Plot Holes

Watching Chen Guohua stagger backward from the full-force impact, Lu Ren's gaze sharpened. Instead of retreating, he advanced, gripping the dagger in reverse as he charged forward.

Not far away, blood seeped from Xiang Yang's mouth, and the bones in her lower body had shattered. That earlier collision had likely severely injured her internal organs as well.

She shot Lu Ren a resentful look, then forced herself to keep going. Enduring the intense pain coursing through her body, she crawled forward with both hands toward the center of the main control hub on the third floor of the control room.

There was a switch there that controlled the High-Energy Particle Collider.

Before Chen Guohua could turn back around, Lu Ren leaped high into the air, slashing the dagger straight at his neck.

However, Chen Guohua seemed to sense it. With his back still facing Lu Ren, he actually raised his left hand to cover the back of his neck. Lu Ren had no choice but to settle for the next best thing. The dagger fluttered through his hands like a butterfly among flowers, passing into his left hand before slicing down toward Chen Guohua's left arm.

It was still as effortless as cutting tofu.

Sshhk!

Thick white smoke rose from the cut, and the scent of seared meat continually drifted into Lu Ren's nose.

Suppressing his nausea, he flicked his wrist, and the dagger actually flew from his hand. The nimble techniques granted by Basic Combat sent it spinning once around Chen Guohua's arm before it returned to Lu Ren's hand.

Then Chen Guohua's entire thick, muscular arm was cleanly severed by that maneuver and crashed to the ground.

If the dagger had not been so sharp that it met no resistance, leaving only the faint sensation of cutting tofu, Lu Ren would never have dared attempt something like that.

If anything went wrong and the dagger broke free and flew away, then without a weapon to protect himself, he would have nowhere to cry when facing a monster like Chen Guohua.

After taking one of his arms, Lu Ren did not pause in the slightest. As Chen Guohua turned around, Lu Ren landed and viciously drove his dagger into the man's groin.

"Roar!!!!!"

A miserable, earth-shaking howl erupted from the mutated Chen Guohua's mouth. The sheer volume even made Lu Ren falter for a moment.

He yanked out the dagger and rapidly retreated, only stopping once he was more than five meters away.

Chen Guohua knelt on the ground, one hand covering his groin. He seemed not to feel any pain from his severed left arm at all, caring only to clutch his lower body and howl.

"Ding. You inflicted a lethal critical strike on the Mutant (Chen Guohua) by wielding a dagger, causing the target to enter a near-death state. In a flash of inspiration, you gained sudden insight. Your Basic Dagger Technique has increased by one level and entered the Beginner's Insight stage."

Lu Ren grinned and seized the chance to step forward, swinging the dagger and treating Chen Guohua's head exactly as he had treated his left arm.

Three seconds later, a head fell to the ground, and Chen Guohua's body collapsed with a heavy crash.

"Ding. You engaged in high-intensity physical activity during combat and slew a powerful opponent. Your Willpower, Strength, and Agility proficiency have each increased by 50."

"Almost... almost there!"

Xiang Yang gritted her teeth as blood constantly spilled from her mouth. Grabbing the control room counter, she forced herself upright. Looking at the red power control lever ahead, she stretched out her hand and had only just touched it when the light before her suddenly dimmed.

Xiang Yang raised her head and looked at Lu Ren, whose face was thoughtful.

"Does this controller start or shut down the accelerator below?"

Qingxu promptly replied, "This is the power switch for restarting the High-Energy Particle Collider. It can activate the Hua Particles once more..."

"Shut up!!"

Xiang Yang's voice was shrill, and Qingxu fell silent at once.

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow. "Looks like your authority in this base is higher than mine."

As he spoke, Lu Ren lightly used his dagger to lift Xiang Yang's arm away.

"Little girl, are you trying to turn it on or turn it off?"

Xiang Yang's face twisted. The agony conveyed by her body and the hatred on her face made her once-cute features look utterly ugly at this moment.

"How... did you find out about me?"

"Find out?" Lu Ren spread his hands. "You should be asking whether I ever believed you from the beginning. Of course I didn't!"

What a joke. Trusting someone in a place like this was no different from courting death, especially someone who supposedly had lived in these apocalyptic ruins for three years.

No matter how old she was, even when she had first seen him and put on that delighted expression, although he had been surprised, it had not stirred the slightest ripple in Lu Ren's heart.

Honestly, if he had not discovered that the Contaminated Creatures in this base were within his acceptable limits, and that fighting them could rapidly raise his proficiency attributes, Lu Ren would never have had any desire to come here.

Caution, vigilance, doubting everything, and seizing every chance to improve his strength.

Those were the foremost factors for survival in such an environment.

Xiang Yang's expression of utter disbelief amused Lu Ren.

"Actually, I have no interest in this matter whatsoever. Whether you want to expand the spatial passage or close it, neither interests me in the slightest. It's just that your attitude of constantly trying to drag me into this has really pissed me off."

If he had not possessed his current agile skills, someone like Xiang Yang dragging him in would have been no different from sending him to his death.

Xiang Yang's eyes brimmed with resentment. "Then get out of the way! Don't block me!"

Lu Ren shrugged. "Qingxu, based on your assessment, what does Xiang Yang want to do?"

"Apologies, Commander Lu Ren. Super Commander Xiang Yang's authority is one level higher than yours. Without authorization, all of her information is classified under S-level confidentiality."

"Looks like you've been here before."

Xiang Yang stared fixedly at Lu Ren. "Where was the flaw in what I said?"

"A huge flaw." Lu Ren checked the time. There were still more than three minutes left.

Enough.

"If I were your father, I'd definitely broadcast everything I had figured out to the entire world over the radio. I'm sure plenty of people stronger and more capable than you would come here. Why would he keep it hidden?"

Having confirmed there was plenty of time, Lu Ren was in a rare good mood and offered an explanation. Smiling, he said, "So your very first sentence was wrong. Little girl, lying without blushing or letting your heart race takes a lot of practice."

"I..."

Before Xiang Yang could finish, her eyes suddenly widened. A dagger had pierced through her heart, its bloodstained tip protruding from her chest.

Xiang Yang flopped to the ground, her eyes fixed blankly on him. When she made no sound again, Lu Ren's expression remained unchanged.

As for Xiang Yang's true identity, Lu Ren had absolutely no interest in knowing it.

Playing savior once had already exhausted him!

"Qingxu, my authority is now at the highest level, right?"

"...Yes, Commander Lu Ren!"

The corner of Lu Ren's mouth twitched. "Then how do I shut down this troublesome thing?"

"As long as the High-Energy Particle Collider is restarted and the two captured Hua Particles are collided, the high-energy particle energy level will collapse and fall. This will disrupt the stable spatial passage, causing it to passively contract and close."

"Does this lever go up or down?"