Compared to the 12th story, the 11th story was a lot easier. The number of insects was not overwhelming and they could be killed off easily. However, the survivors were scarce as they only numbered 10 or so.
They had either locked themselves in boxes or hid in the washrooms, which leaves one wondering whether their brains were functioning correctly as they had actually come up with such foolish ideas. If the Venomous Spider had not been exhausted and satisfied, would these ten have really survived?
Thankfully, the entire 11th story had been dedicated solely to physic experiments, so it was a certainty that it contained numerous experimental apparatus and tools.
After seizing the 11th story, the group was able to harvest a large number tools: hammers; steel bars; saws; pipes; shovels; and the like. These weapons were left for the students on the 13th story as tools for self-defense measures.
When the group walked past the small exhibition room, they came upon two pairs of military knives. These had been presented to the University by an emigrant.
The blade, as though like drifting clouds and flowing water, was extremely light-weight. Yet it possessed an unparalleled sharpness; a slight touch was all it would take to penetrate the skin. So, it contained more destructive properties than the fire ax.
This tool of murder was handed over to Ran Hongxia since she was well-suited to wielding these weapons. Moreover, she was someone whose strength was second to Li Jiayu, Dark Octopus, and Chuxiang. As for the others, they naturally did not bring objections of any sort.
Chuxiang also found a machine used to process metals. It had a cylindrical shape and weighed almost 150 kilos. This weight was perfectly suited to Chuxiang, so he tossed away the air conditioner decisively and replaced it with this.
As the bystanders watched this two-meter-tall “Lizardman” who had two horns on his head and a cylindrically shaped weapon in hand, everyone was automatically reminded of a mini-boss in a game they had played in the past... Tauren Totem!
[It probably looks like this this, the crew progressed smoothly through the floors below, bulldozing through the 10th, 9th, 8th floors and so on with ease!
As there were no strong monsters to speak of, Li Jiayu made Chen Kun roar and he unleashed a roar that shook the entire floor. The quake attracted Venomous Spiders towards their deaths, greatly improving the crew’s efficiency as they tore down locked doors and decimated the insects inside.
After they reached the 7th story, the crew had already acc.u.mulated a total kill count of 50 Venomous Spiders, 8 Scythe Beetles, 3 Corrosive Worms. The harvest was also gratifying as they had gotten the Essence Cores of two Venomous Spiders and one Scythe Beetle.
The Essence Cores of Scythe Beetles were good stuff which were normally hard to attain. They brought benefits towards those with serious injuries, such as broken bones or tendons.
“Y-you… Are you a guy or a girl?”
After saving three survivors from the 7th floor, Li Jiayu had originally planned to head to the 6th story, but when he turned around, he was taken aback. He glanced at the person who was wearing an open-collared black sweater and asked that.
Li Jiayu could not tell apart this person’s gender as the clothing this person wore was men’s clothing, but they did not fit this person. The clothes were two sizes too big, the sleeves were longer than her arms and the hem of the clothes went past her knees.
This person had a woman’s face but had the scent of men’s cologne. Their most unusual trait was their messy hair that resembled a chicken coop, like weeds that had been left to grow on their own.
Unlike ordinary girls, she did not appear to show any signs of fear, but instead, she bared her teeth and mouth like a man.
"This is such a weird occurrence. The people from Xijiang University should be normal but where did such a weirdly-dressed and eccentric person come from?"
In that moment, Li Jiayu recalled a certain legend...
“Ah? Why did you ask this question? I am a guy of course!”
That strange person looked favorably at Li Jiayu and replied through conditioned reflex. However, as soon as the words left her mouth, a stunned expression crossed her face. She reached out to touch her throat and was surprised to find out that... her Adam"s apple had vanished!
Her two friends by her side also appeared as though they had met a ghost. After the initial surprise, they looked at each other in dismay and asked,
“Guo Dong(Jelly), your hair… and your height… What happened to you?”
“I don’t know- Ah! What in the world happened to my body? How did my voice become so sharp…”
This person suddenly panicked like a cat which tail had gotten burnt. A layer of sweat covered her head. First, she touched her throat and her disheveled hair. Then her hands slid down and caressed the two slabs of flesh on her chest and her teeth started to chatter as though she was on the brink of collapsing!
“It’s over… Everything is over…”
She realized that her body had undergone a terrifying change but still held onto the final wisp of hope. Her hand slid down slowly into her crotch region and her entire body shuddered; the truth hit her like a ten-ton hammer. She was completely disheartened as she stuttered,
“My… My “Good Buddy” has gone missing! Oh, heavens, I really became a transs.e.xual…”
At this moment, everyone present had odd looks on their faces. After making so much noise for such a long time, this person, who looked like a girl and had the body of a girl, actually turned out to be a transs.e.xual. What in the world had happened to her body?
“You are not a transs.e.xual… You are an Awakened…”
The corners of Li Jiayu’s lips twitched as he heaved out a sigh. Never would he have thought that such a wonder of a Monster Tamer would appear within Xijiang University.
If it had been in his previous life, without Li Jiayu’s support, this Awakened, who had hidden on the 6th floor, would have undoubtedly lost her life. No one would have known the existence of this Monster Tamer, but now that Li Jiayu had encountered her, he would not leave this matter alone.
Amongst the many careers within the apocalypse, Monster Tamers were considered to possess strong potential. Some were strong while some were weak. All these factors depended heavily on their tamed creatures, whether it be: tamed insects; demon beasts; dragons; or even spirits!
