Spirit Radiance Crystal

Lin Yi kept his eyes on the last Corrosive Abyssal Wolf until it vanished around the corner. Only then did he finally relax a little.

It might have been the lowest-level cannon fodder among the Abyss Beasts, but that thing was cunning.

As for the howling downstairs, Lin Yi knew exactly what it was trying to do.

That thing had its eye on him. It was crouching downstairs right now, calling for reinforcements.

Corrosive Abyssal Wolves usually moved in groups of three. If one got away, it would most likely call over three more groups.

In other words, next time, there would probably be ten Corrosive Abyssal Wolves.

But the Abyss Beast Nest was still in its "first stage." The beast nest would first clear out most of the visible life within its territory before concentrating its forces on those in hiding and the tougher targets.

So they had at least half a day of safety. For now, the Corrosive Abyssal Wolf downstairs was just keeping watch, and there was no need to worry too much about it.

In fact, this was even a good thing.

That howl had alerted the other Corrosive Abyssal Wolves that there was a threat here. They wouldn't even come inside.

When the terrifying monster retreated, Zhou Mengmeng, who had been hiding off to the side for fear of getting in the way, rushed over with a sob. Her little hands trembled as she tried to touch the horrible claw marks.

"Brother! You're hurt!"

"I'm fine, Mengmeng."

Lin Yi's voice was hoarse as he forced a reassuring smile. "The armor stopped it. It didn't even break the skin. Look, they're just a few scratches."

He deliberately moved his left arm to show that it was working fine.

Then he turned his attention to the Spirit Radiance Crystal, deliberately putting on the curious look of a boy. He muttered, "Huh? What's this thing?" and started to bend down to pick it up.

"Don't touch it yet!"

A slightly hoarse woman's voice rang out nearby.

Lin Yi paused and turned to look.

It was the female office worker.

Her hair was disheveled, her makeup ruined. Fear still lingered in her eyes, but she was no longer hysterical. Instead, she had the clearheadedness of someone who had just survived a brush with death.

It seemed that coming so close to death had actually helped her regain her senses.

"That thing was left behind by the monster, right?"

Watching Lin Yi, she couldn't help warning him. "Who knows if something left by a corrosive monster is poisonous? You'd better not touch it directly."

"You have a point."

Lin Yi nodded. He had always been happy to accept others' kindness.

"That monster turned straight to ash. Pretty weird. But I still want to see what this is. Maybe it'll give us a clue."

He paused, his eyes falling on the dust-covered scarf around the woman's neck.

"Um... could I borrow your scarf? It should be fine if I use the cloth to pick it up."

The woman froze for a moment, then instinctively untied her pale purple scarf and handed it over.

"Here... Be careful."

"Thanks."

Lin Yi took the scarf and carefully wrapped up the two lowest-level Spirit Radiance Crystals.

"Let's go. We need to get back to Fujin Hall. That howl just now didn't sound like a good sign."

Having gotten what he wanted, Lin Yi didn't waste any more time. He called out, took Mengmeng by the hand, and gestured for the two servers and the female office worker to follow.

The five of them quickly left the death zone around the restroom and retreated down a cluttered corridor toward Fujin Hall.

As they passed an event hall with a sign reading "Fu Xiu Hall," Lin Yi keenly picked up the dull thumps and the sound of heavy objects scraping across the floor from inside. Someone was desperately reinforcing the barricade at the door.

Lin Yi didn't slow down.

He couldn't worry about them right now. The Corrosive Abyssal Wolves wouldn't attack again anytime soon. His first priority was to get the four people behind him back to the relative safety of Fujin Hall.

Soon, Fujin Hall came into view.

The front entrance was shut tight. They could hear heavy objects being moved at the back as well. Clearly, someone was blocking that entrance with furniture.

Lin Yi went around to the side door and tapped on it a few times. Keeping his voice low, he called, "Uncle, open up! It's me. I brought Mengmeng back!"

There was silence inside for a few seconds, then a flurry of hurried scraping as tables and chairs were moved.

