mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 14 Researcher Xie
Chapter 14 Researcher Xie
Time flies.
Over the next few days, Song Chen led his team in a frenzied hunt of alien beasts.
On the first day, they changed locations five times and killed eighteen first-tier alien beasts.
Song Chen killed sixteen enemies single-handedly, while Li Wei and others worked together to kill two. The kill count skyrocketed to 88 points.
That night, he exchanged for two bottles of spiritual energy potions, spending 40 points. After taking them continuously, his energy value soared from 1.1 to 1.8.
He also discovered a pattern: the first bottle resulted in the largest increase, rising by 0.5; the second bottle saw a decrease, increasing by only 0.4.
He could understand that the higher the Qi and Blood value, the lower the efficacy.
With a considerable amount of kill points remaining, he opened the combat skill panel and found a combat skill he had long admired.
【Blood Battle Blade Technique (C-level) - 40 points】: Nourishes the blade with blood and sustains itself through battle. The blade technique is fierce and powerful, growing stronger with each battle. Suitable for group battles. Comes with a matching breathing technique.
He bought it without hesitation.
In an instant, a flood of information rushed into my mind.
The sword techniques, the skill of controlling force, the rhythm of breathing... it was as if someone had rehearsed them in his mind a thousand times, deeply ingrained in his bones.
In past battles, Song Chen mainly relied on the basic sword techniques taught at school and his subconscious reactions.
It's time to have a proper combat technique that's powerful and sweeping.
After learning how to do it, I opened the panel again, and sure enough, there was another column.
Song Chen
Rank: First Rank
Qi and Blood Value: 1.8
Mental Power: 0.7
Superpower: Lightning Control
Martial Arts Skill: Bloodbath Blade Technique (Currently at the beginner level; 50 Kill Points are required to upgrade proficiency)
System Level: 1
Just like with superpowers, combat skills can be leveled up using kill points.
The proficiency levels are the same as those for humans, which he learned in school: they are divided into five levels: beginner, proficient, expert, master, and grandmaster.
Song Chen was so excited that it took her a long time to fall asleep.
The next day.
After learning martial arts, Song Chen discovered that it improved his strength even more than learning superpowers.
The main problem is that he lacks mental strength and relies primarily on physical combat.
Previously, it would take three to five strikes to kill a beast; now, a single strike can cleave the head of a first-tier beast in two.
The way Li Wei and the others looked at him had changed from admiration to worship, and then from worship to looking at a monster.
Li Wei now called out to him with perfect ease, "Brother Chen, are you even human?"
Song Chen was wiping the knife, not even looking up: "No."
"What is that?"
"For killing strange beasts."
so cold.
Everyone fell silent.
……
Two more days passed.
In the past few days, Song Chen has become much stronger.
First, his Qi and Blood value reached 2.2, and he also exchanged for a potion to improve his mental strength, which has now reached 1.6.
The lightning ability is still only C-rank, and upgrading it requires 1,000 kill points, which is too much.
The biggest improvement is still in the Bloodbath Blade Technique.
The more real the combat, the more Song Chen valued this sword technique. He invested heavily in it, spending hundreds of kill points to raise his proficiency to the master level in one go.
He is now confident that he can easily defeat weaker second-tier beasts or warriors.
That's pretty good, considering that a second-tier martial artist needs 10 points of health.
The third tier is 100 points, the fourth tier is 1000 points...
Day five, early morning.
Sunlight spills across the wilderness, turning the grass golden.
In the distance, the ruins of Changqing City were clearly outlined in the morning light, the dilapidated high-rises standing like silent giants, overlooking this land ruled by strange beasts.
Song Chen stood on a high ground, looking at the city.
It's been five days.
He had been outside the city for five days, killing nearly a hundred first-tier beasts, but he still hadn't stepped into the city.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Zhang Zhenyun consistently disagreed.
He turned to look at Zhang Zhenyun, who was leaning against the car smoking: "Captain."
Zhang Zhenyun: "Speak if you have something to say."
"Can you take us into the city?"
Zhang Zhenyun paused for a moment. He looked up at Song Chen.
"Going into the city?"
Song Chen nodded: "Mm."
"Staking out the perimeter is too inefficient. There are far more monsters inside the ruins. Killing one is worth three outside."
Zhang Zhenyun was silent for a few seconds, then stubbed out his cigarette: "Do you know what's going on inside?"
"have no idea."
Zhang Zhenyun walked over and stood beside him, gazing at the distant ruins: "Then I'll tell you."
"Before its fall, Changqing City was a city of 500,000 people. When the monster tide broke out, less than 100,000 people escaped, and most of the remaining 400,000 died in the city..."
"First-tier beasts have some brains, but not many; second-tier beasts are quite intelligent; and third-tier beasts are basically no worse than humans."
Do you know what this means?
Song Chen didn't say anything.
Zhang Zhenyun continued, "This means that once they reach the third tier, the beasts will behave like humans, ambushing, launching surprise attacks, calling on their allies, and even launching organized and disciplined group attacks like humans."
He turned to look at Song Chen: "Are you sure you want to go in now?"
Song Chen remained silent; of course he wanted to go in.
He needs kill points; the ruins are teeming with strange beasts, and the number he can kill in a day is several times that of the outer area.
But he also knew that what Zhang Zhenyun said was true: the ruins were ten times more dangerous than the outside.
"Let me think about it some more..."
He stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.
Zhang Zhenyun also turned his head at the same time and looked into the distance.
A loud rumbling sound came from the direction of the ruins.
That was the sound of an armored vehicle's engine, and it was running at full speed.
Soon, three massive armored vehicles came into view. They sped out from the edge of the ruins, kicking up clouds of dust as they raced along.
On the car at the very front, someone leaned halfway out and waved wildly at them.
"Run! Run!"
Zhang Zhenyun's expression changed.
"Get in the car, quick!"
Before they could react, Zhang Zhenyun shoved and pushed them into the car.
He jumped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove off in a flash.
The three armored vehicles behind them were getting closer and closer. Song Chen looked back through the car window.
All three vehicles were badly damaged. The front vehicle had a huge claw mark on its roof, and the alloy roof had been torn open.
The back door of the middle car is gone; it's pitch black inside, and you can't see what's inside.
The last one was in even worse shape; half of the car was covered in blood, and a human arm was hanging outside the vehicle.
Li Wei's voice trembled: "What is that?"
No one answered her.
Zhang Zhenyun floored the accelerator, and the armored vehicle surged forward madly.
Before long, three armored vehicles caught up with them.
The car in front braked suddenly and blocked their way.
"parking!"
Zhang Zhenyun was forced to stop the car.
The car door opened, and a man covered in blood jumped out.
He was wearing a martial artist's uniform with a third-tier martial artist's badge pinned to his chest, but at this moment he looked as disheveled as if he had just been pulled out of a pool of blood.
"Which department are you from?"
Zhang Zhenyun dared not hide it: "I am Zhang Zhenyun, the captain of the Anning No. 3 Middle School training team, and I am a second-level martial artist."
The third-tier martial artist paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the young faces in the car.
"student?"
"Yes."
The third-tier martial artist gritted his teeth, turned around, and shouted to the car behind, "Researcher Xie, there are students here. Let them escort you first!"
The door of the car behind opened, and two martial artists carried a stretcher out.
A woman was lying on a stretcher.
She was very young, in her early twenties, with a face as pale as paper and her eyes tightly closed.
She was wearing a white researcher's uniform, but at this moment, the white robe was mostly stained red with blood.
There was a gruesome wound on his chest, still oozing blood.
"Put me down."
The woman's voice was weak, but surprisingly clear.