Chapter 108 - 102: Showdown (Part 3)
The investigation had to continue.
But leveling up was even more important.
Just as Lin Ye was passing through a narrow alleyway,
his steps came to a sudden halt.
A sharp sense of danger pierced the back of his mind like a steel needle!
Lin Ye’s body reacted faster than his brain!
He didn’t even turn to look.
The muscles in his legs exploded with power in an instant, and he shot backward!
In almost the same instant he moved,
a jet-black afterimage, accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air, flashed past the alley’s entrance!
The black shadow moved with incredible speed. Before its afterimage had even faded, Lin Ye felt an incomparably sharp edge graze past his face.
Lin Ye’s eyes turned cold.
He got a clear look at his ambusher.
It was another Fusion Monster.
Its body was unnaturally long and thin, and it moved on all fours like a giant, skinned spider.
Its skin was a sickly, ashen color, covered in dried black bloodstains and weathered dust.
Faintly recognizable scraps of clothing were fused with its flesh, rotten beyond recognition.
It had no neck—or rather, its neck was twisted into its body.
Its head had been forcibly twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, the back of its skull pressed against its spine. The sight of its part-human, part-insect face was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
[Level 15]
Lin Ye’s eyes narrowed.
Two levels lower than him, yet it dared to ambush him.
This meant the "Suppression" mechanic didn’t have a significant effect on these monsters.
This must also be a special variant.
In other words, what the system considered an elite monster.
"Khek-khek-khek..."
The mouth on the face on the monster’s back opened and closed silently, a hoarse noise like a leaky bellows issuing from deep in its throat.
The next moment, its four limbs powerfully pushed off the ground!
Its form once again blurred into a black afterimage!
However, this time,
Lin Ye also took a step forward!
An afterimage exploded in his place!
A bewildered expression had just appeared on the face on the Level 15 Fusion Monster’s back.
It hadn’t even seen Lin Ye move.
A sharp glint of light that seemed to pierce through everything had already run it through the chest from the front!
PSHH!
The longspear plunged into flesh, meeting no real resistance.
With a flick of his wrist, Lin Ye unleashed a torrent of Qi and Blood!
The inside of the monster’s entire chest cavity was instantly shredded into a pulp!
A large amount of black blood, saturated with fine Source Crystal fragments, gushed wildly from the entry and exit wound.
But the horrific piercing wound didn’t kill the monster on the spot.
Its twisted limbs erupted with a final burst of strength, forcefully breaking free of the spear tip and rapidly retreating.
As it fell back, countless tiny blue crystals precipitated around the edges of the horrifying hole in its chest, sealing the mangled flesh like living vines!
A trace of surprise appeared in Lin Ye’s eyes.
’It’s still not dead?’
Lin Ye recalled the speed of his last strike.
It was at least thirty percent faster than when he had fought the two Fusion Monsters, Shi Lei and Shi Hao.
To most ordinary people, that speed would have been an incomprehensible blur.
The strange cry from the Fusion Monster’s throat suddenly grew sharp and urgent.
Lin Ye’s Spiritual Power instantly sensed two even more powerful presences hundreds of meters away. They had been alerted and were now rushing toward him at high speed!
Lin Ye’s expression hardened.
’I need to end this fast!’
He switched his spear form to Soul-Chasing Form.
His figure once again vanished from its spot.
The cold spear tip pierced the monster’s head with unerring accuracy!
Perhaps because their bodies were so completely distorted, these types of Fusion Monsters didn’t have a fatal weak point like a heart in their chests.
But the head was always a vital spot.
The monster’s body suddenly stiffened. All movement ceased as it collapsed to the ground, a large pool of black blood spreading out from under it.
[You have slain the Level 15 Fusion Monster (Elite)]
[Affected by the Five Qi Guiding Formulas, your experience multiplier has been set to 150%. You have gained 65 EXP!]
The experience from elite monsters was indeed much richer than from ordinary mutated beasts of the same level.
Lin Ye pulled out his spear without even glancing at the corpse that had crumpled to the ground.
Two violent gusts of wind howled in from his left and right!
Two more Fusion Monsters!
The one on the left was a high Level 17. Its body was exceptionally burly, with one half of it mutated into the form of some kind of crustacean, covered in a thick exoskeleton.
The one on the right was a Level 16. Its arms had mutated into two lethal, flexible Bone Whips covered in barbs.
Lin Ye’s toes tapped lightly on the ground as his figure flickered, nimbly dodging the armored monster’s charge.
At the same time, his longspear became a black shadow. The tip traced a bizarre arc through the air, striking with unerring precision against the Bone Whip that the other monster had lashed out with!
DING!
With a crisp snap, his condensed Qi and Blood erupted. The seemingly tough Bone Whip was instantly broken by his strike!
The monster let out a pained roar, its assault faltering.
Meanwhile, the armored monster attacked again. Lin Ye closed the distance and swept his longspear, his stance instantly switching from the nimble Flowing Dragon Form to the domineering Breaking Army Form!
BANG!!!
The heavy spear shaft, carrying overwhelming force, viciously slammed into the side of the Level 17 armored monster!
The seemingly indestructible exoskeleton let out a sickening crunch as it was smashed inward!
The monster’s massive body was sent flying by the immense force, crashing heavily into a distant wall.
He gave the two monsters no chance to regroup.
The longspear in Lin Ye’s hands transformed into a blizzard of cold light.
Every thrust was vicious and cunning, aimed straight for a vital point.
Just over a dozen breaths later,
with two unwilling roars, both elite monsters fell one after another under Lin Ye’s spear.
Lin Ye’s eyes lit up.
He could already take on three elite monsters at once with ease.
Lin Ye had a new understanding of his current strength.
He pressed deeper.
Soon, Lin Ye discovered a fact that was both shocking and saddening.
The closer he got to the Third Hospital building, the higher the density of monsters became.
And without exception, all of these monsters were Fusion Monsters.
On their bodies, to a greater or lesser extent, were the remnants of their former human lives.
They knew no fatigue, no hunger, like programmed ghosts wandering this forgotten land day after day.
The tragedy of the brothers Shi Lei and Shi Hao was no coincidence here.
Lin Ye could even foresee that if he hadn’t appeared, the two brothers would have eventually entered this inner ring after clearing out all the mutated beasts in the outer ring.
Then, they would have become two more unremarkable figures among the countless wandering Fusion Monsters.
Lin Ye’s gaze turned exceptionally cold.
’This place is crawling with elites and fraught with danger... but that makes it the perfect hunting ground for me!’
Even though the recent battle had confirmed his significant increase in strength, Lin Ye remained absolutely cautious.
Lin Ye advanced toward the building while leveling up efficiently.
He sought out isolated targets, launched a thunderous strike to kill them in one blow, or finished the slaughter with minimal cost and maximum speed.
Then, he would slip away.
He cleaned up the scene, hid himself, concealed his aura, and searched for his next target!