Chapter 3: Waste Transformation

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Waste Transformation

Seraphina Sullivan kept low, weaving quickly through the chaotic streets.

People screamed and fled in all directions. In the distance, the roar of collapsing buildings was a constant thunder. More and more meteors, trailing crimson flames, streaked down from the sky, each one heralding the arrival of a new, terrifying monster.

’I have to find a hospital as soon as possible...’

She clutched her phone tightly. The navigation app showed that the nearest ear clinic was eight hundred meters away.

The weakness of the Pryros was clear: it was extremely sensitive to high-frequency sound waves.

Seraphina remembered that hearing aids could produce high-frequency feedback. This might be the perfect weapon against a monster with such powerful hearing.

If she could get her hands on a hearing aid, she might be able to use the Scavenger Profession’s second Ability, Waste Transformation, to build a sonic weapon!

’Hiding is useless against a monster like this,’ Seraphina thought, her eyes cold. ’I’ll only feel safe if I have a weapon specifically designed to counter it.’

She couldn’t guarantee she could stay completely silent for seven days.

People get tired. They sneeze, they cough. They even unconsciously roll over or grind their teeth in their sleep. If she attracted a monster because of such a ridiculous oversight, it would be a truly unjust way to die.

BOOM—!

Not far away, a massive creature crashed into a skyscraper, sending a plume of dust and debris shooting into the sky.

The Power of the Pryros wasn’t just in its incredible hearing, but also in the terrifying destructive force of its limbs.

Without pausing, Seraphina quickened her pace, skirting around the panicked crowd and rushing toward the hospital.

More and more monsters began to appear on the streets.

Some, like the Pryros, hunted by sound.

Seraphina’s heart was heavy as she witnessed the brutal scene.

’This world... is really turning into a living hell.’

Seraphina hadn’t forgotten that the system mentioned Azure Star was also undergoing an apocalypse. She just didn’t know what kind of apocalypse it was, or if her home world would eventually turn into this.

’Since I can’t stop the apocalypse, I have to focus on surviving it. That means the basics: food, clothing, and shelter. Stockpiling supplies is crucial. The Worker Talent lets me acquire the Ability of a Professional I awaken in each instance, so getting the Scavenging Backpack—that Space Ability—is an absolute must.’

So, on her way to the hospital, Seraphina would duck into any food-related shop she saw and stuff supplies into her Scavenging Backpack’s Space.

She didn’t have time to overthink it.

Finally, the hospital sign came into view.

But in the next second, her heart seized—

A Pryros was slowly crawling out of the hospital entrance. Its sharp limbs had pierced a nurse’s chest, and fresh blood dripped down its carapace.

’Damn it...’

Seraphina took a deep breath and immediately held it. She slowly slipped off her shoes, her bare feet touching the cold ground to ensure she made no sound.

The Pryros loitered by the hospital entrance, its sharp limbs carving jarring scrapes into the ground as if it were searching for something.

’Don’t move... I absolutely cannot move...’

Cold sweat trickled down her temples. Her heart pounded against her ribs, threatening to burst from her chest.

Seraphina stared intently at the monster, her body frozen like a statue.

However, the Aberration seemed to sense something. It suddenly stopped moving and its head slowly turned, its eyeless face pointing directly at her position.

’It... it found me?’

Seraphina’s muscles tensed as her mind raced, desperately searching for a countermeasure.

’Run? No, I’m definitely not faster than it!’

’Fight? Can a kitchen knife even cut through its carapace?’

Just then.

BOOM—!

A blazing ball of fire suddenly erupted on the other side of the street!

A short-haired man stood atop a pile of rubble, a crimson Fireball condensing in his palm before he hurled it violently at a Pryros!

"Die, you monster!"

The Fireball exploded, and the Aberration was instantly engulfed in searing heat. Its carapace shattered, and flesh and blood flew everywhere!

Seraphina’s pupils contracted at the sight. She immediately activated Eye of Resume.

[Name: Evan Lewis]

[Gender: Male]

[Professional Skills: Talent·Fireball (Can release high-temperature, explosive Fireballs)]

[Weaknesses: Megalophobia]

[Note: One of the Players randomly selected by the system]

’A Fireball Talent?!’ Seraphina was stunned. ’Now *that’s* a real Player! That Talent’s attack power is insane.’

However, her envy for such an offensive Talent didn’t even last two seconds.

HISS—!

Piercing shrieks echoed from all directions as dozens of Pryros swarmed from the sides of the street, from rooftops, and even from underground like a black tide, instantly surrounding Evan Lewis!

Evidently, the sound of the Fireball’s explosion had drawn the swarm of monsters.

"Wh—?!" Evan Lewis’s face paled. He hastily conjured another Fireball, but before he could throw it—

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

Dozens of blade-like limbs pierced his body simultaneously. Blood splattered, and before he could even let out a scream, he was torn to shreds while still alive!

Witnessing this, Seraphina’s throat tightened, and her stomach churned.

’No matter how strong the Fireball is, it can’t stand up to the sheer number of Aberrations.’

’The sound of a Fireball’s explosion only attracts more monsters!’

Seraphina gritted her teeth. While the Aberrations were busy devouring Evan Lewis, she slipped silently into the hospital, barefoot.

Now, Seraphina understood one thing very clearly.

’In this world, being conspicuous is suicide. Laying low is the only way to survive!’

In a short time, Aberration-type monsters like the Pryros had already gone on a killing spree everywhere.

Inside the hospital, it was dead silent.

Barefoot, Seraphina stepped cautiously across the cold tiles, each movement deliberate.

The hallway lights flickered on and off, and the sound of shattering glass occasionally echoed in the distance. But compared to the hellscape outside, this place was, at least for the moment, safe.

She quickly scanned the departmental signs and finally found her target—Otolaryngology · Hearing Test Center.

She pushed the door open. The room was empty. Medical records and test sheets were scattered across the desks, clear evidence that the doctors and patients had fled in the chaos.

Seraphina went straight to the counter and pulled open a drawer. As expected, she found several spare hearing aids.

"This is it!"

She grabbed two hearing aids, then also took some wires from a nearby medical equipment rack, a small amplifier, a pair of over-ear headphones, a temperature gun, and even a portable electrocardiogram machine.

She took these things, of course, to experiment with the Scavenger’s other Ability.

[Waste Transformation]

’This Skill seems to be for modifying and upgrading equipment. I want to see what kind of weird item I can make.’

’One modification per day... I wonder if I can get a One-shot Soul and create some god-tier equipment right away.’

Seraphina stared at the pile of parts in front of her, her heart rate picking up slightly.

"Activate—Waste Transformation!"

As she silently chanted the command, a faint blue light flowed from her palm, enveloping the hearing aids, temperature gun, amplifier, headphones, ECG machine, battery pack, and loose wires.

The next second, a strange scene unfolded—

The items were disassembled by an invisible force. Metal casings underwent Softening and twisted, components on the circuit boards detached themselves, and then they all reassembled in mid-air.

The wires coiled and intertwined like living things, the hearing aids’ tiny microphones fitting perfectly with the amplifier’s high-frequency unit. Finally—

CLICK!

The light faded, and two new devices landed in Seraphina’s hands.

One of them was a palm-sized object shaped like a temperature gun, with a high-tech, streamlined metal casing. A ring of micro-emitters was embedded in the muzzle, and a dial was set into its side.

Overall, it looked like a high-tech sonic weapon.