Chapter Twenty-Five: Rapid Deterioration (Second Update) Please recommend and bookmark

In the night, the orange-red blaze flickered in the darkness. Watching the three figures flee in panic, the middle-aged security guard sneered inwardly.

He had already prepared his own escape route. He, too, was on the rooftop, climbing with a rope he’d prepared in advance to the adjacent building. There was no need to descend to the street and risk becoming prey for the monsters. The rooftop was high above the ground, making it unlikely for most monsters to notice anyone up there, and even the flying creatures hadn’t bothered him. Those flying monstrosities seemed to be drawn to the firelight, almost like moths to a flame, and were probably all gathered in front of the building now.

He intended to observe and eavesdrop on Liang Jing and the others from the neighboring building, waiting for their deaths. Only the sight of Liang Jing’s corpse would satisfy him. In fact, he even planned that if Liang Jing’s body remained intact, he would personally dismember it, then toss the pieces into the street for the monsters to devour—only then could he vent his deep-seated hatred.

Of course, the best outcome would be for Liang Jing to be gravely wounded and unable to resist, so he could take revenge with his own hands.

Watching the black shadows rapidly approaching from both earth and sky, he chuckled darkly: “Liang Jing, all of you—enjoy the feast I’ve prepared. Tomorrow I’ll return to see what’s left of you.”

He turned, his figure vanishing swiftly into the darkness.

...

Looking at the pale-faced Yang Yuyuan and the rest, exhausted and collapsed on the ground, Liang Jing could only smile bitterly. It seemed that the rest would be up to him alone.

After such a prolonged and intense battle—a fight for their lives that demanded unwavering focus—even though the others had been merely supporting from the sidelines, the strain on their already average bodies was immense. They were all sprawled on the ground, spent.

Yang Yuyuan had only managed to cast three or four dozen fireballs in total before succumbing to a pounding headache and dizziness, unable to conjure another. Now, he was forced to fight hand-to-hand with a machete. After awakening, their physical strength was twice that of a normal person, but still, they were exhausted, their chests heaving like bellows.

At the doorway, where obstacles had once been cleared, now corpses of mutated monsters were piled into a barricade, forming a grisly heap. The floor was slick with a thick, black-red layer of blood. While some had tried to toss the bodies into the room to slow the monsters’ advance, most were too weak to keep up, and injuries had taken their toll.

In the eyes of the group, Liang Jing was now like a monster himself—a tireless machine, cutting down monsters without rest. His back was always straight, unyielding, a pillar holding everything together. With him there, they felt a strange sense of security.

Unconsciously, Liang Jing had come to occupy a place of great importance in their hearts.

Liang Jing himself paid no mind to the thoughts of the others. At this moment, he felt his body had become stronger and more resilient, honed by the crucible of battle and the constant baptism of white spiritual light. He sensed that the power within him had been further unleashed—it turned out that the effects of the white light could go further still, even if the statistics showed he hadn’t yet broken the barrier of strength equivalent to ten grown men.

It was worth noting that “Basic Insight” allowed Liang Jing to see only his own stats, not those of others or the mutated monsters—perhaps because he couldn’t analyze them without some form of internal access.

If the initial strengthening had made his body powerful yet awkward, now, after the relentless tempering of battle—like iron repeatedly hammered and impurities expelled—his muscles, skin, and bones had grown harmonious and supple, his movements utterly fluid and free from stiffness.

“Not good, not good…”

“Run! Hurry, the monsters are coming…”

Three figures—one tall and thin, one short and stocky, one of average build—came racing down from the second floor, shouting frantically as several dark shapes pursued them.

The three security guards, realizing things had gone awry, had tried to find a spot on the lower floor to jump out and escape, only to run into a swarm of mutated monsters before they could even leap. Their attempt at flight had brought more monsters down upon them.

Liang Jing’s expression darkened as he recognized the three security guards, who shouted as they ran. He could barely restrain himself from striking them down on the spot.

The three, though fleeing, were still aware enough to notice Liang Jing—drenched in blood and gore, his eyes cold and indifferent—and their legs nearly gave out, barely able to keep from collapsing in the bloody mire. They hurried toward Yang Yuyuan for safety.

They’d been afraid of Liang Jing before, but now he seemed like a demon from the depths of hell, terrifying and blood-soaked, his body coated in black-red gore and fragments of flesh. Their fear intensified, and since they were guilty themselves, they kept their distance, wary in every movement.

Seeing the situation, Liang Jing only glared at them, knowing he didn’t have time to settle scores. The monsters from upstairs were coming down—some he’d never seen before. If they were caught between these and the ones already inside, things would be dire. These monsters hadn’t yet been driven mad by battle; their instinct would be to target humans first. Why this was, Liang Jing couldn’t say—perhaps humanity had simply sinned too much.

“Retreat to that room—now!” he commanded.

Faced with threats on both sides, they had no choice but to fall back. Once inside the room, they’d only need to defend a single door, though it meant there was no longer any route of escape.

“Kill them!” he barked.

They fell back to the doorway, only to see the battle-maddened mutated monsters attacking a new threat: a bat-like creature with a wingspan of over 1.5 meters. In the confined space, even the monstrous rats could leap up to attack the flying beast, and chaos erupted.

Liang Jing realized then that these were mutated bats, their bodies far larger than before, wings stretching over one and a half meters—though their forms were still smaller than the mutated rats.

“What’s going on?” Taking advantage of the chaos, with the monsters entangled in battle, Liang Jing turned to the three security guards, his eyes cold and menacing, blood-red light flickering deep within his gaze. He had killed hundreds of mutated monsters that night.

The three shrank from his murderous glare, shuddering as they stammered out the story of what had happened.

“Kill them!” someone cried.

“They’re vicious—they were willing to get us all killed just for revenge!”

Outraged by what they heard, the others could barely contain themselves. Though the guards had targeted Liang Jing, their actions had endangered everyone, and the group demanded harsh punishment.

Everyone, after all, had seen enough to know: if Liang Jing hadn’t been able to hold out, he alone would have escaped, leaving the rest of them as slaughtered sheep. Their anger was hard to quell.

Yet, to their surprise, Liang Jing stopped them. Though his face was grim, and he deeply regretted not having acted more decisively before, he held fast to the decision in his heart. Right now, everyone was exhausted and unable to fight on. Why not put the three guards to work, let them take turns, and hope they could hold out until dawn, when perhaps the monsters would retreat?

As for the middle-aged security guard, the true instigator who had already vanished, Liang Jing ground his teeth in hatred, but he couldn’t spare the effort to pursue him now. Still, he swore to himself that such a venomous man could not be allowed to live—he would hunt him down, if only for the sake of peace and safety in this shattered world.