Escaping Monster

Li Yi and Zhang Gao followed Brother Tao deeper into the dangerous zone, and the journey was safe.

Even so, Brother Tao led them around three dangerous spots, finally stopping in front of an abandoned skyscraper.

"The address is correct. This is the point we need to guard. From now on, we'll be here for the next six hours."

Brother Tao took out his phone and opened the map to compare. After confirming there were no issues, he gestured to the two behind him.

"Let's go, follow me to the top floor."

"Is this building dangerous?" Li Yi asked.

"This building is located at the very edge of that Extraordinary Creature's territory. Other things in the dangerous zone don't dare to approach here, so it's actually safe for us. Yang Yilong and Qin Qing are faster than us. It took us twelve minutes to reach our destination, but they only need about five minutes to charge into the center of this territory."

"Right now, that Extraordinary Creature has to deal with Yang Yilong and the others first, so it doesn't have time to bother with us minor players. We can withdraw after Yang Yilong successfully hunts it. But before that, we need to report any abnormalities we see around us."

"There are too many unknown things hidden in the dangerous zone. Yang Yilong invited us precisely to prevent unknown things from other areas from getting close and reaping the benefits. Don't underestimate those things; anything that can survive in the dangerous zone for years without perishing is not simple."

Brother Tao said as he fumbled his way into the building.

The building was well-preserved, almost undamaged, only covered in dust, and without water or electricity. It was clear the evacuation back then was hasty. As Li Yi walked inside, he could even see many abandoned important items, such as wallets, phones, and car keys.

"There's still money in this wallet, can you believe it?"

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

However, this old currency was no longer in circulation after the Skyfall Event, and its use was prohibited in the market. But it could be exchanged for new bills at the bank.

"If you don't mind the trouble, you can come to the dangerous zone to scavenge. If you're lucky, you can find a lot of money, or even dig up some vaults left by wealthy families. There were many scavengers who got rich in the Ruined City back then, but those scavengers didn't dare to enter the dangerous zone, so there's a lot of wealth left behind within the dangerous zone," Brother Tao said as they walked.

"Too much trouble, let's forget it," Zhang Gao thought for a moment and then shook his head, casually tossing the old wallet aside.

Although the idea was good, people who could survive entering the dangerous zone were hardly short of that little money.

Moreover, the truly valuable items had already been taken by cultivators hired by the employer. If they couldn't be taken, it meant either the item was in an extremely dangerous area, or it wasn't worth the effort.

Due to the lack of electricity, the elevators in the building were out of order, so the three could only take the stairs to the top floor.

However, their stamina was excellent, and climbing over twenty floors in one go was no problem at all.

"Stop."

Suddenly.

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

Li Yi and Zhang Gao also stopped abruptly, and their bodies instantly tensed up.

They could sense a hint of unusual tension in Brother Tao's tone.

Is there... an anomaly?

In the darkness.

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

But what exactly is that thing?

A spider?

No, it's not a spider. It's a 'person'?

On one of the walls of this floor, a strange person was clinging. The person's skin was gray-black, almost blending into the surroundings. But what was chilling was that the person had no legs and instead had eight unusually thin and long arms growing from their body, each arm ending in a hand.

The eight hands clung to the wall like suction cups, making this humanoid creature cling there like a giant spider.

Zhang Gao, standing beside him, also saw it at this moment, and his breathing involuntarily quickened.

What should we do?

Should we ignore this monster, or choose to eliminate it here?

Li Yi and Zhang Gao looked at Brother Tao.

It was up to Brother Tao to make this decision, as he was a Spirit Medium practitioner and relatively powerful.

Brother Tao remained motionless, his eyes constantly scanning the spider-like human clinging to the wall, contemplating his next move.

"I'm going to make a move to test it. This thing is detrimental to our subsequent actions. Even if I can't kill it, I'll have to find a way to drive it away. Be careful yourselves," he soon decided and said in a low voice.

"Okay."

Li Yi took a deep breath, preparing for any eventuality.

Brother Tao no longer hesitated and quickly approached the strange spider-like human on the wall.

When he got within a certain distance, the strange humanoid creature clinging to the wall immediately sensed it. Its eight slender arms suddenly moved, and its body quickly shifted, moving about four or five meters to the adjacent wall before briefly stopping its action.

And the moment the strange humanoid creature stopped, a gaze suddenly appeared in the dark floor.

Witness!

This was a special attack method unique to Cultivators who had activated their Spirit Medium abilities. Brother Tao seized the opportunity to strike.

Although Witness was almost useless against Cultivators of the same level, it was a devastating blow to beings weaker than oneself, and it was also a good probing method.

"Ah!"

Instantly.

A sharp cry immediately echoed through the silent building, a chilling sound, like a human, yet also like a beast.

However, the witness did not manage to kill the humanoid monster; instead, it enraged the creature.

The next moment.

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

"Its movement speed is so fast."

