"Discovering" the Habits of the Abyssal Wolf

At the entrance of the spiral staircase on the second floor.

Chen Yu was trembling uncontrollably from head to toe. It wasn't out of fear, but a massive shock and adrenaline rush caused by a surge of boiling blood rushing to his brain.

Commonly known as having his scalp go numb.

His phone screen was still frozen on the final frame of Lin Yi dragging his blood-dripping staff back into Hongfu Tower, with the Abyssal Wolf retreating in terror at the edge of the plaza in the background.

"Holy... holy... holy crap!"

Chen Yu suddenly looked up at Zhou Jianjun beside him. "Uncle, did you see that? Did you see! Seven of them, seven! In less than a minute, Brother Yi took them all down by himself with just a few strikes! This is like he activated a cheat code!"

Zhou Jianjun did not answer immediately.

This veteran, who had experienced border conflicts and witnessed real warfare, felt his chest heaving violently. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and the look in his eyes was quite complex.

It was a mix of astonishment at his nephew's near-inhuman Combat Power and a lingering sense of fear.

Zhou Jianjun gripped the edge of the crude wooden shield in his hand tightly, the rough wooden splinters digging painfully into his palm. Using this pain, he barely managed to suppress the turbulent emotions in his heart.

Because heavy footsteps accompanied by the faint sound of armor clanking were already coming from the stairwell.

Soon, the figure of Lin Yi reappeared on the spiral staircase.

His mighty Qitian Battle Armor was coated with fresh, dark red bloodstains and grayish-black powder, and several gruesome claw marks on the chest and leg plates were shocking to behold in the dim light.

He walked up the steps one by one, his pace still steady, but after stepping onto the second-floor platform, he stood still.

"A Yu..."

Lin Yi's voice was a bit hoarse. He stopped at the stairwell and didn't move, instead asking urgently, "Did you finish recording? Did you turn it off?"

"Off, it's off! I turned it off right after you finished fighting to save battery. But Brother Yi, from the moment you went downstairs until you came back in, I didn't miss a thing! It's crystal clear!"

Chen Yu snapped out of his daze and hurriedly raised his phone to show him, while muttering, "That was so damn cool! It was even better than game CG..."

"That's good..."

Hearing that the video was off, Lin Yi finally relaxed.

As he spoke, he leaned against the wall, first propping the heavy Black Iron Staff against it, then braced his hands on his knees, hunching his back and breathing heavily. Sweat mixed with blood dripped down his temples onto the cold floor tiles.

Chen Yu was slightly startled, then immediately realized what was happening. A smile appeared on his face, thinking to himself that the kid was still trying to act cool even when he was this exhausted.

Just as he was about to step forward to help, he saw Zhou Jianjun had already dashed to Lin Yi's side in a single stride. He looked like he wanted to support him but was afraid to apply too much pressure, asking anxiously, "Xiao Yi! How do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Zhou Jianjun's gaze scanned Lin Yi's body eagerly, especially focusing on the torn parts of the armor.

Lin Yi took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then straightened his back. "I'm... I'm fine, Uncle. It's just that my source energy consumption was a bit high in a short time."

Hearing this, the stone in Zhou Jianjun's heart dropped, and his tone took on the characteristic reproach of an elder:

"You... you kid, you're too reckless! Why did you have to kill that last one? If it ran, let it run; there will be other chances... Those beasts outside are all watching!"

"What if... what if you provoked them and they all swarmed you at once? You..." His tone carried a hint of lingering fear. "Two fists can't fight four hands! No matter how good you are at fighting, you can't handle that many jumping on you at once!"

Lin Yi looked at his uncle's anxious face, raised his hand to wipe the sweat and blood from his face, then grinned, pulling a somewhat cunning smile as he explained, "Uncle, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. The reason I insisted on killing that beast and going out to pick up the crystal and the staff was, first, I couldn't lose my weapon, and second... I wanted to test something."

He paused, steadied his breathing, and swept his gaze over Chen Yu and Zhou Jianjun.

"After these two encounters, I discovered that these monsters... aren't just shaped like wolves." At this point, Lin Yi's expression turned grave. "They have tactical coordination; they probe, they call for companions, and those last two were clearly scared and wanted to run. They... have the cunning and instincts similar to wolves."

