Chapter 56: The Abomination

Cheng Mo watched as the monster lunged toward his sister once again. His pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively tried to raise his hand to forcefully overdraw his supernatural energy...

The next second, an invisible pressure field suddenly burst into the air, causing the grotesque body of the stitched monster to instantly freeze in place, unable to advance even half a step.

Li Luyan stood atop the sports car, the wind whipping through her hair like a savior, raising her palm to firmly lock the stitched monster in place.

Seeing the bizarre creature frozen right in front of him, Cheng Mo felt a flash of incomprehension in his eyes, but the next second, he swiftly drew a dagger from his waist, lunged forward with sudden violence, and fiercely drove it straight into one of the stitched monster's giant eyeballs.

"Aahhh!!!"

The stitched monster emitted a cry resembling that of an infant and began to struggle violently, like an insect pinned to a specimen board. Thick, yellow liquid sprayed out from the eyeball punctured by the dagger.

Li Luyan’s face turned pale as fine beads of cold sweat seeped across her forehead. *This won't do, this monster is too powerful. What on earth is happening in this apocalypse... why would such a thing exist...*

She dropped to one knee, spreading both hands wide to forcefully hold the stitched monster in place.

"Hurry up! What are you waiting for?" Li Luyan’s voice sounded chilled to the bone. Clenching her teeth and tightening her grip with both hands, she urged, "Finish it off quickly!"

"Brother!" Cheng Yuan's earth spikes assaulted from the flank.

As the young girl leaped into the air, the ends of her hair fluttered in the wind.

Sharp earth spikes condensed in the palm of her hand. Just as the stitched monster was about to break free, she and Cheng Mo simultaneously pierced the monster's final two main eyes.

Thick, yellow liquid suddenly spewed outward. Cheng Yuan executed a roll to dodge most of the discharge, though a significant amount still stained her arms.

As for Cheng Mo, he took a direct hit to the face, completely obscuring his features.

"Ugh!" He stretched out one hand to wipe the filth from his nose and mouth, furrowing his brow. "Sis, we need to get back to the base quickly."

The monster writhed and twisted like a fish thrown onto a cutting board, thrashing frantically.

Then it collapsed straight to the ground, its corpse emitting wisps of purple smoke far denser and darker than that of the mutant cat.

Li Luyan leaped down from the car, covering the distance in two strides, her voice cold and detached. "The crystal core of this mutant monster is mine." Her face remained pale, but her tone allowed for no refusal.

Cheng Mo raised his slime-covered hand in a gesture of surrender. "Of course, our savior calls the shots." Cheng Mo exchanged a glance with his sister, and Cheng Yuan understood immediately.

Cheng Yuan extended her palm. "I'm Cheng Yuan, nice to meet you?" She tilted her head, smiling to reveal a row of white teeth.

With a monster this powerful, the esper before them had actually managed to control it, which spoke volumes about her formidable strength. It was essential to forge a good relationship with her. It seemed her brother's bid for guild president now had a new trump card... If she seized this opportunity, she might even be able to recruit this woman.

Although she looked fierce and cold, the fact that she had saved them meant she was worth cultivating a connection with.

"Li Luyan." Li Luyan glanced at the yellow, viscous substance on Cheng Yuan's hand, frowned slightly, and declined to shake it.

Cheng Yuan brushed the slime off her hand without a care, her smile remaining brilliant. "This thing really is a bit disgusting."

Wiping her hand casually on her trousers, she stared at Li Luyan with bright, sparkling eyes. "Are you a mental-type esper? That move just now was so cool!"

"What level are you?"

Li Luyan did not answer. Instead, she crouched down and, with her bare hands, dug a purple-glowing crystal core out from the cluster of small eyes on the stitched monster's body.

The purple crystal core was slightly smaller than others, shaped precisely like an eye, resembling a decorative handicraft bought from a market.

Cheng Mo quietly edged closer to his sister and lowered his voice. "This crystal core looks a bit unusual."

"Yeah." Cheng Yuan nodded imperceptibly, her eyes never leaving Li Luyan's movements.

They watched as Li Luyan casually wiped the crystal core clean with a tissue and then popped it straight into her mouth. The fishy odor was heavy, but not entirely unswallowable.

The next second, a powerful light erupted from Li Luyan's body.

"She's about to level up! This kind of radiance... she's a level-three esper!" Cheng Mo gasped in astonishment. Considering that the apocalypse had only been going on for a few weeks and some people hadn't even awakened their abilities yet, someone had actually already reached level three.

"Are you from the Tian'an Base?" Li Luyan suddenly spoke up, her voice still chilly, though lacking some of its earlier hostility.

Cheng Yuan's eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if Li Luyan were some rare treasure.

Watching the energy fluctuations gradually recede around Li Luyan, Cheng Yuan suddenly took half a step forward. "Are you a solo traveler? Would you like to come to our Tian'an Base?"

She gestured toward her brother. "My brother is a leading candidate for the next guild president, you know."

Liu Qingye stepped forward, holding his hands up. If he didn't step in now, his older sister was going to be snatched away by these two strangers from who knows where.

Without a sound, Liu Qingye blocked Li Luyan's front, a polite yet distant smile hanging on the corners of his lips.

Cheng Yuan's gaze drifted past Liu Qingye's shoulder to look straight at Li Luyan. "The Tian'an Base has the most advanced supernatural research facilities, and a dedicated crystal core trading market, too."

The scoundrel puppy trotted over, rubbing its head affectionately against Li Luyan's lower leg.

In the early stages, joining such a base undoubtedly had its advantages; leveling up and accumulating experience would be much faster.

Cheng Mo chimed in at the appropriate moment. "If we hadn't run into you today, my sister and I would have been goners."

"As a token of our gratitude, we can act as your sponsors."

As twilight deepened, the howls of unknown creatures echoed from the distance.

Having fully absorbed the crystal core, Li Luyan looked at the siblings and said, "Lead the way."

"That's great!" Cheng Yuan excitedly wanted to link arms with Li Luyan, but decisively abandoned the idea upon remembering the viscous substance on her own hands. "Our car is right in the alley ahead!"

Liu Qingye said nothing, maintaining his usual indifferent attitude, but walked between Li Luyan and the siblings, separating them.

The little scoundrel shifted back into its puppy form, trotting closely behind the group. "Hey, hey, hey! Can you guys walk a bit slower?"

Cheng Mo turned around in surprise. "Your dog can talk."

"Mm." Li Luyan lied without a blush or a skipped heartbeat. "It mutated too, so it can speak."

...

Cheng Mo's vehicle was a modified military jeep.

As she climbed in, Li Luyan noticed the varying depths of claw marks covering the car doors.

"There are more and more monsters lately," Cheng Mo explained, following her gaze. "Well, it's the apocalypse after all, but the base is still very safe."

Once the car started, Cheng Yuan pulled a metal box out from under her seat. "Have some food. You're so thin, do you even eat properly?"

Inside the box were a few packs of compressed biscuits and bottled water.

Liu Qingye took the food, carefully inspected it, and then handed it to Li Luyan.

"Where are you coming from?" Cheng Yuan asked out of curiosity.

"Tongcheng," Li Luyan replied briefly.

The hands gripping the steering wheel abruptly tightened. "Tongcheng? Isn't that place already..."

"It's fallen," Li Luyan finished calmly. "That's why we escaped."

A brief silence fell inside the car.