Chapter 82: Getting a Little Closer

The grenade’s energy explosion blasted the swarm of insects to pieces, even severely injuring the queen. Looking at the shattered room, Lu Luo couldn’t help but sigh at the powerful effects of advanced military equipment and weapons. It was precisely because of their possession of powerful equipment and weapons that humans could kill Exotic Species beyond their level. Not to mention anything else, the strength of a First Tier to Second Tier Transcendent was very hard to withstand the explosive power of an energy grenade. As for the capabilities of Third Tier Transcendents, Lu Luo wasn’t very clear, so he refrained from making rash judgments. As he entered the room, Lu Luo immediately received a notification that piqued his interest. [High concentrations of Dark Energy detected in the room, possibly indicating the presence of Dark Spirit Stones or other Dark Energy aggregate items.] Dark Spirit Stones! Dark Spirit Stones were one of the resources Lu Luo needed most, even more so than energy. Energy could still be quickly accumulated by devouring Exotic Species. But Dark Spirit Stones, their equivalent being money, could directly affect the speed at which Lu Luo accumulated Qi He, and he could never have too many of them. Maintaining vigilance, he approached the queen. Lu Luo found that this Second Tier Exotic Species queen, having invested all its aberrant energy into egg-laying, had completely degenerated its combat strength and mobility. Now, without the protection of its swarm, it was like a lump of flesh with no ability to resist. Lu Luo did not relax because of this. He still mechanically swung his blade at the queen, hacking away until the Observer’s notification appeared. [Target shows no signs of life, dead.] After a series of fierce battles, Lu Luo was very tired. His stamina, as well as his Qi, had been exhausted. Now, Lu Luo was solely relying on his high Constitution attribute to keep going. After the queen’s death, some of the other insects started to frantically flee, while others chaotically crashed around, falling into disarray. In light of this, Lu Luo had no intention of stopping the fight. He would kill these disordered insects one by one. With each rise and fall of his hand and blade, his eyes didn’t even blink. Not until the room was completely devoid of any living insects did Lu Luo stop. [Host’s current condition is poor. It is advisable to maintain overclock mode and quickly return to the temporary base.] Maintain overclocking, but it’s not time to return yet. Lu Luo extended his tentacles and began devouring the queen, doing so urgently for a reason. The nocturnal activity of Exotic Species was high, and corpses would attract more Exotics to nibble and consume. If he left now, by tomorrow, all that might remain would be a pile of energy-less corpses. Having killed so many creatures with great difficulty, Lu Luo could not bear to leave them. The queen’s Life Energy was extremely high, providing him with 200 points of energy and 2 Sequence Values, which should be the highest possible for an ordinary Second Tier. After devouring the queen, Lu Luo’s tentacles began to rapidly extend. Each of these insects on the ground could provide him with 1 point of energy. That might not seem like much, but during this period, he had killed several hundred insects. Although some of the corpses were damaged or burnt, it was still a significant resource that Lu Luo could not afford to waste. After devouring all the corpses in the room and corridor, Lu Luo’s energy soared to 503 points. [Warning, night has fallen. The host should withdraw as soon as possible.] Looking back at the queen’s room, Lu Luo hesitated for a moment. He hadn’t found the high-concentration Dark Energy item, which clearly wasn’t an overt item. Leaving it here overnight should be fine. Having made a decision, Lu Luo quickly descended the stairs, only to realize that the sky had turned completely dark. The environment was no longer suitable for continuing to devour the insects left on the streets. He regretfully glanced at the remaining insects on the street before returning to the temporary base on the second floor of the supermarket. "You’re back!" "Why do you seem so surprised that I’m back? Shouldn’t I be back?" Qi Xinzhu was flustered by Lu Luo’s rebuke and, out of habit, lowered her head again. In front of Lu Luo, her previous pride seemed to no longer exist; she simply felt that Lu Luo’s return was a reason to be happy in itself. "Uh, I didn’t mean that, sorry." "Have any Exotic Species come to eat the dead rat’s body?" "No." Lu Luo nodded and said no more. He first threw chunks of the carnivorous rat far onto the road, then leaned back against the wall on the second floor, exhausted. The carnivorous rat hadn’t attracted other Exotic Species, which was a bit of a pity, but Lu Luo wasn’t bothered, as it was just trial bait. He didn’t devour the remaining half of the corpse for a reason. He mainly wanted to observe how many Exotic Species appeared outside at night and what level of strength he would need to venture out. After all, there were many Exotic Species at night, and if safety could be ensured, it would indeed be a perfect opportunity for energy harvesting. A few hours had passed, and the Life Energy within the corpse should have dissipated somewhat, decreasing its value. Moreover, leaving chunks of meat on the first floor would only become a hazard during the night. Compared to this half-corpse, Lu Luo was more concerned about the insect remains on the streets. If he could devour them all, he might gain an additional 100-200 points of energy. However, Lu Luo was already satisfied, having harvested over 700 energy on just the first day. This efficiency was something that could never be matched inside the wall. Lu Luo spent 290 points of energy to increase his strength attribute to 10, then spent another 110 points to raise his Constitution to 11. The direct increase in attributes gave him a very significant improvement in strength, which was what Lu Luo was most pleased to see. However, as the attributes improved, the consumption of energy points also grew larger. Each attribute, to be raised from 10 to 20, required 1,550 points of energy. This meant that if Lu Luo wanted all his attributes to reach 20, and for all three attributes to achieve a power breakthrough, he still faced a shortfall of 4,650 energy points. No need to rush. Today I made a killing of over 700. In 10 days, that’ll be over 7,000! Full attributes at 20, and I’ll still have leftovers. Lu Luo joked to himself. While he knew it was unlikely to be this lucrative every day, there was no harm in being optimistic. ... Rain began to fall from the sky outside, making the trio’s first night beyond the wall seem less peaceful. Lu Luo didn’t go out in the rain to collect energy. He really didn’t lack that little bit, and he was too tired now. Perhaps due to the corpses’ attraction, a rustling sound emanated from the street. There were low growls, shrieks, fighting, and the tearing of corpses. Both Lu Luo and Qi Xinzhu knew that these were other Exotic Species active at night beginning to appear. Gu Fangyi, on the rooftop, kept one eye open and one eye shut, practicing the Shooting Path that Lu Luo had taught him while keeping watch. This was necessary vigilance and an unavoidable measure. Their actions were still carried out in pairs. Now that Lu Luo was utterly exhausted, Gu Fangyi had to step up to keep watch through the night. Neither Lu Luo nor Gu Fangyi considered Qi Xinzhu part of the small team. On the second floor, Lu Luo wasn’t speaking, so Qi Xinzhu didn’t dare to speak either. Although she was a complete newbie, she still understood some basic knowledge about the world beyond the wall. At night, without sufficient strength, it was best not to make any moves that would attract Exotic Species, as such behavior could be very dangerous. Even though most of the Exotic Species in this area were First Tier, it was still perilous. Once entangled by an Exotic Species at night, if constantly attacked and stamina sapped away, the common outcome was often death by exhaustion. Qi Xinzhu looked at the weary Lu Luo and pursed her lips. He looks really tired! Even though Lu Luo didn’t let her join in the combat or actions, Qi Xinzhu still felt that she could help out somehow, like right now. Qi Xinzhu carefully moved her body, approaching Lu Luo while trying her best not to make any sound.