Chapter 88 - 86: The Final Strategy
In an instant, every muscle in Lin Ye’s body tensed to its limit. The coiled energy surged violently toward the tip of his spear.
There was no time to think!
The spear in his hand became a primal, pure line of death, tearing through the air as it stabbed straight for the hideous, gaping hole in the Crystal Spirit Race larva’s chest!
This was his only chance!
"Lin Ye—?"
At the exact moment his spear lunged forward, a cry filled with anxiety and worry echoed from the dark tunnel behind him!
It was Zhang Yuqing!
Lin Ye’s action didn’t pause in the slightest.
The sleeping, curled-up Crystal Spirit Race larva’s tightly shut single eye, set in the center of its featureless face, snapped open!
A deep violet light, like a miniature supernova, erupted within the wreckage of the train car!
"SKREEE—!"
A bizarre, high-pitched screech drilled directly into Lin Ye’s eardrums!
Lin Ye’s head rang with a loud BUZZ, and the world began to spin!
Everything in his vision twisted and tore apart, dissolving into a chaotic mess of colored blocks.
He felt as if his consciousness was about to be completely overwhelmed by the terrifying torrent of Spirit!
It felt as though two red-hot steel spikes were being driven into Lin Ye’s temples, but he gritted his teeth and used his immense willpower to steady his collapsing body.
’Luckily, he had poured all of his recent attribute points into Spirit!’
The impact caused the spear in his hand to deviate by an imperceptible margin, but he still thrust it down viciously!
TING!!!
A piercing clang echoed sharply throughout the subterranean space!
Lin Ye’s pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks.
The instant his spear struck, a hexagonal shield of purple crystal, thin as a cicada’s wing yet shimmering with a magnificent luster, materialized out of thin air!
His spearpoint slammed violently against the crystal shield!
But it wasn’t the shield that shattered.
It was the tip of his spear!
The incomparably sharp tip, forged from a special alloy, actually chipped against the thin crystal shield, sending a single, blinding spark flying!
’What terrifying defense!’
"Run!!"
Lin Ye roared.
The shout was a warning to Zhang Yuqing in the distance!
He didn’t blame her.
In such a hopeless situation, under that immense spiritual pressure, the fact that she had come looking for him out of worry showed a courage that surpassed most people.
The only unfortunate thing was that they didn’t have team comms, so they couldn’t exchange information.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have alerted the creature and had his plan fall apart at the last second.
ROAR—!
The energy indicator on Lin Ye’s T-3 Exoskeleton Armor instantly spiked to red. The engine on his back let out a deafening roar as a powerful thrust launched him into the air!
However—
SWOOSH!
A purple afterimage, moving so fast it surpassed the limits of his vision, flashed through his periphery!
Lin Ye couldn’t even see what it was.
He only heard the grating, high-pitched screech of metal being violently torn apart!
RRRIP—!
The sturdy alloy shell of the Exoskeleton Armor on his back was torn open from top to bottom by an irresistible force, as if it were made of paper. A massive gash was ripped into it!
Sparks flew!
Broken parts and severed wiring were exposed, crackling with electricity.
A chill shot up his spine from his tailbone to the crown of his head!
If his reaction hadn’t been lightning-fast, twisting his body to evade the moment he took off...
That attack wouldn’t have torn his armor.
It would have torn out his spine!
Using the engine’s residual thrust, Lin Ye twisted his body in midair. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the horrifying scene behind him.
The Crystal Spirit Race larva was glowing with a brilliant light!
Countless spear-shaped purple crystals were materializing out of thin air!
They emanated a cold, deadly light, their tips aimed squarely at him!
There was no delay!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A dozen crystal spears formed a deadly barrage, rocketing toward him at a terrifying, supersonic speed!
Lin Ye frantically executed evasive maneuvers in midair.
But they were too fast!
THUD!
One of the crystal spears finally caught up, viciously embedding itself in his left thigh!
An explosion of pain erupted!
Blood gushed out!
Lin Ye let out a stifled grunt, but his eyes were filled with a savage intensity.
He turned into a human cannonball, hurtling recklessly toward a breach he had scouted out earlier!
BOOM!!!
The moment Lin Ye shot through the breach, he caught sight of Zhang Yuqing’s pretty face in the nearby tunnel, frozen with horror and shock. A split second later, behind him, the overturned, several-dozen-ton subway car was completely impaled from end to end by a colossal purple crystal spear—one larger than all the others combined!
Before the giant spear, the twisted steel was as fragile as rotten wood!
Dust and rubble exploded into the air!
Amid the ruins, the Crystal Spirit Race larva—no bigger than a house cat—stood with its single eye flashing with a bone-chilling killing intent.
Its speed was no slower than Lin Ye’s, even with his engine at full power.
With a light push from its hind legs on the cracked ground, its body transformed into a streak of purple light, silently crossing over ten meters to give chase!
"Go!"
Lin Ye’s roar finally snapped Zhang Yuqing out of her shock.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the engine on her T-3 armor flared to life. She rushed over, grabbed Lin Ye’s heavily damaged armor, and began a desperate flight out of the tunnel, pulling him along!
They fled in a panic, not caring where they went.
"Fly up! Toward the exit in the collapsed zone!"
Enduring the searing pain, Lin Ye recalled an upward-leading subway exit he had seen on their way in and pointed her in the right direction.
Soon, Zhang Yuqing spotted the exit Lin Ye had mentioned.
With her help.
One after the other, the two of them shot out of the massive subway collapse zone like a single arrow, streaking straight toward the gray sky.
Below, the Crystal Spirit Race larva let out a series of sharp, furious roars.
But it stopped at the base of the collapsed exit, chasing no further.
From several hundred meters in the air, Lin Ye glanced back.
He could see clearly.
The alien wasn’t unable to continue its pursuit. Rather, the light from the energy core in the gash on its chest—once as bright as a star—was now dimming at a visible rate.
Clearly, that recent series of attacks had taken a massive toll on the heavily injured creature.
Having narrowly escaped death, the two didn’t dare to stop. They flew for several more kilometers until they were certain the monster wasn’t following them, then found the rooftop of a tall building and landed in a disheveled heap.
"Wh... what was that thing!"
Zhang Yuqing’s face was as white as a sheet, still reeling from the fear.
As soon as the words left her mouth, her gaze fell to Lin Ye’s leg.
"You... you’re hurt?"
Blood had soaked half of Lin Ye’s left pant leg, and there was a large hole in the armor plating covering it.
But the flesh and skin beneath were perfectly intact.
"I’m fine."
After he left combat, his injuries had already been repaired by his Healing out of combat ability.
It was just that Zhang Yuqing had been too tense to notice.
Lin Ye sat down, leaning against a wall as he explained everything that had just happened.
"Celestial Abyss Race?!"
Upon hearing the name, Zhang Yuqing gasped.
"That was an enemy she had only ever read about in textbooks!"
The true enemy of every Martial Artist in the world!
Lin Ye nodded.
"Have you seen the score of the person in first place on the leaderboard?"
"I’m guessing that person, Xue Wangshu, must have hunted one or more members of the Celestial Abyss Race to get such an insane score!"
His gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of buildings, looking back toward the vast, collapsed underground area.
"There are less than eight hours left until the competition ends."
"No matter how many more mutated beasts we kill, our scores won’t catch up to the people in the lead."
Lin Ye finished tending to his leg and slowly stood up.
He looked at the still-shocked Zhang Yuqing. His voice was quiet, but it carried an undeniable resolve.
"Zhang Yuqing, I need your help."
"We’re going to find a way to kill that alien."