Chicken Flies, Eggs Shatter

Xiang Yang took the lead to the door. After repeatedly checking the notebook in her hand several times, she felt around and opened the cover of the password lock, then entered the code.

"Beep. Password correct. Please verify your fingerprint and iris scan."

A stiff, mechanical synthesized voice suddenly sounded.

Lu Ren could not help twitching his lips. "So how are you supposed to get in? I doubt you have this Testing Center's fingerprint verification and iris confirmation."

Ignoring Lu Ren's mockery, Xiang Yang flipped to the second page of the notebook. After studying it carefully for several minutes, she brought up an input box on the touchpad and methodically entered nearly a hundred characters.

"Beep. Super administrator activated. Connecting to the main control center... Center authentication complete. Top-level permissions unlocked. It is a pleasure to see you again, Super Commander! Please re-register your fingerprint information and iris pattern here."

After Xiang Yang confirmed everything one by one, she turned to Lu Ren. "You too."

Lu Ren froze. "Me too?"

Xiang Yang said seriously, "You're stronger than I am. If I accidentally die, you'll still have a chance to escape. If you don't have any authorization inside, you won't be able to move an inch."

Lu Ren's heart stirred slightly. He could not help giving Xiang Yang a surprised look. What the hell? Had she been conquered by my handsome face?

That look made Xiang Yang's little face flush red. She asked, half-embarrassed and half-annoyed, "What are you looking at?"

"I have to say, you really are quite pretty when I look at you like this."

Xiang Yang's face reddened even further as she stammered, "Uncle, don't you think the age gap between us is way too big?"

Lu Ren shook his head slightly and stepped forward. "What do I need to do?"

"Like this..."

Following Xiang Yang's instructions, Lu Ren registered his fingerprints and irises. With a teeth-grating sound of gears grinding, the alloy door slowly opened.

Lu Ren's pupils contracted sharply. The longsword clenched in his hand stabbed fiercely into the gap that had just opened in the alloy door.

Sshk!

The sound of flesh being cut rang out abruptly. Then, a thick, sharp hand covered in jet-black scales reached for him. His sword had directly sliced off half of its palm.

Automatically filtering out the system's bullshit notifications in his mind for the moment, Lu Ren leaned back with the momentum, then heavily slashed diagonally with the sword in his left hand, striking the creature's sharp, scale-covered fingers.

Clang!

Amid the sudden ring of metal striking metal, Lu Ren's left hand went numb from the shock. Yet aside from a string of sparks, he had not broken through its defense at all.

Lu Ren had no choice but to withdraw his sword and retreat swiftly. Xiang Yang, however, showed no sign of backing down. She pulled out the dagger stuck into the outside of her thigh and chopped at it.

The result made Lu Ren's eyes widen. After Xiang Yang's dagger struck the scaled arm, it met no resistance whatsoever, slicing off the entire arm as easily as cutting tofu. He could even feel a sharpness rushing toward his face.

It was like the Sword Qi described in martial arts novels.

"What kind of dagger is that?"

"An Ultra-High Frequency Cutting Blade. Its high-frequency vibrations can shatter any alloy currently known."

Xiang Yang only had time to explain that much.

Lu Ren's heart itched at the thought. Damn, wouldn't I be invincible if I got one of those?!

Lu Ren glanced at the severed arm still flopping wildly on the ground, then fixed his gaze on the alloy door and the monster revealed behind it.

It stood at least two and a half meters tall, its entire body covered in scales. Its facial features protruded grotesquely, and its mouth was filled with fangs. But Lu Ren could see clearly that the scales only covered most of its body. Many areas still revealed patterns of jet-black skin, though their similar coloring made them difficult to distinguish.

The instant the alloy door opened, the monster roared, lowered its body, and thrust its head forward, trying to charge into the corridor.

There was nowhere to retreat. If this big thing really entered the hallway, there would not be enough room to maneuver.

Rather than retreat, Lu Ren advanced. He turned sideways to evade the claw sweeping toward him, then used the momentum to drop to his knees and slide out from beneath the monster's crotch. At the same time, he viciously drove both swords into its completely unprotected groin, burying them all the way to the hilts. Lu Ren could even vaguely feel the creature's pair of bells swaying above his head, sending a chill through him.

The next moment, a miserable howl that seemed to shake the entire base roared from the monster's mouth.

Even Xiang Yang tensed at the sight. A sudden ache in her own eggs lingered in her heart.

It was so perverse. So terrifying!

For some reason, she suddenly wanted to walk with her butt clenched.

After rolling more than five meters away in succession, Lu Ren steadied himself and saw the Contaminated Creature covering its groin as it bent its knees and knelt on the ground, remaining motionless for a long while.

"Ding. With both swords in hand, you suddenly struck the Scale Demon's vital point with a stroke of inspiration, triggering a critical hit bonus. You have gained insight. Your Basic Swordsmanship proficiency has increased by 100."

"Ding. On a sudden whim, you used agile movements beyond the Scale Demon's expectations, inflicting massive damage upon it. Your Agility proficiency has increased by 50."

Lu Ren twitched his lips. As his proficiency continued to rise, the twin swords in his hands became increasingly smooth and familiar to wield.

This would greatly enhance his ability to survive.

He rose, turned back, narrowed his eyes, and thrust out a sword. It precisely sliced into the unscaled portion of the Scale Demon's neck, cutting straight into flesh and stopping only when it struck the neck bone.

Tsk. If the swords in his hands had been as sharp as Xiang Yang's dagger, that massive head would have been cut off long ago.

As his thoughts raced, Lu Ren's left hand did not stop. He repeated the move, cutting in from the left side of the Scale Demon's neck until the blade halted against bone.

With a slight flick of his wrists, he suddenly released both longswords. The two Strange Swords directly traced a circle around the Scale Demon's neck, then flew free and fell some distance away.

The Scale Demon, meanwhile, sprayed blood as it collapsed to the ground with a stifled boom.

If they had encountered this monster on an open battlefield, it would definitely have been an extremely troublesome opponent. But reality had no ifs.

Real combat was not merely a contest of strength between two people. Timing, terrain, and circumstance could all affect the final outcome.

Xiang Yang cut off the creature's other arm, which had been blocking the doorway, leaving only the narrow entrance of the corridor.

These factors allowed Lu Ren to complete the kill in one stroke.

"Ding. In a flash of inspiration, you suddenly used Double Swallows Form to kill the Scale Demon. Your 'Basic Swordsmanship' proficiency has increased by 100." ```

Double Swallows my ass!

Lu Ren could not help grumbling inwardly. After picking up his weapons, he looked at Xiang Yang. "You lead."

Only then did the stunned Xiang Yang snap out of it. She gestured in shock. "You killed it just like that??"

"Otherwise? Was I supposed to fight it for hundreds of rounds before deciding the winner?"

"No, I mean, that monster looked really strong. I thought we'd have to struggle hard to eliminate it."

"When your attack is high but your defense is low, ending the battle quickly is the best approach. Maybe it can withstand dozens of your attacks, but if you take even one hit from it, you're done for. So in a life-or-death battle, you must target the enemy's vital points."