Escaping Monster

Li Yi and Zhang Gao followed Brother Tao deeper and deeper into the Danger Zone. The journey was safe all the way.

Even so, Brother Tao led them around three danger points before finally stopping in front of an abandoned skyscraper.

"The address is correct. This is the place we're supposed to guard. From now on, we'll have to stay here for the next six hours."

Brother Tao took out his phone and opened the map for comparison. Only after confirming that everything was in order did he signal to the two people behind him.

"Come on. Follow me to the top floor."

"Is there something dangerous in this building?" Li Yi asked.

"This building is at the very edge of that Extraordinary Creature's territory. The other things in the Danger Zone don't dare come near, so this place is actually safer for us. Yang Yilong and Qin Qing move faster than we do. It took us twelve minutes to reach our destination, but they only need about five minutes to fight their way into the center of this territory."

"That Extraordinary Creature has to deal with Yang Yilong and the others first, so it doesn't have time to bother with small fry like us. Once Yang Yilong finishes the hunt, we can withdraw. But before then, we have to report any abnormality we can see around us."

"There are too many unknown things hidden in the Danger Zone. Yang Yilong hired us because he was afraid unknown things from elsewhere would come near and reap the benefits after the mantis stalked the cicada. Don't underestimate them. Anything that can squat in the Danger Zone for years without dying out is no simple creature."

As he spoke, Brother Tao felt his way into the building.

The skyscraper was well preserved, with hardly any damage. It was merely covered in dust, with no running water or electricity. It was clear that the evacuation had been hurried. After entering, Li Yi could even see many abandoned valuables, such as wallets, phones, and car keys.

"There's actually still money in this wallet. Can you believe it?"

Zhang Gao picked up an abandoned wallet and found several hundred yuan in banknotes inside.

However, this old currency had stopped circulating after the Skyfall Event, and its use was prohibited on the market. It could still be exchanged for new bills at a bank.

"If you don't mind the trouble, you can come scavenging in the Danger Zone. If you're lucky, you can find quite a bit of money. You might even dig up a treasury left behind by some wealthy family. There used to be quite a few scavengers who struck it rich in the Ruined City. But those scavengers didn't dare enter the Danger Zone, so a great deal of wealth was left behind inside." Brother Tao spoke as he walked.

"That's too much trouble. Forget it." Zhang Gao thought about it, then shook his head and casually tossed away the old wallet.

The idea was good, but anyone who could survive in the Danger Zone wouldn't be short of that little bit of money.

Besides, the truly valuable things had long since been taken away by cultivators hired by their owners. If something couldn't be moved, then either it was in an exceptionally dangerous area, or moving it would mean losing more than they gained.

Because the electricity was out, the elevators in the building had stopped working. The three of them could only take the stairs to the top floor.

Fortunately, all of them were in excellent physical condition. Even climbing more than twenty floors in one breath was no problem.

"Stop."

Suddenly.

Brother Tao, who was walking at the front, abruptly halted. He stopped on this floor.

Li Yi and Zhang Gao stopped as well, their bodies instantly tensing.

From Brother Tao's tone, they sensed a trace of unusual tension.

Was there something abnormal?

In the darkness.

Li Yi's eyes shifted slightly as he tried to search for danger around them. Soon, his pupils contracted. Even without activating Spirit Medium, he had seen the danger hidden on this floor.

But what exactly was that thing?

A spider?

No, it wasn't a spider. Was that a 'person'?

A strange person was sprawled against one wall of the floor. Its skin was grayish-black, almost blending into the surrounding environment. But what made one's scalp crawl was that it had no legs. Instead, eight exceptionally thin and elongated arms grew from its body, each ending in a palm.

The eight palms clung to the wall like suction cups, making the humanoid creature look like a gigantic spider crouched there.

Zhang Gao saw it too, and his breathing unconsciously quickened.

What should they do?

Should they ignore the monster, or kill it here?

Li Yi and Zhang Gao looked toward Brother Tao.

At a time like this, Brother Tao had to make the decision. He was a Spirit Medium practitioner, and his strength was greater.

Brother Tao stood motionless, but his eyes kept sizing up the spider-person crouched against the wall. He was also considering his next move.

"I'm going to make a probing attack. Having this thing here will hinder our subsequent actions. Even if I can't kill it, I'll find a way to drive it away. Be careful." He quickly made up his mind and spoke in a low voice.

"Okay."

Li Yi drew a deep breath and prepared himself.

Brother Tao no longer hesitated. He swiftly approached the strange spider-person on the wall.

When he had closed to a certain distance, the strange humanoid creature immediately noticed him as well. Its eight slender arms suddenly moved. Its body quickly shifted, sliding about four or five meters along the adjacent wall before briefly stopping.

The instant the strange humanoid creature stopped, a gaze suddenly appeared in the darkness of the floor.

Gaze Strike!

This was a unique attack method belonging to cultivators who had activated Spirit Medium. Brother Tao seized the opportunity and struck.

Gaze Strike was nearly useless against cultivators of the same level, but against beings weaker than oneself, it dealt a devastating blow. It was also an excellent method for testing an opponent.

"Ah!"

In an instant, a sharp cry echoed through the silent building. The sound was horrifying, resembling both a human and a beast.

However, Gaze Strike had not killed the humanoid monster. Instead, it had enraged the thing.

The next moment.

