Chapter 79: The Despicable and Shameless Poisoner

Qi Xinzhu could see that Lu Luo was truly upset, so she stopped crying and silently lowered her head without speaking, her face nevertheless filled with grievance. Lu Luo found it most annoying when women acted this way. Putting on such an aggrieved look, isn’t that just being unreasonable? He had no choice but to throw a bottle of water to Qi Xinzhu. "Hey, forget about it. As long as you’re alright, find a secluded place to wash up." This incident, however accidental, tested Qi Xinzhu’s strength, which was formidable. So formidable that she could easily kill a Second Tier Exotic Species, more effortlessly than he could. Combined with her innate Healing Ability, it effectively provided them with a significant increase in life assurance for this mission. Although Lu Luo was unlikely to make use of Qi Xinzhu’s abilities, her mere presence offered a sense of security, at least enhancing the safety of their venture beyond the walls. Qi Xinzhu looked at the bottle of clear water Lu Luo had thrown to her, her expression somewhat strange. Is he asking me to clean myself with water? Why should I find a place where no one is around? Although she didn’t quite understand why Lu Luo wanted her to do this, Qi Xinzhu still took the bottle and went alone to a room in the corner of the mall. With her hands pressed together, a holy radiance emerged over her body. The bloodstains, residue, and filth began to disappear rapidly under the glow of the Holy Radiance. Qi Xinzhu looked at the bottle of water Lu Luo had given her earlier, and she tilted her head as she thought for a moment. His temper is so odd. Maybe I should just wash my hands with the water; otherwise, he’ll be unhappy. ... When Qi Xinzhu emerged again, Lu Luo had already begun to set traps on the perimeter, destroying all the stairs in the emergency exits. Then, he rigged a wire trap near the elevator. The trap’s trigger was not particularly strong, merely a row of spikes. However, Lu Luo took out a small red bottle and began to carefully apply the concoction to the spikes. The red substance was the Hero’s Regret that he had previously purchased, a mixture of paralytic poison and the dung of Di-kui beasts. It had the dual effects of paralyzing and causing the enemy’s wounds to fester rapidly, which was quite insidious. "What are you doing?" Qi Xinzhu asked, her curiosity piqued as she watched Lu Luo apply the poison to the spikes with a brush. "Setting traps and applying some poison." Qi Xinzhu’s reaction suddenly became intense upon hearing that Lu Luo was applying poison. "Why apply poison? That’s too despicable! Shouldn’t combat be conducted in an upright manner?" Lu Luo too was frustrated. He wondered why Qi Xinzhu, who never got upset by anything he said before, was so bothered by this. "Upright? What if I can’t defeat the enemy in an ’upright’ battle?" Qi Xinzhu found herself at a loss for words and managed to say, reluctantly, "If you can’t beat them... then practice!" "What if the enemy wants to kill me?" "..." "What if the enemy wants to kill my dear friends and brothers?" "..." "What if the enemy is relentless and doesn’t give me a chance to practice? What’s wrong with using poison if I can’t beat them?" Qi Xinzhu suddenly felt as if Lu Luo had a point, but the teachings and indoctrination of the Dawn Church over the past twenty years weren’t something she could just change in an instant. "But still... using poison is just not right. Decent people don’t resort to poisoning." Of course, if someone poisoned Lu Luo, he would also call them despicable, but when it came to himself... "Sorry, I’m not a decent person." After speaking, Lu Luo gave Qi Xinzhu a meaningful glance. The meaning behind his look was clear: Is this girl simple-minded? Having spent some time with Lu Luo, Qi Xinzhu surprisingly understood his look and once again fell silent, quietly watching as he continued to set traps. Lu Luo spaced the traps at intervals to conserve materials and to prevent intruders from destroying too many of them. With the help of a Fusioner, Lu Luo’s efficiency was high, and he didn’t mind using energy at this moment. As long as he could hunt down Exotic Species, he would have even more energy. "Lu Luo, there’s someone," Gu Fangyi suddenly issued a warning to Lu Luo from the rooftop. Lu Luo knew Gu Fangyi wouldn’t warn him lightly; there had to be a problem. "Stay here and don’t move." "Got it." Although Qi Xinzhu was very strong, she obviously lacked experience outside the walls, and her striking appearance could