ATPnovel 54: Boss Battle
54: Boss Battle
Noticing that he was being watched by Su Chen and the others, "Jiahao" grinned.
The human skin mask was stretched open with two bloody gashes, uttering indistinct whispers: "Hehe... servant... great medicine..."
A surprised voice rang out from inside the walled compound.
"Old Xu, what are you doing?!"
Before the words were finished, a soft "pfft" sounded—
It was the sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh.
"Are you crazy?!"
A woman clutched her chest and screamed as she fled into the crowd.
But after running only a few steps, blood started gushing from her chest, and she collapsed limply, as if all her strength had been drained away.
The man who had been staring at "Jiahao" suddenly went berserk, raising his spear and stabbing wildly in all directions.
He's not the only one; there are more and more people like him in the neighborhood.
"Flesh and blood... the Great Abyss..."
Every person who goes mad murmurs similar words.
"Captain Chen, don't stare at that thing! Staring at it for too long will cause you to go insane and hallucinate!"
A man gripped his spear tightly. Around him, many people drooled, their pupils dilated, and they babbled incoherently, clearly having lost their minds.
"Everyone, don't look at that monster's head! Try not to make eye contact with it!"
"That stuff drives people crazy!!"
Just as Captain Chen finished shouting, there was a loud "bang" and two figures suddenly leaped up from the ground. The resulting gust of wind made him stagger and almost fall.
Just as he was about to curse, his eyes widened – the two women were rushing straight towards "Jiahao" outside the wall.
"Madman!" he spat.
Not far away, Su Chen gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the chaotic feeling in his mind.
He had seen everything Lin Yu and that young woman did.
Not only did they not warn others to be wary of the BOSS, but now they're suddenly acting so desperately... Anyone with a brain knows there's something fishy going on!
Su Chen frowned, watching the two women leap over the wall and head straight for "Jiahao," while he hesitated, thinking, "Never mind, let's follow them first!"
He picked up the wardrobe and followed the two men toward "Jiahao" in the distance.
Now I don't even care whether there are any benefits to fighting the BOSS, or what those benefits are.
He refused to believe that the two "survivors" were being so proactive without any benefit to them.
Just as I reached the base of the wall, a sharp, metallic crack suddenly rang out—
"Grass!"
Su Chen felt a sharp pain in his foot, his face immediately darkened, and he instantly realized what had happened.
His attention was entirely focused on "Jiahao" in the distance, and he was also distracted by the movements of the two women. He hadn't been paying attention to his footing and had forgotten about the traps that the temporary management team had set up.
A bear trap that hadn't been triggered by the monster was now firmly clamped onto his foot.
Fortunately, given his current physical condition, and the fact that the animal traps set up by the temporary team weren't too powerful, the bloodstains were quickly erased by the Force's restorative effect as soon as they appeared.
The shoes have a few holes in them, making them a bit awkward to wear.
Su Chen looked around.
In the residential area behind them, many people, influenced by "Jiahao," have lost their minds and are attacking those around them with weapons.
Less than 20% of the monsters remained scattered around the wall, and no one paid any attention to him.
Based on the principle that "as long as no one sees it, the embarrassing thing is as if it didn't happen," Su Chen acted as if nothing had happened, casually pried open the animal trap on his foot and threw it aside, then huffed and puffed as he carried the wardrobe and continued running towards "Jiahao" not far away.
The clanging and clattering of several metal objects inside the wardrobe were drowned out by Jiahao's screams.
Not far away.
"Jiahao" almost completely blocked out the moonlight. The flowing gray mist swirled around its massive body, and the blood-red moonlight shining on it made it look particularly eerie.
Just then, two slender figures rushed towards "Jiahao", followed by a shrill howl and a cloud of blood mist!
With a scream, several gashes, each over ten centimeters long, were cut into Jiahao's body. The flesh beneath the feathers seemed to breathe, constantly inhaling and exhaling the surrounding gray mist.
The creature wearing the human skin clearly felt pain; its facial features were contorted and wrinkled, making it unrecognizable. At the same time, after its howl, Jiahao's form changed drastically—its speed and attack methods also completely transformed!
"What's going on?"
Lin Yu frowned and retreated rapidly.
Countless feathers shot out from "Jiahao" like sharp arrows!
call out--!
Whoosh!
A series of ear-piercing whistling sounds rang out.
Those feathers were incredibly fast; Lin Yu almost couldn't dodge them.
If she hadn't created some distance beforehand, she would have been pierced by the feather!
On the other side, the young woman swung and spun the halberd in her hand.
With a series of crisp "clicks," she managed to block all the incoming feathers with her own strength!
"This woman is too perverted..." Su Chen frowned as he looked at her.
Not far away, half of Jiahao's feathers were scattered on the ground. Before the two women could even be on guard, each feather that had fallen to the ground was suddenly whipped up by a strange, eerie wind.
The two women who were attacking were affected by the evil wind, and their movements were noticeably slower.
"Jiahao's" shrill roar was like a knife, piercing into the ears of Su Chen and the two women.
Su Chen's nostrils twitched slightly, and he was stunned for a moment—instantly, his ears felt like they had been hit by a heavy hammer, throbbing with unbearable pain.
In the distance, the two women froze, their faces contorted in pain, and dark red blood trickled from their ears.
