The Giant Rock Abyss Bear Is Coming

Lin Yi's grim expression instantly affected everyone.

No one dared linger another second. Driven by their instinct to survive, the more than forty teachers and students supported one another and staggered toward Hongfu Restaurant, giving it everything they had.

Only after confirming from the corner of his eye that everyone was making a clean getaway toward Hongfu Restaurant did Lin Yi turn his attention to the pack of Abyss Wolves near the Nest.

The five Abyss Wolves that had fled in panic from the bus had now plunged into the pack gathered around the Nest.

Their return was like a stone dropped into a pond already roiled by undercurrents, stirring up even greater commotion.

What was more, Lin Yi noticed that the small group of six Abyss Wolves that had been keeping a close watch on the convenience store across the street had abandoned their prey. As if summoned by some silent call, they darted out from the street corner where they had been hiding and joined the swelling pack heading toward the Nest.

More than fifty red dots had gathered together, forming a glaring red patch in the Detector's field of view.

They faced the bus and let out threatening howls, looking ready to pounce.

Just as I thought, Lin Yi said to himself. He wasn't surprised.

From the start, he had chosen to kill the three Abyss Wolves blocking the way with a direct Source Energy blast to create the greatest visual impact and psychological deterrent, hoping to scare off the rest and resolve the situation quickly.

He'd done so mainly because he knew how this Nest behaved in its early stages.

Still, he hadn't expected even the Abyss Wolves by the convenience store to be drawn away from their watch.

But it made little difference. If anything, it saved him the trouble of clearing them out later.

Lin Yi quickly glanced across the street.

The convenience store's roller shutter was yanked open, and five figures came tumbling out.

They had probably noticed the commotion here long ago. As soon as the Abyss Wolves surrounding them left, they seized the opportunity and ran.

Though their faces were deathly pale and filled with terror, their instinct to survive still drove them to sprint at full speed toward Hongfu Restaurant without looking back. Not one of them dared glance at the massive pack of wolves.

"Still, they made the right call."

Lin Yi assessed them without a flicker of emotion.

That didn't surprise him. In the apocalypse, many indecisive people had died in the first wave of attacks. Those who survived usually had something going for them.

He gave them only a glance before turning his attention back to the Abyss Wolves, which had begun to advance slowly.

"Looks like they've grown bolder now that they're in numbers. I'll have to help them calm down."

Abyss Beast Nests weren't mindless monster-spawning points. Their core "behavioral patterns" or "style" could be roughly inferred from the kinds of Abyss Beasts they produced, the order they appeared in, and the combinations they favored.

In his previous life, after paying a terrible price, the Blue Star Civilization had compiled more than twenty relatively universal rules about Abyss Beast Nests.

For example, Nests that poured all their initial Source Energy into producing a single powerful lord-class Abyss Beast were usually "aggressive" or "gamblers." They were extremely hostile, and even the basic Abyss Beasts they produced later tended to be brawlers like the Fierce-Claw Wolverines.

By contrast, this Nest had initially produced large numbers of the lowest-tier Corrosive Abyssal Wolves, then slowly accumulated resources before preparing to produce an elite unit like the Giant Rock Abyss Bear, and only after that would it consider producing a leader. That pattern was typical of a "conservative" or "steady" Nest.

The core principle of such Nests was "preserve strength and advance steadily." They preferred to achieve results at the lowest possible cost and acted very cautiously when facing uncertain odds or the risk of heavy losses.

That was precisely why Lin Yi had judged it safe to use what seemed like an aggressive instant-kill tactic to intimidate them.

However, intimidation had its limits.

Just standing there wasn't enough when faced with more than fifty gathered Abyss Wolves.

Wolves were suspicious by nature, but they also preyed on the weak. If they sensed that you were all bark and no bite, they would swarm you without hesitation.

Lin Yi didn't hesitate. He kept his right hand clenched around the Black Iron Staff while slowly raising his left, fingers together like a sword and angled across his chest.

