Chapter 631 – Indeed, Life’s Coffee Table is Full of Cups and Sorrows
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After the initial shock, Ling Mo immediately adjusted his tactics.
He swiftly transitioned from offense to defense, with the two female zombies s.h.i.+fting from relentless a.s.sault to evasive disruption.
The intensity of the battle cooled down instantaneously; Mu Chen and the others could only watch as the frenzied creature was led by the nose, darting chaotically near the crossroads.
“What are they doing?” Mu Chen was confused, noticing the growing brightness of the fire nearby. This was no time to be wasting time…
Shana, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings, replied, “Just wait and see, it won’t last much longer.”
“What do you mean?” Mu Chen was still lost.
Shana glanced at him as if looking at an idiot and said, “Your injuries aren’t in your brain… Forget it, I’ll tell you. Haven’t you noticed it’s become much more fierce than before?”
“I have…” Mu Chen replied with tears streaming down his face, although he still didn’t understand. Was it really necessary to point out something so obvious?
“Do you think that’s normal?” Shana said to him with a sense of helplessness.
Mu Chen paused for a moment, then had an epiphany and nodded, “Oh… I see.”
The creature’s sudden rampage was clearly triggered by pain, sending it into a state of hysteria.
In such a state, it would undoubtedly consume much more energy than under normal circ.u.mstances.
Ling Mo and his party had obviously noticed this right away. Instead of choosing to clash head-on, they adopted a ‘walking the dog’ strategy, continuously provoking it to grow more berserk.
“That’s cunning…” Mu Chen had just finished his thought when he noticed Shana staring at him coldly.
His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly put on an apologetic smile, “Actually, I was praising him… It’s no wonder you few have survived until now, your combat experience is too strong.”
“Domesticated ones can never compare to the wild ones,” Shana responded.
Mu Chen, who had wanted to argue, suddenly felt an unusual sensation. He glanced at Xu Shuhan, who was silently leaning against the wall not saying a word, and then thought about himself.
“Domestication… It’s pretty much the same, isn’t it? Work, get rewarded, and return to the cage…” Mu Chen thought bitterly.
This reflection made him realize that almost every member of Niepan operated similarly.
The stark distinctions in status and levels, along with the different privileges, provided them with the motivation to keep risking their lives.
In essence, it was simply pooling together everyone’s flesh and blood, allowing a stronger subset of individuals to feed off the rest.
Those who were consumed fought desperately to reverse their roles and become the consumers themselves.
Under such circ.u.mstances, where was the room for true companions.h.i.+p?
To those of a lower level, the ones higher up might just seem like stumbling blocks.
Take Xia Zhi, for example, that’s how he viewed them…
And to the higher-ups, those doggedly pursuing lower-level members were nothing but potential threats.
This compet.i.tive mechanism fueled Niepan’s rapid expansion and development, but Mu Chen had already tasted the pitfalls and bitterness that came with it…
With this in mind, he suddenly felt less angry about Xia Zhi’s betrayal.
It wasn’t betrayal; it was just a pitiful way to live, much like his former self…
Meanwhile, Ling Mo and the others were still engaged with the monster.
The creature, having lost its sense, couldn’t grasp Ling Mo’s tactics and was being toyed with like a spinning top.
The rapid depletion of its physical strength only seemed to exacerbate its fury. However, angry as it was, its movements had noticeably begun to slow down.
Shen Le, who had been acting like a human-shaped soap bubble—popping up only to be burst—couldn’t stay put for long.
When he reappeared, it was right behind the monster.
This strategy bought him a bit of time.
“Whistle!”
But just as he whistled, Ling Mo’s mental Tentacles reached him again.
Shen Le was furious, yet he had no counter for Ling Mo’s impressively quick neural reactions.
Nevertheless, the whistle had some effect; the monster suddenly let out a shrill roar and leapt high into the air.
Ling Mo immediately sensed danger. Before he could retreat, the monster had already appeared right in front of him.
“Such speed!”
Just when it seemed like the monster’s rampage had reached its limit, it quickly became apparent that this wasn’t the case at all.
