Life and Death

Fortunately, the skill formed by the system was powerful enough. Though it was only at the most basic stage, it was like an ordinary person had trained day and night for three to five years, everything becoming instinct.

It gave him a chance at life in what should have been a certain-death situation.

Fortunately, the other party was indeed not as strong as that fat monster from before, allowing him to withstand it.

Those two strikes just now seemed identical to the method that had killed Feng Zicheng. His neck and waist had been attacked at the same time.

Fortunately, the sharp metal shard was long enough.

Lu Ren glanced at the metal shard in his hand. Two clear marks had nearly severed it, leaving only a thin layer holding it together.

If it took another hit, it would definitely snap outright. It could not withstand much force anymore.

Lu Ren worked to maintain his breathing rhythm, relaxing the muscles throughout his body slightly in preparation for a better burst of force.

His physical condition was not exceptionally strong, but with his digitized attributes increased, his strength, agility, and reaction speed were all a notch above those of an ordinary person. More importantly, Basic Swordsmanship, his primary means of facing enemies, allowed him to bring out two hundred percent of his physique's potential.

That gave him a tremendous advantage in a fight to the death.

Seeing the thing spread the blades on both arms and charge at him at incredible speed, its running posture swaying left and right like a scarecrow, yet its speed was astonishing.

Lu Ren did not hesitate. He immediately stepped back, twisted around, and sprinted wildly into the room. There were several escape routes in this room; if he could not win, he still had a chance to get out.

Yet as soon as Lu Ren entered the room, he saw Chen Jin staggering backward in panic directly ahead of him.

That seemed to be the direction Chen Jin and Feng Zicheng had fled earlier. He remembered that it was not toward the room's door.

Lu Ren's thoughts raced, but he had no time to consider anything else. The sharp sound of air tearing behind him made every hair on his body stand on end. As he bent down to evade, he grabbed an office chair beside him and hurled it backward.

Then came several clanging sounds of metal being sliced apart. Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Ren saw only fragments of the metal chair scattering away.

Meanwhile, the blades on the Blade Bamboo creature's arms remained as good as new.

"Don't, don't come over!"

Watching Lu Ren rush in with the monster behind him, Chen Jin's face was filled with terror as he dropped onto the floor. One hand supported him against the ground while the other waved frantically before his chest.

Lu Ren gave him an emotionless glance without slowing down. He then planted both hands on the table in front of him and vaulted over the conference table like a parkour runner.

But the Blade Bamboo creature behind him pursued relentlessly, its speed even slightly faster than Lu Ren's.

As it closed in faster and faster, its blades nearly slicing open his back, Lu Ren's heart sank.

This won't work!

Sooner or later, he would be cut. Once he was hit, his mobility would drop drastically. Other than death, Lu Ren could find no possible outcome that would allow him to survive.

The Blade Bamboo creature seemed unusually sensitive to Chen Jin's screaming. When its final strike failed to hit Lu Ren, it abruptly turned and pounced toward Chen Jin, the blades on its arms slashing at Chen Jin's vital points.

Chen Jin scrambled away in terror, but he suddenly threw open the cabinet beside him. The high school student named Ren Zhoucheng was hiding inside, his face deathly pale.

When Ren Zhoucheng saw Chen Jin yank the cabinet open, his eyes widened in stunned confusion.

The next instant, Chen Jin's actions filled him with utter horror.

Chen Jin yanked Ren Zhoucheng out and crazily shoved him toward the bamboo-jointed insect monster.

"Don't, don't come over, please..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ren Zhoucheng's voice abruptly cut off. His body was directly chopped into two by the bamboo-jointed monster's blades.

Lu Ren expressionlessly glanced at the panicked Chen Jin. Seeing him try to run again, Lu Ren directly threw the metal shard in his hand, striking Chen Jin squarely in the thigh.

"Ah!"

With a miserable scream, Chen Jin fell to the ground and clutched his thigh, howling in agony.

The loud, terrified cries immediately drew the Blade Bamboo creature's attention. It pounced at Chen Jin, who was struggling wildly on the floor, its twin blades whirling.

Lu Ren had no interest in watching Chen Jin's eventual fate. The abruptly silenced screams beside him only made him move faster.

It was not that he could not fight it. Although the other party's agility was high, it had not exceeded the limits of what he could handle. He just needed to find a way.

Lu Ren's thoughts raced. The flashlight from the phone clenched tightly in his left hand cast a somewhat weak light, illuminating the space ahead.

He turned sharply and rushed straight into a narrow office farther inside.

Li Shu, hiding in the shadows, widened her eyes in astonishment.

Was he crazy? Was he deliberately heading into such a cramped space?

Then she understood. Lu Ren was trying to use the terrain to restrict the monster's movements. She had to do something too.

She turned to look at the dead Ren Zhoucheng, Chen Jin, and Feng Zicheng. When her gaze landed on Chen Jin, the anger on her face could not be concealed.

Li Shu truly had not expected someone like this, someone who would push another person out to block danger just to save himself.

Less than three seconds after entering the office, Lu Ren rapidly swept his gaze around its interior when the urgent sound of air tearing came from behind him.

Lu Ren did not hesitate in the slightest. He stepped forward twice, avoiding the creature's blades while raising one leg. He kicked off the wall to borrow the force and rebound, twisting in midair as a whip kick swept out like a blur.

Just as the Blade Bamboo monster raised its blades to strike, they became caught on the steel frame overhead.

Seeing this, Lu Ren's spirits soared. Just as he had expected!

With a bang, an immense force knocked the upper half of the Blade Bamboo creature's body seventy degrees askew.

The bamboo-jointed monster staggered uncontrollably.

This thing was agile enough, but its durability and strength were far inferior to the Greasy Freak.

Seeing it badly hit in one move, Lu Ren did not pause. As he stepped forward, the muscles all over his body suddenly tightened. Leading with his shoulder, he slammed headfirst into the Blade Bamboo creature's chest.

Thud!

The powerful impact shoved the slender monster sideways several steps before it crashed into the wall.

Lu Ren did not stop moving either, pressing close to it. He leaned his body slightly backward to create a little distance, then drove a kick like a spear and a drill straight into the creature's iron-shelled jaw.

Immediately afterward, he spun and smashed his right elbow straight into it.

The smooth chain of attacks left the Blade Bamboo monster unable to launch any attack in the cramped space. Whenever it swung its arms, they either struck the walls or the steel frame above its head.

It could only take the beating.

He had come close to death several times just to lure this bamboo-jointed monster here.

In the end, Lu Ren reached out and grabbed one of the creature's blade joints. Then he exerted force with both hands. Giving it everything he had, veins bulged all over his body, and the muscles in his arms, chest, shoulders, and neck swelled as though they were about to burst.