The Giant Rock Abyss Bear Approaches

Lin Yi's grave demeanor instantly infected everyone present.

No one dared to linger for even a second; driven by the instinct to survive, the forty-plus teachers and students helped one another, stumbling and scrambling with all their might toward the direction of Hongfu Tower.

Only after confirming with his peripheral vision that everyone was obediently fleeing toward Hongfu Tower did Lin Yi focus his attention on the pack of Corrosive Abyss Wolves near the Abyss Beast Nest.

The five Corrosive Abyss Wolves that had fled in a panic from near the bus had by now plunged into the pack gathering on the periphery of the nest.

Their return was like a stone cast into a pond already rife with undercurrents, instantly sparking an even greater commotion.

Not only that, but Lin Yi also noticed that the small group of six Corrosive Abyss Wolves that had been fixated on the convenience store across the street had actually abandoned their prey. As if responding to some silent summons, they darted out from their hiding spot at the street corner and merged into the increasingly massive pack near the nest.

Over fifty red dots gathered together, forming a glaring red zone in the field of view of the Detector.

They emitted a series of threatening howls toward the direction of the bus, looking ready to strike.

As expected... Lin Yi thought to himself, not at all surprised.

His initial choice to use Source Energy Projection to instantly kill the three blocking Corrosive Abyss Wolves was intended to create maximum visual impact and psychological deterrence, hoping to scare off the rest and resolve the issue quickly.

He did this primarily because he knew the behavioral patterns of this nest in its early stages.

However, the fact that even the Corrosive Abyss Wolves from the convenience store were attracted over, abandoning their watch, was slightly beyond his expectations.

But it was of no consequence; if anything, it saved him the trouble of having to clear them out later.

Lin Yi's gaze swept quickly across the street.

The rolling shutter of the convenience store was yanked up violently, and five figures scrambled out, crawling and tumbling.

They must have noticed the commotion here for a while; the moment they saw the Corrosive Abyss Wolves surrounding them retreat, they seized the opportunity and bolted.

Although their faces were deathly pale and filled with terror, the instinct to survive made them burst forth with all their speed, running for their lives toward Hongfu Tower without once looking back, not even daring to glance at the massive pack of wolves.

"Decisive enough, at least."

Lin Yi evaluated them in his mind without a ripple of emotion.

He wasn't surprised, though; in the apocalypse, many indecisive people died in the first wave of impact, and those who managed to hide usually had some redeeming qualities.

He merely glanced at them, then withdrew his gaze, focusing his attention on the pack of Corrosive Abyss Wolves that had begun to slowly close in.

"It seems that once their numbers increase, their courage grows. I'll have to help them cool down..."

An Abyss Beast Nest is not a mindless monster spawn point; based on the types, sequence, and combination preferences of the Abyss Beasts it produces, one can roughly deduce its core "behavioral pattern" or "style."

In his past life, after paying a heavy price, the Blue Star Civilization summarized over twenty relatively universal laws regarding Abyss Beast Nests.

For example, a nest that desperately pours all its initial source energy into producing a single powerful Lord-level Abyss Beast usually belongs to the "aggressive" or "gambler" type, possessing extreme hostility. Such nests will even choose reckless types like the Fierce Claw Wolverine for their subsequent basic Abyss Beast production.

But a nest like this one, which produces a large number of the lowest-level Corrosive Abyss Wolves in the early stages, then begins to slowly accumulate resources to prepare for producing Elite Units like the Giant Rock Abyss Bear, and only considers Leader units at the very end... this pattern basically belongs to the "conservative" or "steady" type.

The core logic of this type of nest is "preserve strength, advance steadily," tending to obtain results with the minimum cost and acting with extreme caution regarding actions that are not guaranteed to succeed or might cause significant losses.

It was precisely because Lin Yi judged this that he dared to use the seemingly aggressive instant-kill tactic for deterrence.

However, deterrence has its prerequisites.

Facing over fifty gathered Corrosive Abyss Wolves, simply standing there was not quite enough.

Wolves are suspicious by nature, yet they bully the weak and fear the strong; once they feel you are all bark and no bite, they will swarm you without hesitation.

Lin Yi did not hesitate; his Right Hand remained gripped tightly around the Black Iron Long Staff, while his Left Hand slowly rose, fingers forming a sword shape, held diagonally before his chest.

The next moment, a touch of pure and dangerous Azure Blue radiance quietly ignited at his fingertips, like a miniature star in the dark night, steadily emitting energy fluctuations.

