Devil Arum Heart, Liu Lu's Compromise

[Fusing the Priest Sequence Crystal. Estimated time until fusion is complete: 59 minutes, 59 seconds]

Jiang He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crystal and a Bearded Face Skin.

He put them both in the supply tent and stored them in the system space.

He had no use for the Bearded Face Skin for now. As for the Thief Sequence Crystal...

When it was time to fuse it, he could just hand it over to the system while it was in the space.

Jiang He strode into the underground plaza, then climbed onto the base of the devil arum flower at great speed.

"Bastard! Give me back the Devil Arum Heart!"

He had barely found his footing when Liu Lu's furious roar rang in his ears!

"Why are you recovering so slowly? We're about to leave!"

After a whole day and night, this guy had only just managed to reconstitute his body, and his injuries still hadn't healed. Jiang He was instantly displeased!

Hearing that the bastard before him had the nerve to bring it up, Liu Lu flew into a rage!

If this guy hadn't been so ruthless and taken the Devil Arum Heart away...

He could have recovered from those injuries in less than half a day!

When Liu Lu still hadn't answered after a while, Jiang He continued:

"I'll wait one more hour at most! If you can't recover by then, don't blame me for taking the Devil Arum Heart with me!"

Although Jiang He didn't know the Corpse-Devouring Devil Arum's limits, he guessed that this guy wasn't using his full strength to recover!

When he had been "chopping him into mince," he had deliberately observed him. His recovery had been dozens of times faster than it was now.

Even without the Devil Arum Heart's boost, it shouldn't have been this slow!

That bastard is probably planning to get revenge on me and putting most of his energy into restoring his superpower. That's why he's like this!

As he considered the reason, Jiang He turned to look at Liu Lu's badly mangled body.

Sure enough!

After the threat, the flesh began growing back more than ten times faster!

Bastard! He really was up to something!

Jiang He plopped down on a withered vine and quietly watched Liu Lu recover.

A whole day and night was enough time for the surrounding area to fill up with supernatural creatures again.

So he hadn't lied to Liu Lu.

He really was planning to set off, which was why he had come to subdue the Corpse-Devouring Devil Arum.

But this guy just had to be so disappointing!

Jiang He and Liu Lu now watched each other, both afraid the other would launch a sudden sneak attack.

In this delicate atmosphere, an hour quickly passed.

[Ding]

[Congratulations, host. You have successfully fused the Priest Sequence Crystal]

[Superpower Sequence: Priest]

[Sequence ranking: 3090]

[Sequence Skill: Superpower Healing. Once activated, superpower recovery speed increases by 200%, and injury recovery speed increases by 150%. Skill cooldown: 60 minutes]

[Note: Superpower Healing consumes no superpower when healing the user and a small amount when healing others.

While the skill is active, it does not prevent the host from using superpowers. The greater the user's strength, the stronger Superpower Healing's effect, the longer its duration, and the shorter its cooldown.]

"Finally, a recovery skill!"

After reading the system's description, Jiang He clenched his fist excitedly.

Recovery-type support skills were extremely scarce in the apocalypse. The fact that it consumed no superpower to heal the user alone justified its relatively high ranking.

He glanced at Liu Lu, who was almost fully recovered, then calmly submitted another Sequence Crystal.

[Host, please confirm whether to spend 2,000 System Points to fuse the Thief Sequence Crystal]

Huh?

The Thief Sequence ranks quite a bit lower than Priest, so why does it cost twice as many points as before?

Just as Jiang He was about to press confirm, he noticed the issue.

The system's explanation was...

[As the number of Superpower Sequences awakened by the host increases, the System Points required will multiply]

Jiang He was already used to the system's bizarre rules and didn't react much.

He simply pressed the confirm button.

He could worry about the future later. What mattered now was raising his strength to deal with the fog!

[Fusing the Thief Sequence Crystal. Estimated time until fusion is complete: 59 minutes, 59 seconds]

The moment the system displayed the time remaining for fusion, Liu Lu burst out laughing.

"Idiot! I can't believe you actually dared to let me recover!"

Jiang He's expression didn't change in the slightest as he watched the familiar figure slowly stand up ahead of him.

He simply used the Devil Arum Heart to slowly seal away his health and suppress his ability to move.

Those who showed no emotional reaction were often the deadliest!

That saying was especially fitting at this moment...

"Impossible! How can a human use the power of the Devil Arum Heart?"

Liu Lu's eyes widened as he watched his palm rapidly wither, as though he couldn't believe what was happening!

How could a mere Level 2 Superpower Sequence have so many inconceivable tricks?

The situation before him had clearly exceeded the devil arum's understanding, and his killing intent toward Jiang He gradually intensified.

This guy absolutely cannot be allowed to live! I have to kill him, even if it costs me my life!

However, just as he was about to act...

He suddenly discovered that he couldn't use his superpower!

And the familiar itch on his face returned.

"Damn it! He's already become this familiar with the Devil Arum Heart!"

Muttering under his breath, he couldn't help reaching up to scratch his face.

The piercing discomfort instantly brought back memories of Liu Lu's earlier horrifying experience!

No one would want to experience being stared at by hundreds of supernatural creatures in heat a second time.

If this guy lured another wave of Eldritch Horrors and Mutant Beasts here, Liu Lu wouldn't be able to handle them all at once in his current state...

With that thought, Liu Lu quickly suppressed his killing intent!

After experiencing it twice, he had gained some experience.

The itch only appeared when killing intent arose in his heart!

Why? Why can't I kill this guy even though I've become so powerful?

The humiliation suffocated him, just as it had when he watched Wang Qian being taken away.

Unlike before, however, the Corpse-Devouring Devil Arum's will was now mixed into Liu Lu's thoughts.

Realizing that his hands and feet had already withered, the consciousness in his mind told him that he had to compromise with Jiang He now!

Otherwise, he would die for good!

"You win!"

Liu Lu slowly uttered the words, and clarity quickly returned to his eyes.

Hearing this, Jiang He also lifted the Devil Arum Heart's seal.

"Are you really only making Qianqian a driver?"

Jiang He seemed not to have expected the person before him to suddenly say that, and he visibly froze.

A driver?

An "experienced driver" counts as a driver too, right...

After thinking it over, he gave an affirmative reply.

"Fine! Let me join the convoy and absorb the fruit's energy, and I'll help you deal with any trouble you encounter!"

Liu Lu stated his conditions.

Jiang He naturally had no objection. He had come to subdue this guy in the first place!

"What level is your actual strength equivalent to now?"

"Level 2. As long as I absorb the fruit's energy, it won't be long before I break through to Level 3."

The two were now like a pair of old friends, chatting about everyday matters as they walked.

Before long, they walked out of the cave.

"Liu Lu!"

To Jiang He's surprise, Wang Qian hadn't gone to sleep. Instead, she had been waiting there the whole time.

Seeing Liu Lu appear before her alive and well, the woman could no longer contain her emotions. She rushed forward to embrace him.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait! You're a driver, and the convoy has a new temporary rule: drivers aren't allowed to date!"