The next moment, a pure, dangerous azure glow quietly lit at his fingertips, like a tiny star in the night, radiating a steady pulse of energy.

He was gathering power without releasing it!

This was an advanced Source Energy projection technique, only briefly covered in the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique.

But for a genius, that was enough.

Of course, it was all a bluff.

Lin Yi knew full well that he had enough Source Energy left in his body for just one more Source Energy blast.

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

They had just watched three of their companions get killed instantly by that terrifying blue light. Now that the deadly azure glow had appeared again, the pack's aggression, stoked by its numbers, faltered at once.

The wolves stopped advancing. Their restless growls continued, but their pairs of scarlet eyes now showed clear wariness and hesitation.

They circled and milled about, no longer daring to approach.

Lin Yi held his pose, keeping the blue glow at his fingertips steady without making any further provocative moves.

He knew exactly where to draw the line.

Abyss Wolves were timid individually, but once they gathered in numbers, their courage grew exponentially.

It was like lions and hyenas on the savanna. A lone hyena wouldn't dare provoke a male lion, but a pack would dare snatch food from its jaws, or even attack a lion that had been separated from the pride.

Right now, he was the lion, and his opponents were a pack of more than fifty hyenas.

He had rescued their prey and killed their companions, already pushing the pack to its limit.

If he attacked again or made any more overtly provocative moves, he might enrage them completely and trigger a reckless assault.

He could kill all the Abyss Wolves, but he would have no choice but to reveal things he hadn't planned to.

So the best strategy now was to maintain this tense standoff.

After all, his only goal was to save people. He had no desire to complicate matters.

Time passed second by second in the suffocating standoff.

Only after even the five people who had fled the convenience store finally stumbled into Hongfu Restaurant, and Lin Yi confirmed through the Detector that the nearby green dots had all clustered together, did he slowly lower his left hand. The blue glow at his fingertips faded with it.

But he didn't retreat right away. Instead, he took a few steps forward and calmly picked up the three Spirit Radiance Crystals beside the bus, one by one.

The instant his fingertips touched the crystals, information flowed into his mind—all three were Level 1 Source Energy Crystals.

"Not bad."

Once he had finished, he held the staff and steadily backed away, facing the pack.

Just before he disappeared into the building, Lin Yi took one last glance toward the Nest.

Around the massive, constantly rotating Purple-Black Vortex in the distance, the faintly flickering dark-red veins were now pulsing noticeably faster, their glow seeming a little richer than before. It was like an angered heart, pumping blood faster and faster.

"Looks like it's got a real grudge against me now."

Lin Yi sighed silently.

He knew that, despite doing his best to hold back, his actions had undeniably been a serious provocation to this conservative Nest.

Normally, given the Nest's "steady" nature, it would have prioritized clearing out the weaker, easier-to-catch survivors within its territory. Hongfu Restaurant, a tough nut to crack, would likely have been low on its list of targets, only to be taken once the Nest was confident it could win.

But now, right in front of the Nest, he had slapped it hard across the face. He had rescued two groups of prey and killed plenty of Abyss Wolves. He had made sure to draw its hatred.

So the peace between them was only temporary.

The fragile peace wasn't being maintained by the Nest's leniency, but by its lack of the forces needed to break through Lin Yi's defenses—something like a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

Based on his experience from his previous life and the Nest's current rate of energy response, Lin Yi made an estimate.

"Tomorrow. Once the Nest has accumulated enough Source Energy, the Giant Rock Abyss Bear should come out."

Lin Yi tightened his grip on the staff.

With a powerful battering ram at their disposal, the wolves' first target for revenge would likely be Hongfu Restaurant.

"The original plan will have to be delayed a little."

He sighed inwardly.

A fierce battle was unavoidable.

Only after fighting this battle and truly hurting them—making the Nest realize once again that attacking this place would come at a steep price—could he leave for the Gathering Point with peace of mind.

Otherwise, the moment he left, the Abyss Bear might lead the pack in flattening the place.