easily cause trouble if she were to be exposed rashly. After arranging for Qi Xinzhu, Lu Luo immediately went to the third floor to look in the direction Gu Fangyi was watching. [Target observed: Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals private squad. Number of members: 20.] The arrivals were indeed a squad from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. They had a large team and had descended the wall later than others. Furthermore, because Lu Luo and his two companions moved swiftly, they had already cleared a building by the time Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals’ squad followed the path they had blazed through the forest. Lu Luo and Gu Fangyi spied from the shadows. They thought they were well-concealed, but a member of the Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals squad still spotted them. "Captain, there’s someone." All twenty members raised their guns, their muzzles all aimed at the spot where Lu Luo and Gu Fangyi were hiding. Is this their scout’s Sequence? Or perhaps they have equipment like thermal imaging? Lu Luo was slightly surprised. "How many?" "Three." The atmosphere gradually became tense. Lu Luo, using the wall as cover, slowly moved to the side of the window. He dared not show his face at this moment. If a gun were to discharge accidentally or something similar, the situation would become very unfavorable for them. To think I’d run into a 20-person squad on my first trip out. My luck really is rotten. Lu Luo put on a mask he had prepared earlier and, in a lowered voice, said, "We mean no harm, gentlemen of Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. We are just herbalists and Scavengers who have recently arrived in the Wasteland. We are attempting to establish a temporary stronghold here. Please do not attack us." Below, the Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals team captain, Wu Sen, looked in the direction of Lu Luo’s voice and remained silent. A team member beside him whispered, "Should we attack? It’s just three people; dealing with them wouldn’t be a problem." Wu Sen looked on for a while longer before shaking his head. "Forget it. The company’s business is more important. Besides the questionable value of killing small fry like these, if there’s a trap here and we lose one or two people, or even just get injured, it would be too great a loss." "Understood. Everyone, move in a cross formation." The squad from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals left, though some still kept a vigilant eye in Lu Luo’s direction. Lu Luo continued to observe the squad below through a gap by the window. It was nothing at first, but when he saw one of the team members place a hand on Chu Qi, he sensed something was amiss. Chu Qi pushed the man a few times, but it didn’t seem to work. The team member only became more aggressive. Even their classmate Wang Zheng and the captain Wu Sen turned a blind eye to the incident. [This team has a total of six females. Distance too great to detect hormone levels.] "You saw that too, didn’t you?" Gu Fangyi said, his tone unpleasant. "I saw it," Lu Luo nodded. "Is this the so-called contract from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals? Why would Chu Qi accept such a contract?" Gu Fangyi’s tone was somewhat despondent. They had fought side-by-side at Exhibition Hall 404 and had been classmates for five years. Gu Fangyi was a person who cherished relationships. He considered Chu Qi a friend and naturally disliked seeing her bullied. Lu Luo could only remain silent in response. Chu Qi had joined Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals earlier than Wang Zheng. Her current dire situation was very likely related to the previous incident when she saved the three of them. In other words, the bullying Chu Qi was now subjected to by the people of Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals might very well be a consequence of their actions. "If you’re dissatisfied, then strive to become stronger. The Dark Energy level here isn’t very high, but it’s still more than four times higher than inside the walls. Improve your strength as quickly as possible, break through as quickly as possible. Only then will you have the power to decide certain matters." Lu Luo’s words seemed abstract and illusory, like he was making empty promises—though perhaps not entirely. After giving Lu Luo a couple of looks, Gu Fangyi nodded. "I understand." Gu Fangyi truly understood. The real tough characters were seldom eloquent speakers; he was that kind of person.