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 students and teachers supported one another, stumbling forward while giving their all to dash toward Hongfu Restaurant.

Only after confirming with a glance that everyone was obediently fleeing toward the restaurant did Lin Yi focus his attention on the pack of Abyss Beasts near the nest.

The five Corrosive Abyssal Wolves that had fled in a panic from near the bus had by now plunged headlong into the pack gathered on the outskirts of the nest.

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

Not only that, but Lin Yi also noticed that the small group of six Corrosive Abyssal 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 patch in the Detector's field of vision.

They let out a series of threatening howls toward the direction of the bus, looking restless and ready to strike.

As expected. Lin Yi thought to himself, feeling no surprise at this turn of events.

His initial choice to use Source Energy projection to instantly kill the three blocking Corrosive Abyssal 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 wolves at the convenience store were drawn away, 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 some time; the moment they saw the wolves surrounding them retreat, they seized the opportunity to bolt.

Although their faces were deathly pale and filled with terror, the instinct to survive pushed them to unleash their full speed. They sprinted for their lives toward Hongfu Restaurant without once looking back, not even daring to glance at the massive wolf pack.

Decisive enough, at least.

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

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

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

"It seems that once their numbers grow, their courage follows. I'll have to help them cool off."

An Abyss Beast nest is not a mindless monster-spawning 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 civilization of Blue Star summarized over twenty relatively universal laws regarding Abyss Beast nests.

For instance, a nest that recklessly pours all its initial source energy into producing a single powerful Lord-level Abyss Beast usually belongs to the "aggressive" or "gambler" type. They are extremely hostile, and even the basic Abyss Beasts they produce later tend to be reckless types like the Fierce-Claw Wolverine.

But a nest like this one, which initially produces large quantities of the lowest-tier Corrosive Abyssal Wolves, only slowly accumulating resources to produce elite units like the Giant Rock Abyss Bear, and only considering leader-tier units at the very end, is fundamentally a "conservative" or "steady" type.

The core logic of such a nest is "preserve strength, advance steadily." It tends to favor achieving results with minimal cost and is extremely cautious regarding actions that lack certainty or might cause significant losses.

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

However, deterrence has its prerequisites.

Facing over fifty gathered Corrosive Abyssal Wolves, merely standing there wasn't quite enough.

Wolves are suspicious by nature, yet they bully the weak and fear the strong. Once they perceive you as a paper tiger, they will swarm you without hesitation.

Lin Yi did not hesitate. His right hand remained gripped tightly around the Black Iron Staff, while his left hand slowly rose, fingers pressed together like a blade, held diagonally across his chest.

The next moment, a pure and dangerous azure light quietly ignited at his fingertips, like a miniature star in the dark night, steadily radiating 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 projection attack.

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

They had just witnessed their three companions being instantly obliterated by this terrifying blue light. Seeing that lethal azure glow ignite once more, the ferocity and restless urge to attack that had surged due to their gathered numbers suddenly stalled.

The wolf pack's advance halted. Restless, low growls continued, but there was clearly more wariness and hesitation in those scarlet wolf eyes.

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

Lin Yi maintained his posture, keeping the blue light at his fingertips steady, without making any further provocative movements.

He understood the limits of the situation perfectly.

The individual courage of a creature like the Corrosive Abyssal Wolf is actually limited, but once their numbers reach a certain scale, their boldness grows exponentially.

Much 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 they were a pack of over fifty hyenas.

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

If he were to initiate an attack or make an overly obvious provocation, it would likely enrage the pack completely, triggering an all-out assault.

At that point, although he could kill all these Corrosive Abyssal Wolves, he would be forced to reveal 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 merely to save people; he did not want to invite any unnecessary trouble.

Time ticked away, second by agonizing second, in the suffocating standoff.

It was not until the five people who had run out of the convenience store finally scrambled into Hongfu Restaurant, and Lin Yi confirmed via his detector that the green dots nearby were all clustered together, that he slowly withdrew 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 composed demeanor, picked up the three Spirit Radiance Crystals beside the bus one by one.

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

"Not bad luck."

Having finished this, he held his long staff and, facing the direction of the wolf pack, stepped backward steadily.

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

In the distance, around the core of that massive, constantly rotating purple-black vortex, the dark red veins that had previously only flickered faintly were now pulsing at a noticeably faster frequency, their light appearing slightly more intense, as if an enraged heart were accelerating the pumping of its blood.

"It seems I've really caught their attention."

Lin Yi sighed silently.

He was well aware that despite his best efforts to restrain himself, his actions were undoubtedly a grave provocation to this conservative-style nest.

Originally, given the "steady and methodical" nature of such a nest, it would have prioritized clearing out weaker, easier-to-catch survivors within its territory; the hard nut to crack that was Hongfu Restaurant would likely have been low on its attack sequence, only to be taken down when the odds were overwhelmingly in its favor.

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

Thus, 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 rather their current lack of a siege force capable of confronting him head-on—for instance, a Giant Rock Abyss Bear.

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

"Tomorrow. Once the nest has enough new source energy, the Giant Rock Abyss Bear should emerge."

Lin Yi tightened his grip on the long staff.

At that time, with a siege weapon at its disposal, the wolf pack's first target for retaliation would likely be Hongfu Restaurant.

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

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 would come at a high price, could he leave with some peace of mind and head toward the gathering point.

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