Kane left the Hunter's Tavern.

  His figure did not merge into the crowds of the cramped capsule hotels. Instead, he turned into several dark alleys known only to him.

  Eventually, he stopped in front of a scrap metal dealership.

  "Yo, isn't this the ruthless guy who just struck it rich?"

  Cyclops, the owner, was buried in a pile of rusted parts. Seeing Kane, his face immediately filled with a businessman’s fervor.

  "What's the matter? Got new goods to offload?"

  Kane had no interest in wasting words. He spat out a few syllables.

  "An old pistol. A box of ammo."

  Cyclops paused. A flicker of surprise crossed his single eye, but he quickly fished an old-model pistol in decent condition and a full magazine from under the counter, sliding them over.

  Kane took the gun. He weighed it, checked the chamber, transferred the credits, and turned to leave.

  The entire process took less than ten seconds. Not a single redundant word was spoken.

  He did not linger in Blackrock Town. Soon, he disappeared onto the road leading to the edge of the Old District.

  He needed an absolutely quiet, undisturbed place.

  To welcome a rebirth.

  The abandoned industrial zone—that silent place known as the "Metal Graveyard"—was undoubtedly the best choice.

  Familiar with the path, he returned to the base of the Windspire Tower. He didn't approach the tower itself, but instead slipped into a massive, half-collapsed factory building.

  Moonlight filtered through holes in the ceiling, casting ghostly shadows across the rusted metal skeletons.

  Kane set down his backpack. Leaning against a thick concrete pillar, he finally had time to examine the new weapon that truly belonged to him.

  The metal case opened.

  The pistol named "The Cyclone" lay there quietly.

  The matte-black polymer frame felt warm in his hand, fitting the curve of his palm perfectly.

  The green energy lines on the gun's body flickered like a living thing in the gloom, appearing to follow a rhythmic breath.

  Felix’s playful words echoed in his mind.

  "...The higher the wind speed around the fired bullet, the more its power increases..."

  "...When the movement speed exceeds a certain threshold... it triggers a small-scale 'airburst'..."

  Wind speed... movement speed...

  Kane’s fingertips lightly brushed the cold frame. In his other hand, the [ Five-Star Soul Seal ] seemed to sense something, growing slightly warm.

  He slowly raised his hand, looking at the seal in his palm where only one corner was lit.

  He could only drive one active skill at a time.

  The annoyance caused by this limitation flashed and vanished, replaced immediately by a bolder, crazier thought.

  Active skills were restricted, but [ Kinetic Boost ] was a passive effect. It was always active!

  And the enhancement of The Cyclone required exactly that: speed!

  More importantly, wasn't [ Aero Blade ] itself... just a mass of high-speed rotating airflow?

  What if... he used [ Aero Blade ] to "drive" this gun?

  An intense craving surged from his heart. He had to verify this immediately!

  Kane found a piece of abandoned alloy steel plating nearly half a meter thick inside the factory—a protective barrier used in the old era to isolate high-risk workshops.

  He retreated twenty meters. First, he raised the old pistol he had just purchased.

  Boom!

  The gunshot echoed. A shallow white mark appeared on the surface of the steel plate. The bullet deformed weakly and ricocheted away.

  He swapped to The Cyclone, stood his ground, and pulled the trigger.

  Zip!

  A faint whistle of cutting air. The result was nearly identical; only a similar dent remained on the steel plate.

  Felix hadn't lied. In its base state, it was mediocre.

  Kane wasn't disappointed. Instead, he took a deep breath, his eyes burning with intensity.

  The real test began now.

  He backed away, retreating all the way to the far end of the factory, leaving himself nearly a hundred meters of sprinting distance.

  The next moment, he stayed low, launching himself forward like a bolt from a cross-bow!

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  The buff from [ Kinetic Boost ] left nothing in his ears but the shriek of the wind.

  Thirty meters from the steel plate!

