Chapter 038: Only One Can Survive

Seeing the fierce tiger beneath him gradually fall still, Huang Feng finally loosened his grip on its pelt and stepped off its body. He had grappled with the beast for over ten intense minutes, yet his chest only rose and fell a few times; after taking several deep breaths, he was fully composed once more.

His formidable stamina allowed him to maintain such a relentless assault, throwing punches at full force without pause, and still recover with just a few breaths. Because his stamina value far outstripped his strength, any fatigue or soreness in his left arm and hand quickly faded after a simple shake.

“My body has unknowingly acquired such remarkable endurance and recovery—over four hundred points in stamina surpasses even my own expectations,” Huang Feng mused to himself. Drawing his military knife, he delivered the final blow to the tiger, ending its life, and dragged the entire carcass toward the campfire.

Beside the fire, Li Xiangyang and Zhao Ming, both bound, watched Huang Feng approach and dared not even breathe loudly. This young soldier, clad in combat gear, possessed strength and courage beyond measure; he could have simply used his firearm, yet chose instead to battle the tiger barehanded.

“You two, introduce yourselves. Name, former occupation, how you met after the apocalypse, and your respective enhancement paths,” Huang Feng squatted beside the tiger, beginning to dissect it with his knife as he questioned them.

Whatever scheming had lingered in their hearts vanished utterly after witnessing the brutal contest between man and beast. The gap in power between themselves and this man was simply too immense.

Obediently, both men recounted their basic details, answering every question Huang Feng posed with complete cooperation. The fact that he had spared their lives, rather than killing them outright, gave them hope for survival.

They even suspected that he might keep both of them as subordinates, and was now assessing their abilities and backgrounds. This thought made them exaggerate their strengths all the more.

As the old saying goes—if one can live, who would choose to die?

In the post-apocalyptic world, following a powerhouse like this didn’t seem such a bad fate.

Huang Feng threaded a large chunk of tiger haunch onto a sturdy branch, sprinkled it with salt from his pack, and set it over the fire to roast. The aroma of grilling meat soon wafted through the air.

“We’re both willing to follow you, sir, to acknowledge you as our leader. If you tell us to head east, we won’t dare go west,” Li Xiangyang and Zhao Ming declared, making their intentions clear before falling silent, awaiting his response.

Huang Feng said nothing at first, focusing intently on the roasting meat and adding seasonings. Thanks to his special forces training in wilderness survival, his skills in this area were quite adept. Before long, the meat was not only fragrant but visually enticing.

Without looking away from the meat, Huang Feng flipped it for even heating and spoke quietly, “Naturally, sparing your lives means I’m considering taking you as subordinates.”

Li Xiangyang and Zhao Ming were overjoyed at this. Though still bound, they began calling him “boss,” swearing endless loyalty and vowing never to betray him.

Huang Feng motioned for them to quiet down, then continued, “However, two is too many. I can only take one of you with me.”

The excitement in their faces instantly vanished, replaced by anxiety.

Li Xiangyang said nothing further, having understood the implication. Zhao Ming, however, asked in a low voice, “Boss, what do you mean? Are you planning to choose one and discard the other? Can’t you keep us both?”

He was young but not naive, and clearly understood, yet still clung to hope.

Huang Feng calmly added fuel to the fire and adjusted the roasting meat, before finally meeting their gaze. “You’re both too weak right now. But if one of you obtains the mysterious reward for a first kill, you might be useful to me—barely qualified as a subordinate. Otherwise, why should I burden myself with two weaklings?”

In truth, Huang Feng had already made his decision. No matter which man survived the inevitable struggle, he would only allow him to follow temporarily. Neither was fit to be a true comrade.

His real goal was to test whether teaming up and adding friends could grant him the speed or strength chapter of the Basic Guidance Technique.

Both men fell silent at his words.

Huang Feng cut a piece of roasted tiger haunch and ate it, showing his satisfaction before continuing, “Before I decide which of you to keep, there’s something I must confirm—whether either of you concealed anything about your enhancement paths in your introductions.”

He stood and approached them, saying, “I trust you won’t mind opening your personal panels for me? And…” Here he paused, smiling faintly, “You can also take this opportunity to learn about your opponent’s stats—basic values, overall combat power, remaining enhancement boosts, and healing chances.”

For the first time, Li Xiangyang and Zhao Ming saw a hint of emotion on Huang Feng’s face besides his usual calm indifference, but to them, his smile seemed demonic.

At close range, they could clearly sense the dangerous aura he exuded—an effect of the killing intent he had acquired from years of missions and bloodshed.

Neither dared refuse. They obediently opened their panels.

First was Li Xiangyang:

Stamina: 112
Spirit: 98
Strength: 224
Speed: 108
Overall combat power: 157
Remaining enhancement boosts: 0
Remaining full healings: 0

Li Xiangyang had originally had one full healing left, but during his earlier escape, he was badly injured and knocked unconscious by two of Huang Feng’s grenades. Upon waking, his wounds were so severe he was forced to use his last healing—otherwise, he would still be barely clinging to life.

Next came Zhao Ming:

Stamina: 95
Spirit: 89

Strength: 110
Speed: 240
Overall combat power: 137
Remaining enhancement boosts: 0
Remaining full healings: 2

Li Xiangyang, normally silent, lost his composure when he saw Zhao Ming still had two full healings. He shouted, “Zhao Ming, you sly dog, you hid your remaining healings from me!”

Zhao Ming, with a hint of smugness, replied, “Uncle Li, you also hid your stats from me. Stamina and speed above the average for Earth’s adult men, combat power at 157—what you told me before was quite different.”

Though Li Xiangyang’s overall strength exceeded Zhao Ming’s expectations, Zhao Ming had believed he could easily defeat Li Xiangyang. Now, with the uncertainty introduced by Li’s superior stats, he was less sure; yet seeing that Li had no healings left while he had two, his confidence soared anew.

Though they had allied early on, it was clear both harbored their own schemes and never truly trusted each other. Now, their true faces were revealed.

Huang Feng ignored their bickering, maintained his smile, and cut the ropes binding them, then returned to his seat by the fire.

Li Xiangyang and Zhao Ming immediately moved apart, standing three or four meters from each other, each watchful and wary.

At that moment, Huang Feng took two military knives from his backpack and tossed one to each of them.

They picked up the knives, instantly understanding his intent, though they glanced at Huang Feng without attacking right away.

Huang Feng turned the roasting meat, looked at them calmly, and said, “Enough staring. Get on with it—one of you must die today. If I have to do it myself, both of you will die.”

The two men exchanged glances and gripped their knives tightly.

Zhao Ming was the first to act, shouting to steel his nerves as he charged at Li Xiangyang, brandishing his knife in a reckless attack.

Li Xiangyang’s pupils contracted, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. He waited for Zhao Ming’s stab, then deftly dodged and, with a merciless counter, slashed toward Zhao Ming’s neck—clearly aiming to kill outright. If he could end it before Zhao Ming could react, no amount of healing would matter.

Huang Feng watched, eyes narrowing.

“No wonder his speed is 240—a true enhancer. That reaction speed is impressive,” he thought, for he saw Zhao Ming, though seemingly unable to dodge, suddenly accelerate beyond ordinary human limits, twisting at an uncanny angle to evade Li Xiangyang’s lethal strike.