What’s so impressive about lighting a cigarette with a banknote?

Li Daniu glanced at the watch on his wrist—a gift from Robert. It was now 1:10 in the afternoon.

Stepping outside, he started up the pickup truck that Robert had previously mentioned and set off. Robert lived in one of the most bustling parts of Manhattan, near the HSD Plaza.

Li Daniu’s driving skills were mediocre at best; in his previous life, he’d only gotten a license to boost his own image and had little real experience behind the wheel. But the New York of today was nothing like the traffic-choked city it once was. Now, the roads seemed to exist solely for him. With his newly sharpened reflexes and heightened control over his body, as long as he avoided the cars stalled in the streets after the disaster, he could drive as fast as he wished.

He found a shopping mall, parked the truck outside, and walked in empty-handed. With Robert away, Li Daniu could afford to be a bit more uninhibited. In the last movie-world he’d entered, after mastering the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Tai Chi, and the Tai Chi Sword, he’d hardly had a chance to put his newfound abilities to use. He even looked forward to running into a few Darkseekers, just to show off his skills.

The mall was in disarray—goods scattered everywhere—a testament to the chaos that must have erupted when disaster struck. But the catastrophe had come faster than anyone could have imagined. Large items were hard to carry off, so it wasn’t difficult for Li Daniu to find what he was after.

An ice maker.

With a device like this, why bother hauling a refrigerator? Not only was it smaller, but it could make ice much faster than a fridge or freezer.

Since there was no power in the mall, Li Daniu had no way to test which ice machine still worked, so he just loaded all four within sight into the back of the pickup.

Task finished, he checked the time. It was still early—enough for a personal errand.

He drove to a bank he’d visited with Robert before, carrying a backpack as he entered. They’d already confirmed that there were no Darkseekers inside. The reason he’d come alone now was because Robert had told him this was the largest private bank in New York, with countless safe deposit boxes.

Li Daniu found his way to the vault. The door, untouched and intact, made him smile. Its perfect condition meant that everything inside remained unclaimed. Of course, to the survivors of this world, the contents of a vault were probably worth less than a diesel generator.

Antiques are treasures in tranquil times, gold is precious in chaos—but what of the end of the world?

Perhaps when humanity clawed its way back from the ruins and rebuilt society, the vault would once again become a coveted prize. But for now, no one would waste their precious time on it.

He remembered Robert’s indifferent expression when mentioning the jewels and diamonds that might be inside, and couldn’t help but sigh—only what humanity needs is truly valuable.

Snapping back to the present, Li Daniu set about opening the vault door. Unlike the simple locks found in homes, a bank’s vault was formidable even without its now-defunct alarm system. The sheer strength of the door’s material alone was enough to deter most.

“If only I had the Heaven-Relying Sword,” he mused. He wasn’t sure if such a legendary blade could breach the marvels of modern engineering, but it was a moot point—he didn’t have it anyway.

Drawing upon the internal force of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Li Daniu unleashed the pounding force of Tai Chi Fist and struck the door.

A dull thud resounded. A dent, a foot square and four inches deep, appeared where he’d landed his punch. By flashlight, he could see the imprint of his fist at the deepest point.

“So sturdy?” He hadn’t used his full strength, wary of injuring himself with the rebound from the unknown hardness of the door. Most of his internal energy had been channeled to protect his body—especially his fist.

As a result, he felt no pain and only a faint recoil, no more jarring than if an ordinary person had jumped from a foot-high step.

Assessing his energy reserves, he found he’d already recovered completely in the short time since. Now confident, Li Daniu struck again and again, both fists raining down on the door.

Thud... thud...

In ten seconds, he landed over thirty punches. This pace might have seemed slow for an ordinary person, but with each blow charged with internal force, it was only natural.

When he finally paused, he was slightly out of breath. This flurry of blows had consumed much more energy than the first, and drawn from him about a third of his internal reserves.

On the door, thirty-odd fist marks formed a circle half as tall as a man. Each indentation was at least six inches deep; in places where the blows overlapped, the door was already pierced through.

Drawing a deep breath, he shifted from fist to palm and smashed the center of the circle.

With a thunderous crash, a hole half his height yawned open in the vault door.

Li Daniu picked up his flashlight and backpack, and crawled through.

This was his first time inside a vault—let alone the largest private bank vault in Manhattan. A thrill ran through him. The survivors of this world might not care for the treasures inside, but he certainly did.

Yet, the riches he’d imagined were not immediately in sight. Instead, his eyes fell on another vault door—albeit a much simpler one.

The chunk of steel he’d just bashed in had crashed against this second door, leaving a sizable dent.

Cursing, Li Daniu set upon the second door with fists and kicks until it too gave way.

As he stepped in, the first thing he saw was a pile of US dollars, waist-high and three meters square, all in hundred-dollar bills.

None of it was of any use to him. Though his system could materialize the serial numbers, ensuring the bills wouldn’t become counterfeit, he could only take back what matched his own size and weight—hardly a fortune.

His real targets were the small safe deposit boxes lining the walls.

Excited, he used his lighter to set the pile of bills ablaze, flooding the vault with light. Though his flashlight sufficed in the darkness, who would turn down a brighter glow? Besides, how many could say they’d ever light up a vault with billions of dollars? This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Unlike the heavy vault doors, these small, passwordless deposit boxes were far easier to open. With a surge of internal energy, he snapped the slender metal bolts inside, and soon had emptied the boxes of their diamonds and jewels, filling most of his backpack.

As for the antiques and gold in some boxes, Li Daniu ignored them—too hard to sell, or less valuable by volume compared to gems and jewels.

Satisfied with his haul, he checked the time. Robert was probably getting impatient, so he abandoned plans to hit another bank and drove straight back to Robert’s place.

Just as he reached the door, he saw Robert starting up his car.

“Buddy, you’re finally back! I was just about to go look for you,” Robert called out, clearly relieved. He’d expected Li Daniu back at least half an hour ago.

“Uh, I took a wrong turn and got blocked, so I had to circle around,” Li Daniu replied sheepishly, feeling guilty at Robert’s concern.

“Glad you’re back safe. I was really worried something had happened.” Robert helped him unload the ice machines.

“Thanks.” Li Daniu knew Robert’s concern was partly about not wanting to be alone again, but the care was genuine nonetheless.

Amid Robert’s scolding, they got the ice makers hooked up. Two were working.

“Two’s enough!” Robert declared, then noticed the backpack Li Daniu had brought in.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, found it at the mall. Not sure who lost it.” Li Daniu opened the pack without a hint of guilt, and instantly, the dazzling glitter of gems nearly blinded Robert.

“Beautiful, but not much use,” Robert remarked admiringly. “You like these? I’ve got a pile from a couple years ago. If you want, you can cover your bed with them tonight.”

Seeing Robert’s utter indifference—even offering his own hoard of jewels for bedding—Li Daniu could only sigh.

“No, thanks. That wouldn’t be very comfortable.”