In the early stages, he was just an ordinary person with only a protective suit, but in the later stages, he took action. A mild golden finger added to the splendor in the early stages, and it became the main storyline later on.

The golden finger is not a system, not a system, not a system, ding ding ding!

If you're looking for a protagonist who wakes up invincible and want to read about unstoppable power, please read with caution, thank you.

…………………………………

In the desolate Arctic Forest, inside a cliffside cave, two men and a woman, all injured.

The woman was bandaging the abdominal wound of a dark-skinned man while speaking to the one-eyed man at the cave entrance:

"Captain, the losses from this mission are too great. Xiaolu, Pizi, Erlu, and Miao Miao are all gone."

The dark-skinned man, with bloodshot eyes and deep sorrow, murmured:

"We've endured so many hardships. Just when we were about to complete this mission and earn Inner City qualifications, they all died on this damned mission..."

The man speaking was in his thirties, named Xu Jianguo, his face full of grief, fists clenched tightly.

His dark cheeks couldn't hide the pallor caused by the severe abdominal wound inflicted by a Mutant Beast.

Xu Jianguo was a soldier. During the initial mass evacuation at the start of Doomsday, his unit was decimated, losing its structure, and he was later saved by Li Fan, with whom he became acquainted.

During the evacuation, they forged an ironclad brotherhood by jointly resisting zombie hordes.

Upon reaching the Yanjing Refuge Base, he left the military and joined Li Fan in forming the Survivor Squad, serving as the vice-captain for eight years.

The woman helping him with the bandages was Fan Youyou, also part of Li Fan's Survivor Squad, one of the earliest to follow Li Fan.

Fan Youyou angrily threw away the blood-stained gauze and said:

"This time, the official intelligence was completely wrong. They treated us survivor squads as cannon fodder!

Brother Fan, I think Yuan Ruoxue sold us out!!"

"Youyou, don't talk nonsense. Yuan Ruoxue is the captain's sister; she couldn't have done it."

"Why not? She's the daughter of the Yuan family, her grandfather is Commander Yuan, a military bigwig.

With just one word, she could have gotten Brother Fan into the Inner City, yet she sent him on this damned mission.

If it wasn't her, I wouldn't believe it!"

Xu Jianguo also suspected Yuan Ruoxue, but he didn't want to make things difficult for Li Fan, so he stopped Fan Youyou, saying,

"Enough, Youyou, do you think the captain wants to go to the Inner City?

He's just trying to secure Inner City qualifications for us brothers; the captain is doing it for us."

Fan Youyou realized her tone was wrong and apologized to Li Fan.

"Brother Fan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blame you.

Without you, I, Fan Youyou, would have long since taken my own life. But Xiaolu, Miao Miao, they're all gone.

This mission is too abnormal.

Such a high-level confidential mission should have been executed by the military, yet it was outsourced to survivor squads like us.

And what is this crystal, exactly?

There hasn't been a detailed mission briefing until now. It even alarmed all official refuges, and Shangjing sent people too."

Xu Jianguo glanced at the crystal in Li Fan's hand and agreed:

"It's indeed very strange; it seems this thing is very important! Shangjing even dispatched two seventh-level New Humans."

Li Fan stood at the cave entrance, gazing into the distance, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness and sorrow.

This was the most desperate moment in nearly eight years.

Since Doomsday, he had faced countless life-and-death challenges, lost an eye, and his body was covered in scars, yet he never gave up hope.

But this time, facing the pursuit and blockade of the eight major bases and the siege of various Mutant Beasts, it truly seemed inescapable.

Out of a nine-member squad, six were dead, leaving only the three of them, all injured.

They didn't know how many superpowered individuals were searching for them.

He just wanted to lead this group of brothers, struggling to survive in the mire of the apocalypse, to live well, without any extravagant desires.

But this time, the upper echelons' petty maneuvers made him watch helplessly as his brothers and friends died one by one here, all because of this crystal.

Li Fan felt betrayed, just as Youyou said, this mission was too abnormal.

The mission details were shrouded in secrecy, even entering the unclaimed Arctic required a secret infiltration.

Yet, it seemed like all their squad's movements were being monitored by others.

And Yuan Ruoxue, this sister without blood ties, was the one who urged him to take on this mission.

She said that completing this special mission would secure Inner City survival capital for his group.

Looking at the faintly glowing crystal in his hand, it was a diamond-shaped crystal the size of a beer bottle.

Inside the crystal was a black sphere the size of a pigeon egg, flashing intermittently.

Li Fan put away his defeated emotions, made a decision in his heart, and said to the two survivors:

"Old Xu, Youyou, this loss is entirely my responsibility.