  He raised the gun again, pulling the trigger at the peak of his sprint!

  Whiz—Thuck!

  A sharp howl. The bullet bored savagely into the steel, emitting a dull thud of penetration!

  Kane skidded to a halt and stepped forward to inspect it. On the hardened steel plate, a bullet hole three centimeters deep had appeared, its edges as smooth as a mirror.

  Decent power.

  Relying purely on running speed, it could already pierce conventional light armor.

  But what about the "Airburst"?

  Kane’s gaze narrowed as he retreated to the far end once more.

  Sprint!

  His figure blurred into a dark green afterimage across the floor!

  Fifty meters from the wall, he suddenly leaped into the air! At the exact moment he reached the apex of his arc, his right foot slammed against the empty air!

  [ Aerial Step ] activated!

  Bang!

  A violent thrust exploded from beneath his foot. He transformed into a streak of lightning tearing through the atmosphere, lunging toward that steel plate at a speed far more terrifying than his ground sprint!

  Now!

  He twisted his body mid-air and pulled the trigger!

  BOOM!!

  It was no longer a whistle, but a heavy explosion!

  A visible shockwave erupted from the muzzle!

  The thick steel plate was struck as if by an invisible battering ram. With a resounding thud, a gaping hole the size of a washbasin blasted open at the point of impact, with jagged cracks spiderwebbing frantically in every direction!

  This was the "Airburst"!

  The acceleration from [ Aerial Step ] alone had caused such a terrifying qualitative leap in power!

  Then... what about its ultimate form?

  Kane landed, his mind entering a state of extreme focus.

  This time, he didn't sprint.

  He simply stood his ground, slowly raising The Cyclone. In the palm of his right hand, a swirl of pale green wind began to coalesce.

  [ Aero Blade ]!

  The instant that high-speed rotating airflow took shape, he squeezed the trigger!

  He was going to use this gale to "drive" the bullet!

  Screee—RUMBLE!!!

  The sound was entirely different!

  It was a mixture of a bone-chilling screech that threatened to tear the eardrums and a muffled detonation!

  A destructive white pillar of air surged from the muzzle, interlaced with countless tiny green blades of light, slamming violently into the steel plate!

  There was no loud crash.

  Or rather, all sound was swallowed by the sheer, absolute destructive force of that moment.

  The half-meter-thick steel plate, along with the concrete structure surrounding it, was forcibly torn open, leaving a horrific gap the size of a truck's front end!

  In the center of the impact zone, the metal hadn't just snapped—it showed signs of vaporization, as if evaporated by extreme heat.

  Countless metal shards and concrete debris sprayed out of the factory, allowing the moonlight to pour in unobstructed.

  Kane looked at his masterpiece, his breathing slightly shallow.

  He finally smiled.

  This weapon, dismissed by Felix as a "tasteless" leftover, was born for him.

  A shot fired while running was an "Armor-Piercing Air-Bolt."

  A shot fired at the peak speed of [ Aerial Step ] was an "Airburst."

  And the strike layered with [ Aero Blade ]... that was his current absolute limit.

  The only pity was that [ Aero Blade ] had a five-second cooldown, preventing continuous fire.

  But more importantly, all this terrifying destructive power would, in the eyes of others, be attributed solely to this unique firearm.

  It perfectly masked his greatest secret—The Five-Star Soul Seal.

  This was its true purpose.

  Just as this surge of pride rose within him, a precisely locked sense of crisis struck from behind!

  Kane didn't even have time to think; his body exploded to the side on pure instinct.

  Puff! Puff!

  Almost the exact moment he vacated his position, two slugs glowing with blue electric arcs silently struck the concrete pillar he had been leaning against, leaving two molten, charred pinholes.

  Electromagnetic acceleration pistols!

  "Decent reflexes, but that’s as far as you go."

  A raspy voice rang out.

  Three figures emerged from different shadows, surrounding him in a tight triangular formation.