"Is 'Jiahao' really that powerful?" Su Chen rubbed his ears to make sure his hearing wasn't damaged, secretly glad that he hadn't rashly attacked at close range.
He knew that if it weren't for his Witcher physique, he would probably be in no better shape than those two women.
First there was mental interference, then feather slowdown, and now there's a sonic attack.
"Jiahao's" abilities are ridiculously comprehensive.
Su Chen quietly hid in the shadows, making no sound.
The two women in the air adjusted themselves slightly and then rushed up again. But this time, they both underwent obvious changes.
Suddenly, a layer of fluorescent blue light appeared on Lin Yu's skin beneath his coat, spreading throughout his body like blood vessels.
Especially on the limbs, fluorescent blue "blood" branches off from the main veins into several tributaries, converging on each finger.
With the appearance of this peculiar equipment, Lin Yu's speed suddenly increased by more than 40%!
In the blink of an eye, she leaped high into the air!
boom!!
A crater exploded beneath her feet, sending dust billowing all around.
The young woman wielding the halberd held a thin, yellowed piece of paper between two fingers. As she chanted softly, the paper spontaneously combusted without wind, quickly turning into incense ash that drifted around her.
The next moment, the halberd in her hand was covered with a faint white light, and her whole demeanor changed instantly!
"Holy crap! Who are those two people?! What's that thing on that woman? An exoskeleton? Or bio-armor? Her speed, and the angle at which she turns in mid-air... Holy crap! Is that even humanly possible?!"
On the wall, a daring man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Did I see that right? That yellow paper in that woman's hand, could it be a talisman?! How did it start burning on its own?! And... look, there's a faint light emanating from that woman!"
Another middle-aged man stared at the young woman in the distance, looking astonished.
"The Bodhisattva has appeared! The Bodhisattva has appeared!" A middle-aged woman knelt down with a thud through a hole in the wall and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction of the young woman.
"Don't panic!" Captain Chen frowned, signaling the temporary management team to clear out the remaining monsters in the community. He then climbed the wall and looked down at the two women from the high vantage point.
"Isn't it too conspicuous to expose ourselves to everyone like this...?"
Su Chen was huddled in a small pit, in a very secluded spot, conveniently hidden by several tattered suits of armor, so no one could see him.
From this angle, he could observe the situation on both sides. He was still hesitant about whether to make a move.
The two women had already attracted the attention of many people in the neighborhood.
In comparison, my previous performance seemed like a minor skirmish.
"Are you also a 'survivor'?"
"They really went all out! They even brought out such a treasure!"
Lin Yu narrowed his eyes and recognized that the talisman the young woman had just used was a rare treasure, and it was a one-time use item!
"How dare you say that to me?"
"You'd risk your life for a career upgrade card? Do you think that enhanced suit you're wearing will last until you defeat the BOSS?" The young woman sneered, swinging her halberd to unleash a gust of wind that instantly severed the tentacles extended by "Jiahao".
The spores falling from the sky evaporated completely before they could even touch her, thanks to the surrounding shimmering light.
"Enough talk! Everyone knows that the person who deals the most damage to the boss is guaranteed a class upgrade card in the loot box at the end!"
"If that thing wasn't guaranteed to drop from the first boss fight, would you even bother using that talisman?"
Lin Yu glanced at the young woman, completely ignoring her words.
At the same time, a small knife appeared in Lin Yu's hand.
As soon as the knife appeared, the gray mist pointed at by the tip was cut open with a clear gash, indicating that it was no ordinary item!
"Distribute the final reward based on damage dealt?"
"Is it guaranteed to drop on the first boss encounter?"
Judging from how desperately these two women are fighting, the reward must be very valuable!
Then what's there to hesitate about?!
Hearing Lin Yu's conversation with the young woman, Su Chen's eyes lit up. He casually pulled a mask out of his pocket and put it on, then pulled his hoodie hood down even further.
He reached into the tattered wardrobe he always carried with him, pulled out a hidden Gatling gun, and deftly attached the ammunition belt.
After glancing at Jiahao's massive body, Su Chen tucked a few grenades from the wardrobe into his waistband.
Once ready, Su Chen didn't hesitate any longer. He picked up the Gatling gun with both hands and fired directly at the "Jiahao" in the distance!
Considering the extra damage the Force inflicts on monsters, he continuously imbued the gun and the fired bullets with the Force.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"
The gun barrel emitted a piercing whistle, instantly drawing the two women's attention back to the present.
Su Chen, holding the Gatling gun in both hands, steadily advanced towards "Jiahao," the flames from the gun muzzle turning the surroundings a fiery red.
Every bullet that hit "Jiahao" blasted a bloody hole more than 30 centimeters long!
Moreover, unlike the wounds inflicted by Lin Yu and the young woman, the wounds inflicted by Su Chen healed extremely slowly!
"Gatling gun?!"
Lin Yu took several steps back, startled.
Shouldn't that thing be fixed in the homestead?
It can even carry it and run?!
The barrage of bullets almost enveloped her, the young woman, and "Jiahao" together. The man looked like he was going to blast them and the monster to pieces.
Meanwhile, on the wall, several people rubbed their eyes simultaneously, their throats dry.
"That...could it be a Gatling gun?"
"...Where did he get that kind of thing...?"
Captain Chen stared wide-eyed, finding it hard to believe what the person not far away was holding in his arms.