Drawn but not released!

This was an advanced technique of Source Energy Projection, only briefly touched upon in the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique.

But for a genius, that was enough.

Of course, this was purely a bluff.

Lin Yi knew very well that the source energy within his body was only enough to release one more Source Energy Projection attack.

But the pack of Corrosive Abyss Wolves in the distance didn't know that!

They had just witnessed with their own eyes the scene of three companions being instantly killed by this terrifying blue light. Seeing that deadly Azure Blue radiance ignite again, the ferocity and restless urge to attack that had risen due to their gathered numbers were suddenly brought to a halt.

The pack's forward momentum stopped; the restless, low growls continued, but there was clearly more wariness and hesitation in those pairs of scarlet wolf eyes.

They paced and lingered, no longer daring to approach easily.

Lin Yi maintained this posture, keeping the Azure Blue radiance at his fingertips stable, without making any further provocative movements.

He understood the limits of the situation very well.

The courage of an individual Corrosive Abyss Wolf is actually limited, but once their numbers reach a certain scale, their courage grows exponentially.

Just like lions and hyenas on the savanna, a single hyena wouldn't dare provoke a male lion, but a pack of hyenas would dare to snatch food from a lion's mouth or even surround a lone lion.

He was currently that male lion, and the opponent was a pack of over fifty hyenas.

Rescuing the prey and killing their companions was already challenging the bottom line of the pack.

If he were to launch another active attack or make an overly obvious provocation, it might very well completely enrage the pack and trigger an all-out, desperate assault.

At that time, although he could kill all these Abyssal Wolf, he would inevitably expose some things that were not part of his plan.

Therefore, the best strategy at this moment was to maintain this high-pressure standoff.

After all, his goal was only to save people, and he did not want to create any unnecessary complications.

Time ticked away second by second in the suffocating standoff.

It was not until the five people who had run out of the convenience store finally scrambled into Hongfu Tower, and Lin Yi confirmed through the Detector that the nearby green dots were all stacked together, that he slowly retracted the sword finger of his Left Hand, the Blue Radiance at his fingertips extinguishing along with it.

However, he did not retreat immediately; instead, he stepped forward a few paces and, with a calm and unhurried posture, picked up the three Spirit Shine Crystal beside the bus one by one.

The moment his fingertips touched the crystals, an Information Flow flooded into his mind—all three were Level 1 Source Energy Crystal.

"Not bad luck..."

After finishing all this, he held his long staff, faced the direction of the wolf pack, and retreated step by step with steady composure.

Before his figure completely disappeared into the building, Lin Yi cast one last glance at the direction of the nest.

In the distance, around the core of that huge, constantly rotating purple-black vortex, the Dark Red Veins that had originally only flickered faintly were now pulsing at a significantly faster frequency, and their light seemed to have become a bit more intense, as if an enraged heart were accelerating the pumping of its blood.

"Looks like I've really been marked..."

Lin Yi sighed silently.

He was also clear that, although he had tried his best to restrain himself, his actions were undoubtedly a serious provocation to this Conservative Nest.

Originally, according to the "steady and solid" nature of such a nest, it would basically prioritize clearing out weaker and easier-to-catch survivors within its territory; Hongfu Tower, being a tough nut to crack, would likely be placed relatively late in the attack sequence, only to be taken down when there was a high degree of certainty.

But now, right in front of the nest, he had slapped it hard in the face, rescued two batches of prey, and killed quite a few Abyssal Wolf; this hatred was firmly secured.

Therefore, the peace between the two sides at this moment was only temporary.

What maintained this fragile peace was not the other side's tolerance, but the fact that they currently lacked the assault power to confront him head-on... such as a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

Lin Yi made an estimation based on his experience from his past life and the current energy reaction speed of the nest.

"Tomorrow... once the nest has a new Source Energy Unit, the Giant Rock Abyss Bear should come out."

Lin Yi tightened his grip on the long staff in his hand.

At that time, with an assault weapon at its disposal, the wolf pack's first target for retaliation would likely be Hongfu Tower.

"The original plan will have to be delayed slightly..."

He sighed in his heart.

This fierce battle was unavoidable.

Only after fighting this battle, truly hurting them, and making this nest realize once again that attacking this place easily would come at a high price, could he leave with some peace of mind and head to the gathering point.

Otherwise, the moment he left, the Abyss Bear might lead the wolf pack to flatten this place.