  The leader was a burly man whose face was covered in data ports, idly playing with an electromagnetic pistol that was still venting heat.

  Behind him were two cohorts: one lugging a humming plasma-cutting axe, the other aiming a modified submachine gun with a barrel glowing red from heat. Their eyes were filled with bloodthirsty greed.

  The brute pressed the comms unit at his ear, reporting in a contemptuous tone, "Boss Craig, we’ve got him. Don't worry, the kid just got lucky. We saw him testing the gun's power with our own eyes... Tsk, once we bring the gun back, you’re going to be very happy."

  Craig’s frantic, enraged roar came through the comms: "Cut the chatter! Get the gun back, then chop him up and feed him to the mutant worms in the mines!"

  "Understood."

  The brute switched off the comms and cracked his neck with a smirk.

  "You heard the man. Time to hit the road."

  Before the words had even fully left his mouth, the thug with the plasma axe charged forward with a roar, the searing blade carving a lethal arc of bright blue light through the air.

  Instead of fear, a flicker of cold excitement flashed in Kane’s eyes.

  He had been worried about finding a suitable target to test the real-world results.

  He didn't retreat; he lunged forward. Staying low, [ Kinetic Boost ] turned him into a dark-green afterimage hugging the ground, charging head-on toward his enemy!

  The axe-wielder felt his vision blur. The target vanished from his sight instantly, the piercing scream of the wind from the extreme speed making his eardrums ache.

  Terror seized him. Just as he tried to force a change in his swing, a cold killing intent struck from the side.

  Whiz—Thuck!

  As Kane crossed paths with him, he raised his gun with one hand and pulled the trigger.

  In "Armor-Piercing Air-Bolt" mode, the bullet carried the kinetic energy of his sprint, driving precisely into the joint gap of the opponent's power arm and instantly shredding the internal transmission gears.

  The thug let out a short, sharp scream. The raised plasma axe extinguished instantly. His bulky body twisted and collapsed as the malfunctioning power joint seized; after a few spasms, he went silent.

  It happened in a flash.

  The pupils of the remaining two men shrank violently.

  The gunman with the modified submachine gun reacted immediately, swinging his muzzle and spraying lead wildly at Kane!

  Facing the rain of bullets, Kane’s footwork shifted abruptly. He tore a Z-shaped afterimage across the ground, dodging the line of fire while leaping into the air!

  At the apex of his jump, his right foot slammed against the empty air!

  [ Aerial Step ]!

  Boom!

  He transformed into a streak of lightning that ripped through the atmosphere, climbing toward the rafters of the factory. From his high vantage point, he locked onto the gunman below, who was unable to move quickly while maintaining continuous fire.

  Now!

  He twisted in mid-air and pulled the trigger!

  BOOM!!

  The "Airburst" detonated above the gunman’s head. A visible shockwave slammed down, shredding his crude armor like wet paper. The man was flattened into the ground by the massive force, reduced to a blur of mangled flesh in an instant.

  The leader’s courage shattered at the sight of this horror. With a strangled cry, he turned and fled, completely losing the will to fight back.

  Kane landed lightly from the air but did not give chase.

  He simply raised The Cyclone with a calm expression, aiming at the back of the frantic, retreating figure.

  He didn't even use a skill. At the moment he took a single step forward, he pulled the trigger.

  Zip!

  The bullet, carrying the slight kinetic energy of his forward step, pierced precisely through the center of the brute's back and erupted through his chest.

  The man’s body stumbled forward several paces before slamming heavily into the dirt. He did not move again.

  The battle was over.

  Kane walked to the corpses and efficiently stripped them of all valuable parts and credits.

  Once finished, he casually crushed the comms unit and stuffed the spoils into his backpack.

  This gun was more than just a weapon.

  It was a perfect blade and a perfect disguise.

  He turned and walked without hesitation toward the massive gap he had blasted in the wall, his figure quickly vanishing into the darkness.

  The hunt had officially begun.

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