In just one or two seconds, the monster had already reached Brother Tao's head. Then, two slender arms, with hands like claws, swung with astonishing power, intending to tear Brother Tao in half.

"Bang!"

Dust kicked up from the ground, and the hard concrete floor was torn open by several ferocious marks from the monster.

But Brother Tao was not slow either. While dodging the attack, he produced a black-coated cleaver from somewhere. This knife was different from common ones on the market, seemingly forged from a special alloy, not only sharp but also extremely tough.

He moved just as quickly. The black blade cut through the darkness, and it was impossible to see where he attacked.

However, in the next instant, the spider-like humanoid monster's two arms were instantly severed, and strange, fluorescent-like sap spurted out in the darkness, splashing everywhere.

After the attack was successful, Brother Tao's confidence seemed to surge. He leaped up, attempting to chop off the monster's head.

This monster seemed to possess intelligence. Upon reacting, its remaining arms wildly flailed, trying to repel Brother Tao.

In mid-air, the sharp blade collided with the bizarre palms, even sparking.

The attack failed, and Brother Tao retreated rapidly, quickly creating distance to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

"This thing's neural reaction speed is faster than mine, and it could even block my blade. Truly terrifying," Brother Tao muttered under his breath.

After losing two arms, the spider-man-like monster seemed to realize Brother Tao was not to be trifled with. It stopped attacking and instead retreated rapidly along the wall at an astonishing speed.

"It's going to escape," Zhang Gao said urgently.

Brother Tao's expression was solemn, and he made no move. "Let it go. This monster has suffered a loss and won't appear in this area again for a while. Since we couldn't kill it just now, don't force the fight; it's not worth it."

He didn't want to stop it, fearing he might get himself killed.

After all, they were only here to make money, not to risk their lives.

In just three to four seconds, the humanoid monster drilled through the broken window at extreme speed and then crawled rapidly down the outer wall of the building. Soon, as the sound of its crawling faded, it was confirmed that the thing was indeed fleeing.

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

The speed at which that thing lunged at them earlier was terrifying, so fast that he could barely react. Fortunately, Brother Tao had gained some advantage and driven it away; otherwise, he would have turned and run.

"It should be fine now."

Brother Tao did not let down his guard. After all sounds had completely ceased, he observed their surroundings again. Once he confirmed there was no danger, he slowly exhaled.

"What exactly was that monster just now?"

Li Yi walked forward, glancing at the severed arm lying on the ground.

Undoubtedly, it was a human arm, but the bone density and muscle strength far exceeded those of ordinary people, even stronger than a Cultivator who had awakened their Spirit Medium abilities.

"Who knows. Ever since the Skyfall Event, our world has gained many incomprehensible things. But no matter what it is, as long as it's a creature not from our world, it can be sold for money. Many research institutions are very interested in these things, and the market price is high. Even severed limbs can be sold."

Brother Tao put away his knife and approached the severed arm to examine it. He couldn't identify what kind of creature it was, but in the end, he bagged the severed arm and took it with him.

"Thank you, Brother Tao, for your help just now. We would have been in real danger otherwise," Zhang Gao said quickly, expressing his gratitude.

"No need to thank me. This thing's danger level isn't particularly high. I just wanted to see if I could kill it, but unfortunately, it escaped in the end," Brother Tao shook his head, a little disappointed.

In dangerous areas, there are limited creatures that Spirit Medium realm Cultivators can hunt. It couldn't be said that he was unlucky to encounter this.

Li Yi asked, "Brother Tao, forgive my boldness, but how did you judge this thing's strength? It was just clinging to the wall, motionless like a piece of wood, and its strength was completely indiscernible."

"Two methods: one is experience, and the other is feeling."

Brother Tao lit a cigarette and said slowly, "The color of this thing's skin was gray-black, almost the same as the surrounding wall. A body color close to the environment indicates it needs to use the environment to hide itself and protect itself from other predators. Therefore, such creatures are usually not very strong. So, this was an analysis based on experience."

"So that's how it is."

After this explanation, Li Yi found it very logical. At the same time, he thought of creatures like chameleons and octopuses.

Anything that needs to use its surroundings to hide itself indeed cannot be particularly powerful.

Brother Tao continued, "As for the feeling, it's actually Intuition. Spirit Medium realm Cultivators can awaken Intuition as they continue to cultivate. These Cultivators have extremely sharp senses and can perceive the strength of other creatures, better confirming their position in the food chain. However, I haven't awakened Intuition yet."

"Alright, enough talk. Let's head to the rooftop. Such a weak thing hiding here only proves that this area is safer. I believe we won't encounter any more danger from now on."

Saying this, he no longer lingered there and continued up the stairs towards the top floor.

However, after this incident, Li Yi's vigilance increased again.

Fortunately, they had an experienced Spirit Medium practitioner leading the way. If he were to rashly enter a dangerous area one day, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"It seems I still have a lot to learn and continue to improve."

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