Chapter 28: The Precious Talent of Business

As the two prepared to flee, the Red Shell’s stinger stretched towards them, its reddish-black tip signifying the presence of intense Fire Poison. The potency of these toxins was hundreds of times greater than those on the Red Shell’s outer shell. If wounded, Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai had absolutely no chance of survival. "What are you looking at, Red Shell? Your opponent is me now!" Chu Qi fired several shots, creating a gap for Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai to escape. Red Shell glanced at the two fleeing men, seeming somewhat irritated. However, Chu Qi’s continuous shooting was incredibly annoying, so it decided to deal with this pesky female human first. HISS~ HISS~ HISS! Red Shell rapidly vibrated its stinger, spreading its pincers—a standard attack posture. Chu Qi gave a bitter smile. She had just been talking big; she was indeed affiliated with Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, but she didn’t have control over Red Shell. As Red Shell charged forward aggressively, Chu Qi gripped the Mercenary Warblade in her hand. Although her choice seemed foolish, she wasn’t about to give up. This was her great gamble, betting on Lu Luo, and also betting on Gu Fangyi. The stinger grazed Chu Qi’s cheek as she twisted her slender body, narrowly dodging two rounds of attacks from Red Shell, and landed a strike on the joint of its front leg. The joint was the most vulnerable spot she could find on Red Shell. Her strike was imbued with Dark Energy, a blow delivered with all her strength. But Red Shell wasn’t a brainless creature like the ghouls. It was a chitinous animal-type Exotic Species whose combat intelligence far surpassed that of ghouls. Sensing the danger of Chu Qi’s attack, Red Shell had already performed a defensive maneuver, raising its leg armor to block. CLANG! This heavy and powerful strike created a notch in Red Shell’s front leg but failed to inflict further damage. With her old strength spent and new strength yet to gather, Chu Qi could only retreat. She backed into a dead end, with no more chance to escape. She braced herself for Red Shell’s next attack when a sudden chill ran down her neck. "I’m here!" The Specter Species that had been lurking on this level finally made its move, binding her physically at the most critical moment. "Damn it!" Chu Qi’s body suddenly stiffened. Red Shell seized the opportunity, pinning her with its massive red pincers and lifting her high. With Red Shell’s mouth, full of sharp teeth, right before her eyes, Chu Qi faced imminent death in the jaws of this elite Second Tier Exotic Species. Looks like that guy Lu Luo isn’t coming. The bet’s lost! My own journey has barely begun; can it truly end here? How pathetic... and stupid! She bit her lip, ready to end her own life, when a voice came from behind Red Shell. "Really that stupid? If you insist on saying so, wouldn’t that make me look stupid too?" That voice made Chu Qi’s dimming gaze suddenly brighten. She didn’t want to die. There were so many things she still had to do, like taking Song Hana’s place. She wasn’t ready to give up. And Lu Luo’s arrival meant that she had won the bet. "Lu Luo!" Lu Luo leaped high, the dark gleam of the Wraith Blade arcing down onto Red Shell’s steel pincer. "Phantom Pain!" CRACK! Red Shell’s arm caved in. Its mental state was thrown into disarray by the Phantom Pain’s effect, and the impact made it release Chu Qi from its pincer in agony. "Thanks, Lu Luo." "No, no, no. This is called causality," Lu Luo replied. Lu Luo wasn’t merely being polite. Without Chu Qi’s timely appearance, he wouldn’t have been able to kill the two ghouls so quickly, drive away the Observer, and synthesize the Wraith Blade. Now, with the Wraith Blade, he had the power to face even greater challenges, like Red Shell before him. If he could kill it, his rewards would increase manifold. The cause sown, the fruit reaped! Lu Luo didn’t believe in superstitions, but causality wasn’t about superstition—it was about cause and effect. He didn’t speak of the deeper layer of causality, as it was too hurtful to mention and unsuitable for the current friendly