But just when they feared something would happen, it did.
They had barely made it ten yards from the restroom entrance.
"ROAR!!!"
A roar filled with savagery and hunger suddenly exploded from around the corner ahead, and a massive dark-green figure lunged into view!
Then two more followed right behind it.
Three pairs of blood-red wolf eyes fixed on the group. Their vicious fangs and massive bodies covered in dark-green scales exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure.
They were Corrosive Abyss Wolves!
They had clearly slaughtered all the living people downstairs, then been drawn upstairs by the voices and commotion.
Now that they had spotted living prey, the lead Corrosive Abyss Wolf dug its powerful hind legs into the ground and sprang forward with a gust of foul wind, charging straight at Lin Yi, who had already taken position at the front of the group.
Its foreclaws glinted coldly as they tore through the air, slashing toward Lin Yi's chest. At the same time, its scorpion-like Bone Tail whipped sharply.
Pfft!
A clump of dark-green corrosive liquid, reeking of acid, shot toward the female office worker behind Lin Yi, who was already shrieking in terror.
"Watch out!"
Lin Yi's expression changed. He seemed to be thrown into a panic by the sudden double attack.
Almost on instinct, he took a somewhat clumsy step to the right. At the same time, he kicked with all his might at the side of the terrified woman's backside.
"Ow!"
The office worker let out a scream as the kick sent her sprawling to the side, narrowly avoiding the glob of corrosive liquid.
The liquid splatted onto the carpet where she had just been standing, sizzling at once as it ate a charred hole through it.
But that sidestep and kick also left Lin Yi completely exposed to the first Corrosive Abyss Wolf's attack.
Its ghastly white fangs and scaled claws were already inches away. There was no time left for him to dodge or block.
"Ugh!"
Lin Yi acted as if he had been frozen with fear. He managed only a short cry of alarm before instinctively raising his armored left arm to defend himself, stumbling backward in a desperate attempt to put some distance between them.
"SCREECH!"
A shrill metallic ripping sound rang out as the Corrosive Abyss Wolf's sharp claws tore into the armor on Lin Yi's left arm and chest, ripping several vicious gashes through the sturdy Titanium Alloy Armor.
The tremendous impact drew a muffled grunt from Lin Yi and sent him staggering several steps backward, nearly knocking him to the ground.
Without the armor, that swipe would have ripped him open.
"Ah! Die!"
A flash of ferocity crossed Lin Yi's eyes, as if he had been "angered."
Using the momentum of his retreat, he barely managed to steady himself. Gripping the long staff with both hands, he relied on sheer brute strength, with no technique at all, and swung upward in a savage blow at the relatively soft flank of the Abyssal Wolf. It had missed its pounce and was landing, ready to attack again.
Thud!
The staff struck the Corrosive Abyss Wolf squarely in the ribs. The muffled crunch of shattered scales came at the same time as the unmistakable crack of breaking bone.
"Awoo!"
The Corrosive Abyss Wolf let out a pained howl and was sent flying sideways by the heavy blow.
It slammed hard into the wall, then slid limply to the floor. It was clearly dead.
Lin Yi panted heavily. A sharp, numb ache pulsed through his left arm, and the claw marks on his armor were horrifying to look at.
His hands trembled around the staff, as if he still hadn't recovered from the narrow escape.
But the danger came one after another!
The second Corrosive Abyss Wolf gave him no chance to catch his breath. It seized the moment when Lin Yi had spent the force of his last swing and was still off balance, then darted in from the side like a specter. Its jaws gaped wide, and with a gust of foul breath, it lunged at the exposed junction of Lin Yi's right shoulder and neck, where his armor offered no full protection.
"Brother!"
Zhou Mengmeng couldn't stop herself from screaming in terror.
As the shadow of death fell over him once more, Lin Yi's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face filled with "horror."
He seemed to have no time at all to dodge or block.
But at the critical moment, he appeared to summon the youthful ferocity of someone pushed to the brink.
Lin Yi didn't retreat again. Instead, he gritted his teeth and did something reckless.
He advanced instead of retreating!
He abruptly leaned his upper body to the left. Gripping the middle of the staff with both hands, he stopped swinging it and used it like a massive short spear. He put all his strength into a vicious upward thrust, driving it into the open, fang-filled maw of the second Corrosive Abyss Wolf as it lunged at him.
"Get away from me!"
Pfft... Crack!
With all Lin Yi's strength behind it, the end of the staff drove into the depths of the Corrosive Abyss Wolf's mouth like a battering ram.
It shattered its fangs, pierced its palate, and plunged into its brain.
"Ugh... H-hurk..."
The second Corrosive Abyss Wolf froze in mid-lunge, its blood-red eyes bulging wide.
Thick blood mixed with splintered bone gushed from its mouth. Its massive body crashed to the floor as if struck by an Immobilization Spell, collapsing at Lin Yi's feet.
Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The two Corrosive Abyss Wolf corpses on the ground suddenly began to disintegrate in silence, like paper dolls thrown into an invisible fire. Before their very eyes, they crumbled and came apart, turning into countless tiny, dark-gray particles like dust.
Rustle... Rustle...
The ashes drifted down onto the carpet in eerie silence. It was as though the material forms of the two monsters that had brought the fear of death were being rapidly erased by some unseen rule.
Amid the silent dance of ash, a faint light appeared at the center of where the Corrosive Abyss Wolf corpses had dissolved.
It wasn't a dazzling light, but a hazy gray point, as if it had condensed from the embers of death.
It hovered several dozen centimeters above the floor, about the size of a fingertip, like the highly condensed core of some otherworldly crystal. Its faint light pulsed slowly and irregularly, each flicker silently proclaiming the gathering of energy and the transformation of the world's rules.
Lin Yi's heart stirred.
Gray Spirit Shine Crystal!
But even though the thing he needed most in the early stages was right within reach, Lin Yi had no time to grab it.
He panted heavily several times, holding the staff in both hands as he stared without blinking at the last Corrosive Abyss Wolf.
In the blink of an eye, the first two Corrosive Abyss Wolves had died too quickly. Only now did the third one, which had been lagging behind, finally reach them.
But it didn't attack right away. It abruptly dug in its heels and stopped several meters in front of Lin Yi.
The Corrosive Abyss Wolf fixed its blood-red eyes on Lin Yi, then glanced over the claw marks on his armor. Finally, its gaze fell on the ashes of its kind, and a low, wary whine rumbled in its throat.
It lowered its body and slowly backed away.
Only after it had retreated to the stairwell corner did it cast one last hateful glance at Lin Yi, who was still panting. Then it abruptly turned and vanished into the darkness.
Right after that—
"Awoo... Awooo..."
A long, mournful wolf howl suddenly rose from downstairs.
Before you continue