''Is this really Summit City?'' Reign muttered to himself as he finally reached the city walls.


    The once tall and imposing walls protecting the city had been destroyed and had long crumbled.


    He also saw military vehicles in ruins, a visual proof to the final stand that had taken ce in this ce.


    It was a wake-up call, a reminder that no matter how much human technology progressed, Mother Nature would always prevail if it wanted to.


    The Miasma and the Corrupted in this world could be likened to natural disasters, much like storms, flood, pandemic or earthquakes that devastate countless lives.


    In a simr way, these cmities stem from human greed, which cause global warming and other environmental damaged.


    STEP!


    STEP!


    STEP!


    Reign''s steps echoed on the hard ground after he was forced to exit the truck due to the condition of the road


    ''I expected to see a lot of Corrupteds, but I don''t even see anything,'' he mused inwardly.


    Though his view might have been obscured by the Miasma, his heightened hearing would have alerted him to any approaching enemy .


    But this ce was too quiet forfort.


    It was really weird considering this ce was the center, where most people lived.


    Logically speaking, this ce should be filled with at least hundreds of thousands of zombie-like Corrupteds.


    This could only mean : either they had moved on to another area, or the humans had done something to exterminate them.


    Reign was leaning towards the former reason.


    Summit City was unsalvageable; there was no need to expend manpower on it.


    It would be dumb to save this ce, because there was nothing here worth saving at all.


    Not unless they had a way to restart the barrier again, which he doubted, seeing that there had been no attempt so far.


    ''Maybe they''re all inside ?'' He thought.


    Seeing that there was no one in sight, he entered the city walls, hoping to farm some EXP and Dark Dust.


    Inside , the roads were now littered with destroyed cars, and most of the buildings were destroyed beyond recognition.


    It was evident that a huge battle had taken ce here; most of the buildingsy in ruins, burnt and copsed, some appearing as if they had been bombed. .


    The Miasma had spread all over the city, and it was worst here than outside.


    The air was thick with the mist, making it difficult for him to see, and the ground was covered with an oily residue that left sticky trails on his feet.


    ''What the hell is this sticky and slimy substance?'' he grumbled, examining the liquid.


    It seemed to be abination of oil and blood, emitting a foul stench by human standards, though it didn''t bother him much.


    He only remarked on it because he found the slippery sensation a little bit unpleasant underfoot.


    Determined to avoid further difort, he created an exoskeleton-like cover for his feet,plete with spiked soles for added traction.


    ''This is better.'' he thought to himself.


    ''Now let''s see if I can find something useful,'' he muttered to himself, gazing down the main road and starting to walk straight ahead.


    This would lead him to the Central Area where most of the tall apartments were situated.


    After a couple of minutes walking.


    He finally spotted what looked like a library or a bookstore a few blocks away.


    Reign hurried towards it, hoping to find some information.


    As he approached the building, he noticed that it was in a simr state as the rest of the city; its windows were shattered, and its doors were molding and hanging off their hinges.


    He entered the building, his eyes looking for something useful .


    The familiar smell of books and dust hung in the air, but it was mixed with the sickly odor of mold and decay.


    Most of the shelves only had ckened book or charred beyond recognition, and the few books that remained were scattered on the floor, their pages torn and molding due to the miasma.


    ''This ce is no good,'' Reign muttered to himself, ''There''s nothing left to get here.''


    experience-MVLeMpYr


    He sighedand turned to leave, deciding to explore the rest of the city in hopes of finding anything of value.


    With each block he went to, thendscape revealed further devastation.


    The once-thriving Summit City was now nothing more than a memory of its former glory .


    ''I should go directly to that underground ce; It''s useless to waste anymore time here,'' he mused inwardly.


    He vividly remembered the metro station where George and Melissa had ridden a train. It was located in some kind of military base at the edge of the south wall.


    Unfamiliar with the routes to other cities, he nned to use the station''s railing as a guide to the nearest one.


    Once there, he would determine his next course of action.


    This type of long travel was something he hadn''t considered before, primarily because of one variable: his energy consumption.


    When he was releasing energy to create a barrier against the Miasma, his energy regeneration would be penalized heavily.


    Now equipped with two cores, Reign had the luxury of seamlessly alternating between them. This meant he did not have to worry over the inability to recover lost energy during his journey.


    He could even walk for a year, and it wouldn''t be a problem.


    As for food, well, Corrupteds might not taste good, but thousands of them in his stomach would probably sustain him.


    Of course, it would be better if a train passed by so he could catch a ride.


    ''I hope I can encounter more Corrupteds. Just walking is too boring,'' he sighed, still thinking about earning more EXP and Dark Dust.


    Continuing his travel, he finally reached the perimeter of the military area where the underground train station was located.


    However, as he approached, he felt the whole ce be darker.


    He initially attributed it to the Miasma, but when he raised his head, he saw two pairs of giant red glowing eyes looking down on him.


    "What the fuck is that thing?" Reign eximed in shock.


    The eyes were so far away from him that they seemed like the glowing windows of a 30-story skyscraper.


    But what happened next jolted him from his shock.


    The ground vibrated, and he heard a buzzing sound above him.


    Suddenly, the Miasma parted, and a giant ck foot was on its way to stomp on him.


    Seeing this, Reign knew that even with his current raw strength, being hit by a foot asrge as a building would heavily injure him.


    "Fuck !"


    Red lightning was released from his legs as he turned around and run away from the descending foot.


    BOOOOOOOM!


    As the colossal foot crashed into the ground, the force resembled hundreds of dynamite detonation, used by demolition experts.


    Shockwaves rippled through the air, hurling Reign through the air as he desperately fled from the impending impact.


    When he stabilized his footing, another buzzing sound echoed above him.


    This time, an open palm loomed in the sky, trying to grab him.


    "Shit," he cursed aloud as he was forced to dodged again.


    This was totally unfair; that thing was too big even for him.


    Even if it was slow, it could catch up to him because its one step was more or less equal to a kilometer.


    ''This giant dipshit....'' Reign sneered in contempt.