The bizarre humanoid creature with eight arms moved rapidly along the wall, swiftly closing in on Li Yi and the others.

"That movement speed is incredible."

In merely one or two seconds, the monster had already moved above Brother Tao's head. Two slender arms swung down, the palms at their ends resembling claws. Their power was astonishing as they tried to tear Brother Tao in half at the waist.

Bang!

Dust erupted from the floor as the hard concrete was ripped open with several savage gashes.

But Brother Tao was no slower. As he dodged the attack, a black-coated cleaver had somehow appeared in his hand. It was unlike the common blades sold on the market, seemingly forged from a special alloy. It was not only sharp but also extremely tough.

He moved just as quickly. The black blade swept through the pitch-black surroundings, and no one could see where he had struck.

But immediately afterward, the spider-like humanoid monster's two arms snapped into two pieces. Strange fluid sprayed out like fluorescent light in the darkness, splattering in all directions.

With his attack successful, Brother Tao seemed to gain confidence. He leaped directly into the air, trying to chop off the monster's head.

The monster seemed to possess intelligence. Once it reacted, its remaining arms flailed wildly in an attempt to drive Brother Tao back.

In midair, the sharp blade collided with those strange palms, sending sparks flying.

The attack failed. Brother Tao's body shot backward, and he rapidly widened the distance to guard against accidents.

"This thing's nerve reaction speed is even faster than mine. It can even block my blade. Terrifying." Brother Tao cursed under his breath.

After losing two arms, the spider-like monster seemed to realize that Brother Tao was not to be trifled with. It did not attack again. Instead, it retreated along the wall at an astonishing speed.

"It's trying to escape!" Zhang Gao hurriedly said.

Brother Tao's expression was grave, but he did not move. "Let it go. After suffering this loss, the monster won't appear in this area again for a short while. Since we failed to kill it just now, don't force a fight. It isn't worth it."

He did not want to stop it, afraid that one wrong move would leave him stranded here.

After all, he had come this time to make money, not to risk his life.

In only three or four seconds, the humanoid monster slipped through a shattered window at tremendous speed. It then crawled rapidly along the outer wall of the building. Soon, the sound of its crawling gradually faded, confirming that the thing was truly fleeing.

Seeing it leave, Li Yi also breathed a sigh of relief.

The speed of that thing's pounce had been frightening. It was so fast that he had almost been unable to react. Fortunately, Brother Tao had gained the upper hand and driven it away. Otherwise, he would have turned and run.

"It should be fine now."

Brother Tao did not lower his guard. He waited until all sound had completely vanished, then observed the surroundings again. Only after confirming that there was no danger did he slowly exhale.

"What exactly was that monster just now?"

Li Yi stepped forward and glanced at the half an arm lying on the ground.

There was no doubt that it was a human arm. However, the density of its bones and the strength of its muscles far exceeded those of an ordinary person. It was even stronger than a cultivator who had activated Spirit Medium.

"Who knows? Ever since the Skyfall Event, our world has gained all sorts of incomprehensible things. But no matter what they are, as long as they aren't creatures belonging to our world, we can sell them for money. Many research institutions are very interested in these things, and the market prices are high. Even severed limbs can be sold for money."

Brother Tao sheathed his blade and approached the severed hand for a look. He could not identify what kind of creature it belonged to, but in the end, he still found a bag, put the severed arm inside, and took it with him.

"Thank you for earlier, Brother Tao. We really would have been in danger otherwise." Zhang Gao hurriedly thanked him.

"No need to thank me. This thing wasn't especially dangerous. I only wanted to see if I could kill it. Unfortunately, it still escaped in the end." Brother Tao shook his head, somewhat disappointed.

In the Danger Zone, there were only so many things a Spirit Medium Realm cultivator could hunt. Running into one like this couldn't exactly be called bad luck.

Li Yi asked, "Brother Tao, may I ask how you judged that thing's strength? It was lying motionless on the wall just now, like a piece of wood. There was no way to tell how strong it was."

"Two methods. The first is experience, and the second is feeling."

Brother Tao lit a cigarette and slowly said, "That thing's skin was grayish-black, almost identical in color to the surrounding walls. When an animal's body color is close to its environment, it means it needs to use the environment to conceal and protect itself from other predators. Creatures of this type usually aren't very strong. So this time, I analyzed it through experience."

"I see."

After hearing the explanation, Li Yi suddenly found it very reasonable. At the same time, chameleons and octopuses came to mind.

Anything that needed to use its surroundings to conceal itself indeed could not be especially powerful.

Brother Tao continued, "As for feeling, it's actually inspiration. Once Spirit Medium Realm cultivators continue cultivating to a higher level, they can awaken inspiration. A cultivator like that has extremely sharp five senses and can sense the strength of other creatures, allowing them to better determine their position in the food chain. But I haven't awakened inspiration yet."

"All right, enough talk. Let's go to the roof. The fact that such a weak creature was hiding here makes it even more likely that this place is safe. I believe we won't encounter any other dangers from here on."

As he spoke, he did not linger. He continued up the stairs toward the top floor.

However, after this incident, Li Yi became even more vigilant.

Fortunately, an experienced Spirit Medium practitioner had led the way this time. If he had rashly entered the Danger Zone by himself someday, he might not even have known how he died.

It seems I still have a lot to learn. I have to keep improving.

At that moment, Li Yi felt that there was still so much he needed to learn.