Although Ling Mo’s body couldn’t retreat in time, his mental Tentacles instantly formed a barrier in front of him.
Before Ling Mo could even catch a glimpse of the monster’s shadow, its attack was already upon him.
Its legs, wound up like clockworks, kicked at Ling Mo in rapid succession with an incredibly high frequency.
In just a second, Ling Mo felt his Mental power draining away like running water.
At this moment, Li Ya Lin and Ye Lian had finally arrived. With their reaction speed, blocking the monster shouldn’t be a problem…
But just as Ling Mo breathed a sigh of relief, the multiple shadows of the monster’s soles disappeared from his view, followed by a sudden gust of wind hitting him from behind.
“It’s too fast!”
When it moved, there was not the slightest hint of stagnation—simply put, it was flawless!
The monster kept changing directions, dodging both Li Ya Lin’s and Ye Lian’s attacks, and putting immense pressure on Ling Mo.
Ling Mo hadn’t expected to find himself on the receiving end of such a pa.s.sive beating so quickly.
Although he wouldn’t sustain countless wounds like the monster, this rate of Mental power consumption was unsustainable…
“No, it shouldn’t be able to keep rampaging like this. What’s going on? And that whistle…”
Ling Mo furrowed his brow, searching for a chance to escape while trying to a.n.a.lyze the situation.
For some reason, a crazy thought flashed through his mind…
But thinking of the monster, Ling Mo couldn’t help but shake his head internally.
Impossible, right?
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Ye Lian.
A cold gleam lashed out towards Ye Lian’s back like a venomous snake, accompanied by Shen Le’s chilling smile.
In his view, this girl with the vacant gaze should have the slowest reaction time.
Moreover, her attention was entirely focused on Ling Mo and the monster, how could she possibly notice Shen Le appearing and disappearing like a ghost?
By the time she realized it, Shen Le’s knife would have already pierced her heart…
Just the thought of warm blood splas.h.i.+ng onto his face made Shen Le’s eyes gleam with excitement.
“You’re supposed to be protecting them, right? I’m going to kill them right in front of you just to make you angry, just because you’re too arrogant!”
“Clang!”
A cold light barely grazed Ye Lian’s back, blocking Shen Le’s knife tip.
Before Shen Le could react, the cold light flicked his knife away, followed by a scythe-shaped slash aimed at his head.
Shen Le was startled and immediately dodged backward.
The long-haired girl missed her target but didn’t pause at all, immediately turning the blade sideways and, with a graceful spin, the blade swept horizontally towards him.
“d.a.m.n…”
This time Shen Le’s dodge was awkward, and he nearly tumbled to the ground.
“Do you think I don’t exist?” Shana said with a sneer, as she swung her blade again.
“This woman’s expression is even more twisted than mine!” Shen Le had just straightened up when he saw a flash of cold light above him.
“Ling Mo told me to keep an eye on you,” Shana said with a grin.
“You’re the one protecting them, aren’t you?” Shen Le quickly stepped back, shouting.
“Don’t you understand priorities?” Shana rolled her eyes.
Before Shen Le could dodge, a figure silently appeared behind him.
With a flash of cold light, he disappeared in an instant.
“Tch…” Shana put down her scythe and looked around before retreating back to Mu Chen and Xu Shuhan.
Mu Chen, with a pale face, wobbled as he lowered his knife, then, feeling awkward, raised it again.
He always knew being protected was just an illusion, but the illusion had shattered too quickly…
“Why do I feel like our presence is actually aiding her sneak attacks? Like just now, Shen Le didn’t realize she would move…”
Considering this possibility, Mu Chen suddenly felt his life was indeed filled with tragedies…
Ling Mo had also witnessed Shen Le’s sneak attack, his eyes growing colder, and he calculated in his mind: “Just as I suspected… Now I have a clear idea of his special abilities. Want to be invisible? Wait until you’re dragged out!”
Meanwhile, with Ling Mo and Ye Lian’s joint efforts, the rampaging monster finally showed a moment of vulnerability.
In the midst of changing directions, its body was slightly obstructed by Ye Lian…