atmosphere. "Hey, can you two stop with the mutual flattery? Do you really think Old Gu and I don’t exist?" Opposite Red Shell, Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai also appeared. In this battle, not a single person had chosen to flee, though Zhou Kai was basically freeloading. Chu Qi looked at the battered Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai opposite them, a bitter feeling rising within her. She had just lectured Gu Fangyi; wasn’t this a slap in her own face? Don’t these people understand? In the face of self-interest, ’friend’ is a laughable word. "You guys, you all came back!" Lu Luo paid no mind to Chu Qi’s inner turmoil. His eyes were fixed on Red Shell before him. "This guy is harder to deal with than I had imagined." Being tough to deal with is a given. This creature is an elite Second Tier animal-type Exotic Species, suspected to be a mutated version of the Blue Shell—larger and more venomous than a regular Blue Shell. Regarding elite Exotic Species, you can basically consider them mutants, the cream of the crop among their tier. You don’t even have Dark Energy; you probably can’t break its defenses. After hearing the Observer’s information, Chu Qi quickly relayed Red Shell’s specific details to Lu Luo, hoping it would help him in the upcoming battle. "Red Shell... so, after all that, it’s just a big scorpion, huh? With a body this size, I wonder if its stinger could be used to make wine." Fusioner’s Feasible Plan for Red Shell Wine: Red Shell’s Stinger + Black Wolf Spider Poison + Silver Centipede Saliva = Potion of Unknown Attributes. "Holy crap, there really is one!" Lu Luo’s eyes lit up. However, it clearly wasn’t the time to consider making wine. The current priority was to kill Red Shell; otherwise, it would all be for nothing. "Chu Qi, throw your gun to Gu Fangyi." "Ah? Okay, catch, Gu Fangyi." Chu Qi tossed her sidearm to Gu Fangyi. At that moment, Gu Fangyi was holding the small vial Lu Luo had previously asked Chu Qi for, the one containing the Dark Spirit Stone. This wasn’t a free gift. Gu Fangyi remembered what Lu Luo had told him earlier. "Old Gu, I’m lending you these two grams of Dark Spirit Stone for now, but you’ll have to return it later. Let’s do this: since we’re classmates, I won’t rip you off. Borrow two, return three. Don’t bother with pleasantries. Just take it and come with me to save her." Looking at the faintly glowing Dark Spirit Stone in his hand, Gu Fangyi couldn’t help but grumble internally. He asks for my help to save her, then hits me with a ’borrow two, return three, no need for pleasantries’? Is this guy some legendary business prodigy? I must be seeing things! He didn’t even realize that these two grams of Dark Spirit Stone had also been obtained by Lu Luo from Chu Qi; Lu Luo himself had only contributed words. However, this practice has a more sophisticated name: business leverage. Although Gu Fangyi grumbled, his hands didn’t stop moving. The Dark Energy restored by the Dark Spirit Stone was slowly channeled into Chu Qi’s handgun. "Hawk Eye." Gu Fangyi aimed at the Red Armored Scorpion Tail Needle. It was Red Shell’s most dangerous weapon and also the hardest to hit. Empowered by Dark Energy, the firearm in his hands was far more potent than in Chu Qi’s, several times more so. Combined with Hawk Eye’s targeting, Gu Fangyi intended to shoot off the Red Armored Scorpion Tail Needle. Given Red Shell’s formidable defenses, and considering that the Red Armored Scorpion Tail Needle was the very essence of its armored shell, a single shot would not be enough. Therefore, Gu Fangyi needed to hit repeatedly, and each shot had to hit the same spot. This seemed almost impossible, but Gu Fangyi knew he had to succeed. If he failed, the danger to Lu Luo would increase severalfold. They were all too weak. Even Lu Luo, despite his robust Constitution, couldn’t withstand the potent venom of the Red Armored Scorpion Tail Needle. Gu Fangyi was certain of this from the burning pain still emanating from his own wounds. I must hurry, before the Fire Poison makes me lose consciousness. --- (PS: Chu Qi is a complex character, not the female lead, but she will appear again later in the story.)