Chapter 82: Chapter Fifty: Frenzy

“Bai Ye, there’s a switch on the back of ‘Xin.’ If it comes to a last resort, press it—but remember, you must remove ‘Xin’ within one minute after pressing the switch.”

The switch Juna mentioned is Xin's original form; when activated, 'Xin' becomes animated and begins consuming the user's flesh and blood, while simultaneously greatly enhancing its performance.

“Understood.”

Su Xiao adjusted to the armor on his body; honestly, unless the situation was dire, he didn’t want to wear anything.

Although his strength and defense increased significantly, his speed plummeted.

In narrow underground tunnels, it was manageable—but if he fought in other terrains, he might be kited to death.

“Roar.”

A blind ghoul lunged forward like a ravenous hound, its jaws stretched wide, muscles on both cheeks tearing open.

Su Xiao stood firm; the heavy armor had altered his fighting style somewhat.

It was a desperate move—his agility dropped by 3 points, making him less nimble, but the added 3 points of strength drastically increased his slashing power.

Since his agility had decreased, Su Xiao no longer wasted time dodging.

With both hands gripping his blade, Su Xiao slashed with all his might.

This strike was devastating—combining the sharpness of Zhanlongshan, Qinggangyingsuo, and the additional 3 points of strength.

“Squelch.”

Blood gushed out; wherever Su Xiao’s long blade cut, the blind ghouls were severed completely.

The blind ghouls’ blood was black-red, reeking of a thick, foul stench.

In battle, Su Xiao paid no attention to the surrounding odors—killing enemies came first.

“Bang.”

A custom round whizzed past Su Xiao—Yuna had acted, using her long-range capability to cover him.

As a user of ‘Xin,’ Yuna also possessed close-combat ability; her Quink had two forms—one as a sniper rifle, the other as a scythe.

But Su Xiao and Ma Guijiang’s close-combat prowess utterly dwarfed Yuna’s by miles.

It wasn’t that Yuna didn’t want to use her close-combat ability—she just didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the two of them.

……

The sounds of slashing and gunfire echoed through the tunnel.

The blind ghouls feared no death; even after Su Xiao slew over a dozen, they showed no sign of retreat.

Su Xiao beheaded one blind ghoul—then a tail He stabbed toward his chest.

He instinctively tried to dodge, but with his agility reduced by 3, his evasion was noticeably slower.

“Clang.”

The tail He struck the surface of ‘Xin,’ producing a metallic ring.

A hole the thickness of a finger appeared on ‘Xin’s’ surface; blood seeped out—Su Xiao was wounded. The blind ghouls’ attack power was terrifying.

Su Xiao grabbed the He with one hand and yanked hard, while his right hand thrust forward with the long blade, piercing the ghoul’s skull; the creature twitched and died.

Dozens of blind ghouls pressed heavy pressure upon Su Xiao.

Fortunately, they were within his capacity to handle, and with Yuna’s support, his long blade slashed continuously, rapidly reducing their numbers.

Seeing this, Yuna exhaled in relief.

Ten minutes later, the number of blind ghouls had been cut down to just a few.

Su Xiao’s hand gripping the blade trembled—he was nearly exhausted.

Previously ambushed by primitive ghouls, he’d already drained much of his stamina; now, besieged by blind ghouls, he was nearing his limit.

Raising his aching arm, Su Xiao slashed down the last blind ghoul; a pool of blood formed beneath his feet—his own blood.

Around him lay scattered limbs; the flesh walls nearby were drenched in blood.

“Finally over.”

Yuna hurried forward, reaching to support Su Xiao.

“Don’t come near—more are coming!”

Su Xiao’s face darkened as he stared up at the pitch-black tunnel ahead.

“What?”

Yuna froze in shock.

“Thud… thud…”

Heavy footsteps pounded ahead—clearly, the battle wasn’t over.

“Are you kidding me!”

Despair spread across Yuna’s face.

“Yuna, can ‘Xin’s’ original form drain your stamina?”

The situation had reached its worst, yet Su Xiao hadn’t given up—as long as he lived, there was still a chance.

“Yes, but—”

Su Xiao ignored Yuna’s words, raised his left hand, and pressed the switch behind his neck.

“Click~.”

Instantly, Su Xiao felt ‘Xin’ begin to change.

Crimson light surfaced across ‘Xin’s’ surface; it became active, transforming into writhing crimson tendrils.

‘Xin’ shifted from its original dark blue-black to a vivid red—the same color as a ghoul’s He.

“Gurgle~.”

As ‘Xin’ surged, Su Xiao felt it devouring his blood, even gnawing at his flesh.

“This thing~ is truly ferocious.”

Three seconds later, ‘Xin’s’ activity ceased, reforming into a dark red armor.

“Huh~.”

A thick black-red mist spread around Su Xiao.

“Here they come!”

Su Xiao’s voice was muffled; his eyes glowed red—‘Xin’ had formed a helmet, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Su Xiao’s vision turned pale red; his physical stats surged dramatically.

【Your equipped ‘Xin’ has activated. State changed: Strength +5, Agility +5, Constitution +5. Lose 2% HP per second. (Temporary state. All bonuses or penalties vanish upon removing ‘Xin’.)】

Vast power surged through his body.

Su Xiao roughly estimated the number of ghouls ahead—over sixty blind ghouls.

“Cover me—I’m going in!”

Su Xiao kicked off the ground.

“Boom.”

Dirt exploded as Su Xiao became a crimson blur.

“Squelch, squelch…”

Pale blue blade flashes merged into a continuous stream as Su Xiao charged straight into the blind ghouls.

At that moment, Yuna forgot to pull the trigger of her Quink, staring in stunned silence.

“Is ‘Xin’ really this strong?”

Yuna shook her head, pulled the trigger, and began providing fire support for Su Xiao.

Su Xiao’s vision grew redder; his heartbeat accelerated; silently, he counted.

30 seconds, 31 seconds, 32 seconds.

When the timer reached 40 seconds, Su Xiao grunted—‘Xin’ no longer satisfied with merely consuming his blood; it began tearing at his skin and flesh.

“Hah!”

Su Xiao delivered his final slash, cutting down five one-eyed ghouls before him.

After that strike, Su Xiao felt the world spin—he was overwhelmed by weakness, utterly unable to fight further.

Before him, over a dozen blind ghouls still remained.

At this critical moment, a slender figure dashed past him, blocking his path.

The slender figure was Yuna—she wielded a large scythe, spinning it to repel a blind ghoul lunging at Su Xiao.

“So tough a membrane, Bai Ye—I need ‘Xin.’”

Su Xiao pressed the button again behind his neck; the new activation began to fade.

Normally, ‘Xin’ should detach from his body—but now, it clung to him like a parasite.

Su Xiao plunged Zhanlongshan into the ground beside him and gripped ‘Xin’ with both hands, pulling hard.

“Snap, snap~.”

Several tendrils of ‘Xin’ snapped under his force—he tore the armor off his body.

He hurled the still-writhing ‘Xin’ to Yuna and swore he’d never wear that damned thing again.

In another twenty seconds, ‘Xin’ would have devoured all his skin and flesh; within one minute, it would have torn him into a pile of bones.