If I hadn't stubbornly taken on this mission, everyone could have lived well even in the wilderness.

I'm sorry, I brought this upon everyone.

Try to escape later; if the enemy surrounds us, break out to the south and escape.

Their target is the thing in my hand; I'll hold them off.

Remember not to return to the base, go to Liao Mountain, it's suitable for survival, live well."

"No way!"

"Impossible!"

Hearing Li Fan's decision, Fan Youyou and Xu Jianguo immediately objected.

"Brother Fan, both Jianguo and I were saved by you; how could we abandon you and escape alone at this time? We go together, or we stay together."

"Yes, captain, we're all loners; supporting each other to live until now is already a bonus."

Fan Youyou came to Li Fan's side, looked firmly into his remaining eye, and smiled calmly:

"At worst, it's just death. Down there, you're still our captain."

Li Fan's eyes reddened, as if those familiar faces were right in front of him, this camaraderie was so precious in the apocalypse where social order had collapsed.

But because of one wrong decision, it was all buried here.

Just as Li Fan was about to persuade them further.

Boom!!!

An RPG shot straight at the cave, causing it to collapse.

The three of them were all superpowered individuals; ordinary firearms could hardly harm them, and they rushed out before the cave collapsed.

However, outside, nearly a hundred superpowered individuals and New Humans had surrounded them.

These people weren't wearing military uniforms, but their demeanor and posture were unmistakably those of Inner City soldiers.

They were distinctly different from the survivor squads struggling to survive.

Scanning around, there wasn't a familiar face, but he was sure these people were from Yanjing's Inner City.

Li Fan asked in a deep voice:

"Whose people are you? Li Changjun's, or Commander Yuan's?"

At this moment, someone Li Fan never expected stepped out of the crowd and said to him:

"Brother Fan, hand over what you have. As for whose people we are, you don't need to know. Hand it over, and they promised to spare your lives."

Li Fan was shocked; this person was his squad brother, someone he had fought alongside just an hour ago. He had seen them surrounded and killed by a group of Mutant Beasts.

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Xu Jianguo, seeing this person, was immediately furious and shouted:

"Liao Yunfei!!! You're not dead.

No, it's you! You traitor, you sold out our movements!"

However, Liao Yunfei ignored Xu Jianguo, avoiding eye contact with Li Fan.

Li Fan remained silent; he didn't question why he betrayed them.

In the apocalypse, he had experienced too many betrayals, all because others offered enough benefits.

Liao Yunfei knew Li Fan well; the more silent Li Fan was, the angrier he was.

"Brother Fan, don't blame me, I want to live, to live well, I don't want to live those precarious days with you anymore. Hand over the crystal, and I will..."

Before Liao Yunfei could finish, Li Fan interrupted him, saying:

"Shut up."

Li Fan's initial shock turned into anger, but now he was calm as water, his voice devoid of any fluctuation, his remaining eye as still as an ancient well, asking:

"Where are Xiaolu and the others?"

Liao Yunfei took a step back, guilty, until he saw the people he brought around him, then forced himself to calm down, still not answering Li Fan.

Seeing Liao Yunfei's expression, the answer was clear.

Li Fan's anger made him even more somber, his voice icy as he said:

"Handing over the item is possible, let Li Yuhang come and get it himself."

Liao Yunfei asked in surprise:

"You, how did you know?"

Li Fan's gaze passed over Liao Yunfei, as if passing over a pile of insignificant trash, looking at the crowd, he shouted:

"Looks like I guessed right.

Li Yuhang, I know you're here, come out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a male voice responded.

"Li Fan, why bother, you can't escape. The mission is complete, hand over the crystal obediently. I can grant the three of you Inner City residency."

The speaker was a man in a new combat suit, tall, with fair skin but a slightly sinister demeanor.

This man was Li Yuhang.

His father, Li Changjun, was the mayor of Yanjing before Doomsday, now one of the leaders of the Yanjing Refuge Base.

Since Li Fan arrived in Yanjing, Li Yuhang had targeted him at every turn.

Seeing Li Yuhang, Li Fan's suspicions were partly confirmed; he just didn't know what role Yuan Ruoxue played in this matter.

"Li Yuhang, do you believe what you're saying?

We were originally undertaking your Yanjing official mission, and after completion, it was to be handed over to you.

But you made such a big scene, appearing neither early nor late, but precisely when we had shaken off other refuges and were exhausted.

Don't tell me you came to support us."

"Heh, then what do you think we came for?"

Li Fan raised an eyebrow, scanning the superpowered individuals around, and continued:

"You deliberately guided us to obtain this, then used my Godspeed ability to escape, drawing all attention to me.

Once we shook off the others, you came to reap the benefits."

---

Proofreader: Peter Pan