"So..."

Zhou Jianjun was lost in thought.

"So I wanted to test it. If I could verify my guess, it would be good to tell everyone in the video later."

Lin Yi tilted his head slightly, gesturing toward the entrance downstairs. "I walked out openly on purpose to see how they would react when I picked up the Spoils of War right under their noses. Would they be completely enraged and pounce regardless of the cost? Or... would they be intimidated?"

"As you saw, Uncle, they just stared, growled, and even... seemed to back up a bit? What does that mean? It means they are bullies by nature, and more importantly, it means my killing spree just now... scared them! They know there's a tough nut here and won't dare to come up easily again."

"That's their nature!"

Lin Yi caught his breath and continued, "Also, I dared to go out not because I was reckless, but because I could still release one more Blue Radiance. If the situation went wrong and the beasts outside really dared to charge, I could have retreated immediately. They weren't that close, and we still had time to pull back to Fujin Hall."

Zhou Jianjun listened to Lin Yi's logical explanation, which even carried the tone of a battlefield analysis, and felt quite complex emotions.

He stared fixedly at the exhausted youth with damaged armor before him, as if seeing his nephew for the first time.

Was this still the same boy who would secretly practice Staff Techniques to look cool after the Gaokao?

He was clearly a warrior tempered in blood and fire!

Having participated in combat at the border, Zhou Jianjun wasn't surprised by this change in his nephew; there were plenty of soldiers who seemed like different people after a battle.

He only felt a pang of emotion that his nephew, having just turned 18, had to experience such life-and-death struggles, and that the wisdom which should have been used for his studies was now being used to dissect the habits of enemies.

"You..."

Zhou Jianjun was silent for a moment, finally letting out a heavy sigh and patting Lin Yi's shoulder gently. "You kid... your mind is sharper than this old veteran's! But... it's best to let me know in advance next time."

Chen Yu, who had been listening from the side for a while, finally couldn't help but interject: "Brother Yi! How is your brain wired? You can even research monster habits while fighting them? Awesome! That's too awesome! That video..."

"Let's go back first, we'll talk about it when we get back."

Lin Yi waved his hand, interrupting him.

Although everything had been under control, fighting while intentionally holding back was quite tiring. Besides, given his physical condition and total source energy, he was indeed reaching his limit.

Lin Yi leaned on his knees for a moment to catch his breath before beckoning the other two.

"Let's go, back to the hall first."

The side door of Fujin Hall was pushed open a crack with extreme caution, then quickly widened.

As the figures of Lin Yi, Zhou Jianjun, and Chen Yu appeared in the doorway, the tension and oppressive atmosphere that had permeated the hall were instantly shattered.

"Xiao Yi!"

"Son!"

Lin Ruiming and Zhou Jinghua rushed over almost simultaneously.

Seeing the new bloodstains and damage on her son's armor, tears welled up in Zhou Jinghua's eyes instantly; her hands trembled as she reached out, wanting to touch him but not daring to.

Lin Ruiming grabbed Lin Yi's arm, his voice tight: "How are you? You weren't hurt this time, were you? Quick... hurry and take off the armor so we can check!"

"Dad, Mom, I'm really fine. This armor is sturdy; it just looks scary," Lin Yi quickly reassured them. "With the armor blocking it, nothing reached me inside, but I do need to take it off and clean it up after I finish recording the video."

"Brother!"

Seeing Lin Yi return, Zhou Mengmeng broke free from her Aunt's embrace and charged over like a little cannonball, hugging Lin Yi's arm tightly, her small face full of admiration.

Uncle's family, Zhou Yuxuan, Ye Qingyu, Zhao Xiaowen, Li Jie... almost everyone gathered around, concerned about Lin Yi's condition.

Ye Qingyu stood slightly behind the crowd, her clear eyes following Lin Yi's figure closely. Seeing that he was exhausted but his eyes were bright, she quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Yi, what about the monsters guarding below?"

Seeing that Lin Yi was unharmed, Lin Ruiheng asked at the right moment. His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drew everyone's focus.

Lin Yi didn't speak; he simply raised his Left Hand, which he had been clenching tightly, and slowly opened it.

In his palm, seven Spirit Shine Crystals emitting a faint gray glow lay silently.