Monster Tamers had the ability to resonate spiritually with creatures of other races and were able to have in-depth communications with them. If one was fortunate, it would be extremely easy to tame a fierce creature. According to Li Jiayu’s knowledge, nine Dragon Tamers existed within Yangcheng who formed the Tamer’s Alliance and eventually went on to become highly influential.
There were many routes for a Monster Tamer. One could either absorb the knowledge of Yang Spirits and grow up naturally. Another route was through devouring Yang Spirits, which had a small probability of attaining the Monster Tamer’s inheritance. One could even go so far as to kill Skeletons and Zombies to seize their memories!
However, the Monster Tamers with the most potential were, naturally, Awakened tamers as well as another type of violent tamers. These were inters.e.x Monster Tamers.
In the eyes of others, this career may have seemed disgusting as it flipped the yin-yang forces. Their genders were in disorder and went against nature’s laws, so they always remained unrecognized by the Tamer’s Alliance.
However, there was no doubting the strength of an Inters.e.x Monster Tamer!
As they could affect changes in the s.e.x hormones of Insects, Demon Beasts and Dragons during the taming process, these creatures would become restless. Their minds would be in a mess and thus, they would be easily tamed!
According to his memories, amongst the experts of the Celestial Empire in his previous life, there had been an Inters.e.x Tamer in the Western Sea Province who had tamed two Black Burst Dragons, two Swift Emerald Dragons and an Insect Queen!
That person"s prowess had been so extremely strong that they had been eligible to enter the top 20 ranks of Celestial Empire’s Hall of Fame.
Naturally, the profession of an Inters.e.x Tamers was one that suffered heaven’s punishment as during the beginning moments of their awakening, their genders would inadvertently be reversed!
This quirky woman before him was the legendary Inters.e.x Tamer! She was really unfortunate. Perhaps it was hard to accept this reality, but unfortunately, this fact was already known throughout the entire school… It was indeed a tragedy...
However, compared to being devoured by the insects or being a n.o.body in the apocalypse, this was just a small sacrifice of "her" gender. It would not require her to cut out a slab of her flesh, nor would she become pregnant. So, why did she make it seem so terrible?
“Y-you… What are you talking about? Awakened? Ugh… Please, you must know what happened to my body right?”
That person named “Jelly” held onto Li Jiayu’s hand and noisily demanded answers from him as though Li Jiayu was his last straw of hope at life.
“Let go! Do not stop me! Get lost!”
Li Jiayu’s expression changed. He forcefully pushed Jelly away to the ground and quickly rubbed his hand on his thigh as if he had touched something filthy. He then explained,
“You’re Jelly? A gender neutral name… En, your ability is having your s.e.x changed. it is an incredible ability, so you must never go near to someone for more than an hour. Otherwise, ordinary people will have their genders reversed!
"A boy will turn into a girl and a girl will into a boy, while a transs.e.xual will turn into a dolt! Listen to me, calm yourself down… Within this period of time, you must not touch anyone. When the school’s matter is solved… I’ll come look for you for a discussion.”
“Then, can you turn me back into a man? Aiya, my voice is so disgusting! You must have a way, right?” Pudding pried herself off the ground. Seeming to pay no heed to Li Jiayu’s earlier rude behavior, she asked him with a face full of hope.
Li Jiayu backed away. His heart could not accept this person, who had flipped the forces of yin and yang, and coughed slightly.
“Yeah… There’s a way, but I can’t think of it at such sudden notice… Sigh, don’t worry. Just go to the 13th story, I have no time to waste here.”
After Li Jiayu was sure this “Inters.e.x Tamer” would not take her own life, he then beckoned his team members, who were rolling their eyes, and bolted out the door towards the 6th story.
While they were traveling, everyone was not as talkative as before. Even the Flame Sorcerer Feng Liaoyuan, who usually had a bellyful of questions, kept his mouth shut.
Although being an Awakened seemed like a glorious achievement, depending on the situation, it was not as perfect as it seemed. Those who awakened in a tragic situation might have to live miserably...
Although previously, Draconian Chuxiang had resentments about turning into an ugly lizard, he now curled his lips as his heart was filled with happiness. He felt that, compared to before, his own image now appeared much more pleasing to his eyes and stopped the complaints.
When they reached the 6th story, Li Jiayu turned serious. His face no longer had any expressions as he sniffed the air and said coldly,
“This bizarre smell of herbs? Crimson Crowned Beetle? Everyone, stay alert. We’re going to face a Crimson Crowned Beetle on this floor.”
“Crimson Crowned Beetle? Oh… understood.”
Everyone’s faces froze as they knew how terrible the Crimson Crowned Beetles were. They were monsters that were several times stronger than the Venomous Spiders. Facing a gigantic insect larger than a spanish bull, it was natural for anyone to feel fear.
After heading down the stairs, Li Jiayu did not dare to allow Chen Kun to attract the Crimson Crowned Beetle with his sound waves. What if they alerted the enemies and attracted four Crimson Crowned Beetles instead? That would probably result in their complete annihilation.
He led a group of 6 Awakened and 13 axe-wielders members. Everyone held their breaths with great caution. Even while moving, the paper sc.r.a.ps on the ground had not been touched once and Lan Xiaoyu, whose face had turned pale, followed closely from the back.
Swish! Swish!
The sounds suddenly came from the front. Li Jiayu stopped abruptly as if he was sensing something. He waved his hand and everyone stopped in their tracks simultaneously, Li Jiayu’s gaze shone with wariness as he spoke,
“Wait a minute, I seem to sense a Crimson Crowned Beetle nearby. This isn’t good, it’s coming towards us. Let’s retreat to the stairs for an ambush. Everyone, prepare yourselves and guard against the unexpected. Hide!”