After a heavy scrape, the side door opened just wide enough for one person to pass through. Zhou Jianjun's tense face appeared in the gap.

"Quick, get inside! There are lots of monsters in the street!" Zhou Jianjun whispered urgently.

Lin Yi immediately ushered Zhou Mengmeng inside, followed by the two servers. The female office worker came right after them, and he slipped in last, swiftly shutting the door behind him.

Once everyone was inside, Zhou Jianjun and Lin Ruiheng immediately worked together to push the heavy tables and chairs back against the door.

"Block it off! Hurry, block it off!"

Zhou Jianjun panted and wiped away his sweat.

Back in the relative safety of the fortress, Lin Yi was just about to catch his breath when he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Something wasn't right.

The atmosphere in the hall was off.

The air felt so stagnant it might as well have been solid. A heavy, suffocating silence hung over the room.

Most people were slumped on the floor, staring blankly ahead or fixedly at their phone screens. Muffled, intermittent sobbing came from a corner.

"Xiao Yi!"

His mother, Zhou Jinghua, let out a tearful cry, breaking the silence.

She and his father, Lin Ruiming, hurried over through the crowd. Zhou Jinghua's face was deathly pale. When her eyes landed on the vicious claw marks and lingering bloodstains on Lin Yi's armor, she swayed, nearly collapsing.

Lin Ruiming caught his wife and kept his eyes fixed on Lin Yi. His voice trembled with barely contained fear. "Xiao Yi! Where are you hurt? Is it bad?"

"Dad! Mom! I'm fine."

Lin Yi quickly reassured them, keeping his tone as light as he could. "Really! It's all just surface wounds. They look scary, but this armor's tough! Look, my arms and legs are fine!"

He deliberately moved his limbs to prove he was all right.

Just then, his uncle and aunt pushed their way over too.

His aunt had already wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, Zhou Mengmeng, and was sobbing as she checked her from head to toe.

His uncle, meanwhile, rushed straight to Lin Yi, his bloodshot eyes full of lingering fear and gratitude.

He patted Lin Yi hard. His voice seemed to catch in his throat. "Lin Yi! You did great! Uncle... Uncle thanks you! Thank you for bringing Mengmeng back!"

His hand was trembling too. He was clearly overwhelmed.

"Uncle, it was only right. Mengmeng's my little sister."

Lin Yi shook his head. His heart warmed as he looked at the worried faces of his uncle, aunt, and parents.

But he noticed that even amid his gratitude and excitement, Uncle Zhou Jianjun seemed to have a trace of indescribable worry deep in his eyes.

"Brother was amazing!"

Nestled in her mother's arms, Zhou Mengmeng lifted her little face. Still shaken by their escape and looking up at Lin Yi with admiration, she said in a bright voice:

"Brother killed two huge monsters—the green-skinned wolves! He used that stick and went bang, bang! And then... then one of them got scared and ran away!"

At Zhou Mengmeng's words, Zhou Jianjun's grateful, concerned expression changed slightly. His gaze unconsciously swept toward the barricaded door, and his brows drew together.

Lin Yi took in his uncle's subtle reaction, his thoughts shifting.

"Uncle's a veteran, after all. His instincts in a crisis really are different from everyone else's."

He was about to say something when a trembling voice cut in.

"Brother Yi..."

Lin Yi recognized Chen Yu's voice immediately.

He turned around and saw Chen Yu clutching his phone, terror written all over his face.

"You... you saw it? Is this the end of the world? Has the apocalypse really come?"

Chen Yu seemed desperate to share the final straw that had broken the camel's back—or as if the information had completely crushed him.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Yi immediately understood.

The despair hanging over the banquet hall must have come from this.

Most likely, the internet was still working, and everyone had seen a lot of news from outside.

But he didn't show any reaction. Instead, he asked with confusion and concern, "Chen Yu? What's wrong? I haven't even had a chance to thank you for giving me the armor. Why is everyone acting like this?"

Chen Yu didn't say anything. He simply raised his phone with trembling hands and held the screen up in front of Lin Yi.