"Mountain Inn," just you wait
"I didn't expect you to be so close," the young man remarked softly. Then he added, with an obscure meaning, "In that case, they should be happy to see you go down and join them, right?"
The sinister words immediately put the three on alert.
But before they could react, the Refined Man, who stood at the back closest to the cellar entrance, suddenly let out a short, sharp sound.
"Uh—"
Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman turned to see a figure even taller and larger than the White Humanoid locked in Room 106. It had appeared silently behind the Refined Man, and its arm, over a meter long, had driven straight through his chest.
The Refined Man's face still wore a look of shock and pain, as though he had never expected to die like this.
"Hahahahaha, the things really do evolve through killing each other! My experiment succeeded!" The young man burst into frenzied laughter at the sight. He looked smugly at the other two. "I still have to thank you for offering yourselves up as my guinea pigs."
The thing that had attacked the Refined Man yanked its hand back, spraying blood across the cellar walls on either side and splattering Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman.
Without support, the Refined Man fell to the ground with a thud and gradually stopped breathing.
Xu Xi finally reacted and broke into a run toward the young man.
He didn't need to think to know that the young man had lured the thing here.
The young man had to have something to rely on to dare do this. Perhaps he had something on him that could counter that thing.
But after just two steps, Xu Xi saw the young man give him a contemptuous glance, turn, and take a few steps to the side before disappearing around the corner.
Only then did Xu Xi notice there was a small space around the corner, hidden behind several stacked boxes!
Standing in the small room, the young man leisurely reached out and untied a rope beside him. An iron grate immediately dropped from above, sealing off the space from the cellar outside with a heavy bang.
"Do you know how that rather burly companion of yours mutated? I injected him with a toxin that I went through untold trouble to extract from that white thing."
A manic smile spread across the young man's face, as though he couldn't resist sharing his results.
"I've been researching how to make this thing evolve, and now I finally know. As long as it keeps killing and devouring its own kind, it will evolve on its own."
"And I can keep making more of its kind!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
What a psycho.
Xu Xi grumbled silently.
He turned to look.
The High-Ponytail Woman wore a necklace around her neck, probably some kind of life-saving item. It was glowing now, and the Evolved Body enveloped in its light was pinned motionless in place.
The High-Ponytail Woman, meanwhile, was running toward the cellar entrance.
"Go! It'll be immobilized for five seconds!"
Despite her warning, Xu Xi didn't move.
For one thing, five seconds wasn't enough time for him to get around the Evolved Body and run out of the cellar. For another, he didn't think they would survive even if they got out.
"I have a question."
Xu Xi looked back at the young man standing behind the iron grate.
The young man couldn't help feeling a little surprised.
He hadn't expected the young man a short distance away to show no sign of fear at all, instead looking at him with complete calm.
Not afraid to die?
"...Go ahead."
The young man figured that, since this person was about to die anyway, there was no harm in being merciful and answering him.
"How did you lure this Evolved Body over here?"
"Why, I used a special powder, of course. It's mixed into the candle wax, and that thing finds it irresistibly attractive. I wasn't sure it would lure the Evolved Body, but it seems to work pretty well."
"I've been sprinkling the powder all along the way, and I sprinkled some on you too. So don't worry, that woman won't get away. Sooner or later, she'll go down and join you, hahahahahaha."
The item's effect had worn off, and the three pitch-black holes in the Evolved Body's face turned toward Xu Xi.
Compared to the First-Generation Body, the Evolved Body was not only taller and larger, but also considerably faster.
Before his heart was ripped out, Xu Xi asked one last question, as if to confirm something.
"So you still have that special powder on you?"
The young man didn't know why this person was asking such a question when he was about to die. His instincts kept him from answering.
But Xu Xi had already seen the answer in his expression.
"Heh, just you wait."
"I didn't expect you to be so close."
The young man's remark sounded in his ear.
The moment Xu Xi opened his eyes, he charged at him without a word.
The young man, who had been about to make another cryptic, sinister remark, froze in surprise.
The Refined Man and the High-Ponytail Woman looked equally bewildered.
"Pfft—"
The Refined Man's heart was ripped out while he was still stunned.
The young man finally realized that the young man charging at him had clearly noticed something was wrong.
He had just started to run for the small room around the corner when something rock-hard struck the back of his head. His vision went black, and he stumbled.
That brief delay was enough. Before his vision recovered, everything went black again.
On his way over, Xu Xi had taken off his backpack, unzipped it, and emptied it as he ran. When he reached the young man's back, he pulled it over his head, drove a knee upward, and then kicked him.
He had already rehearsed this remarkably fluid series of moves in his head before dying in the previous save.
The young man had been able to exchange a few blows with the Burly Man and even control the size of his wounds. He might have lost to the Burly Man on purpose. Who knew how strong he really was?
In any case, he was certainly stronger than a weak, fragile corporate drone like Xu Xi.
There was no way Xu Xi could fight him head-on, so he would use underhanded tricks whenever he could.
Before the young man could pull the bag off his head, a sudden, agonizing pain in his groin made him double over, his face contorted in pain. The next second, a fierce kick to his lower back made him grunt and fall forward uncontrollably.
Over there, the necklace around the High-Ponytail Woman's neck had immobilized the Evolved Body. She was about to run toward the cellar entrance when she heard the young man call, "Come here."
After hesitating for only a moment, the High-Ponytail Woman turned and changed direction.
Passing the young man curled up on the ground, she spotted the flashlight on the floor and scooped it up.
When she reached Xu Xi, he didn't offer much explanation and hurriedly led her into the small room around the corner.
His gaze immediately fell on the rope tied to one side. Without hesitation, he grabbed the end and gave it a pull.
Bang—
The iron grate dropped instantly.
The young man finally recovered and yanked the bag off his head.
But as far as he was concerned, the situation had already taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Because he was carrying a large amount of the special powder, the Evolved Body, freed from its immobilization, seemed to have set its sights on a delicious meal and quickened its pace toward him.
"No! Wait! Damn it—"