iron bone breastplate was terrifying. 200 health points were equivalent to gaining a bonus of 2 Constitution out of thin air; 10 points of physical defense could significantly reduce the attack damage of low-level monsters. Each of these two attributes was a precise enhancement for the pure tank blood-stacking build.

He took off the standard breastplate on the spot and put on the iron bone breastplate.

A gentle yet resilient force instantly poured into his limbs and bones, perfectly merging with the Heartsteel power within him. The metal lining of the breastplate automatically conformed to his body curves, as if it were custom-made, without any discomfort.

Lin Yan could clearly feel his bones and muscles being wrapped and reinforced by an invisible force; this was the sensory feedback of the equipment attributes taking effect.

He immediately summoned the attribute panel in his mind, and the data had been refreshed in real-time.

[Current Level: 1] [Current Attributes: Constitution 4, Strength 1, Agility 1, Spirit 1, Luck 1] [Current Health Points: 512 / 1235] [Physical Defense: 30] [Magic Defense: 20] [Heartsteel Stacks: 635]

One thousand two hundred and twenty-five health points.

Lin Yan silently repeated this number in his heart. Having entered the Dungeon for only a few hours, his health points had skyrocketed from the initial 300 to 1235, a full four-fold increase.

What did this number mean? It meant that at this moment, even if he stood still and let a level 1 Rift Rat bite him, each of the opponent's attacks could only deal single-digit damage, which was almost equivalent to scratching in front of his super-high health base.

Even when facing a level 2 monster, he had the capital to face it head-on, no longer needing to carefully kite and position himself like before.

His survival capability had directly leaped to a new level.

Lin Yan suppressed the excitement in his heart and took the three blue potions out of the wooden chest.

The potion bottles were only the size of a palm, and the bottle body was made of translucent frosted glass. Through the bottle wall, one could see the light blue liquid slowly flowing inside. The bottle mouth was sealed with a thin layer of wax film, and on the wax film was a cross-shaped mark—the standard packaging for an intermediate health potion.

[Obtained Item: intermediate health potion × 3] [Effect: Restore 50 health points per second, lasting 10 seconds]

A total of 500 points of recovery, per bottle.

Lin Yan quickly compared in his mind: the low-level health potion issued by the Federation could only restore 200 points per bottle, and the intermediate potion more than doubled that.

The recovery efficiency was also higher. With the same 10-second duration, 50 points per second compared to 20 points per second meant that drinking one during battle could raise his health faster, significantly increasing his fault tolerance.

The enhancement in sustainability brought a direct increase in development efficiency. Previously, every time he finished fighting a few Rift Rats, his health would drop to below half, and he had to find a safe corner to slowly recover naturally or consume precious potions.

Now with these three intermediate health potions, combined with the high defense of the iron bone breastplate, he could continue hunting in the wild for a longer time without frequently retreating to rest. With the same 72-hour Dungeon time, his effective operating time would at least double.

Lin Yan properly put away the potions and the breastplate, then checked the inside of the wooden chest again to confirm no items were left behind. The bottom of the wooden chest was empty, and there were no secret compartments or layers on the four walls.

This is how ordinary resource points are; they don't give much, but they are stable, safe, and direct, which is the most suitable way for novices to accumulate their initial capital.

He closed the chest lid, stood up, and his gaze swept over the surrounding environment.

Time in the Dungeon was passing bit by bit. The sky overhead was the grayish-yellow unique to the Rift Wasteland, with no sun, no clouds, only a lifeless, chaotic halo.

Lin Yan could only estimate his progress based on his own sense of time. He had been in the Dungeon for about four or five hours, and there was still plenty of margin before the 72-hour limit, but he must not relax because of this.

He quickly planned his next route in his mind. His current position was close to the boundary between the outer area and the middle area. Continuing forward, the monster levels would increase to level 2 or even level 3, and the density would also increase.

But correspondingly, the quality of resource points would also be better, and he might even encounter elite resource points or even hidden resource points. Risk and reward are always positively correlated.

Just as he was thinking, in the distance, a deep and fierce roar came through the air.

This roar was no longer the shrillness of a Rift Rat, nor the hoarseness of a Carrion Vulture, but carried the fierceness and violence unique to beasts, thick and dull, like the muffled sound of a giant rock hitting a mud puddle. The direction from which the sound came was deep within the middle area.

Level 2 monster, Rift Wolf.

The information from class quickly appeared in Lin Yan's mind: Rift Wolf, level 2 ordinary monster, individual health points about 350, physical attack about 25, physical defense about 10.

Compared to Rift Rats, Rift Wolves are faster, have higher attack, and have a certain level of sociality, capable of simple flanking and hunting tactics. For an ordinary novice Awakened, facing two Rift Wolves at the same time is enough to pose a fatal threat.

But Lin Yan was not afraid; on the contrary, his eyes became even more determined.

The higher attributes of the Rift Wolf meant higher base experience. The base experience of a level 2 monster is 20 points, which is directly double that of a Rift Rat.

More importantly, higher health points meant that each Rift Wolf could withstand more hits from Heartsteel, and every time the Heartsteel sound triggered, it was a permanent stacking of health points.

But before going deeper, let's rest for a while and recover some health.