Chapter 650: You can solve it, right?

Hoh......

As Hong Ling struggled, the tentacles grew tighter, and one could faintly hear the sound of bones being squeezed together; it was clear that her body was being frantically compressed.

Not only that, the tentacles were even devouring her, merging with her body; in just a few seconds, her entire person was swallowed by a thick black liquid, and all the tentacles that had erupted on the second floor surged toward it.

Shen Zexi immediately sensed something was wrong, and he and Min Tianyou attacked simultaneously with Aberrant Arts, but the tentacles' devouring speed was simply too fast, rendering their efforts useless.

Everyone could only watch helplessly as Hong Ling's figure was gradually completely engulfed by the liquid secreted from the tentacles.

It seemed to merge completely with Hong Ling's body; after the tentacles engulfed her, it began to twist and reshape, ultimately becoming a monster about three meters tall, resembling a fierce beast.

Its limbs were thick and out of proportion, its head resembled that of a feline, but it had been excessively twisted.

If Yang Yixie didn't misremember, in the records he looked up, Hong Ling's mutation source was a mutated lion.

After seeing this, the survivors instinctively wanted to flee, but with potential Aberrant Species everywhere in the mall, Shen Zexi could only have them crowd behind distant pillars or under the checkout counters.

He himself tried to find a way to lure that monster away.

The others scattered to various parts of the mall, presumably to rush over as soon as they dealt with the nearby Aberrant Species.

Dealing with this group of Aberrant Species wasn't particularly difficult, and they weren't especially large, but there happened to be a type with two tendrils—a 'double ponytail' Aberrant Species—numerous and tenacious, which slowed progress.

They had just disposed of those disgusting things, and upon arriving, they saw the massive creature that had just taken shape near the atrium.

Although affected at the same time as Hong Ling, Luo Jinyou's resistance and mental toughness were much stronger; he gritted his teeth and glanced toward Yang Yixie beside him.

Yang Yixie simply ignored them; his eyes held only that beautiful woman.

Ying Duo's mother looks like this......

Unlike the unfocused Ying Duo, she was clearly a gentle person, and Ying Duo behaved much better in her presence.

Luo Jinyou silently helped move Zhiruo and Sister Zhang to a relatively safe distance behind, then turned and joined Min Tianyou on the battlefield beside the atrium.

Min Tianyou saw that familiar face, but Luo Jinyou knew Ying Duo far better; the person before him was indeed Ying Duo's isotopic counterpart.

Thinking about it, his sudden kick that sent Hong Ling flying wasn't hard to accept after all......

After all, it's Ying Duo.

The isotopic counterpart might be a bit better, but not by much.

Nevertheless, this world's Ying Duo is merely an ordinary person.

Luo Jinyou's tail unfurled, its tip slightly curved, the light gold pattern in his pupils deeper than before, slowly flowing along the edge of his iris.

Yang Yixie pulled his mother into hiding in the passageway; they were close to the main force, but if they tried to join it, they'd likely draw the monster's attention—by comparison, their current hiding spot was safer.

Yang Yixie lowered his head to check his mother's condition, but his back, seen by those who knew him, resembled someone so closely that it was hard not to feel a momentary daze.

Sister Zhang occasionally poked her head out at the passageway entrance, her lips pressed into a line, unsure which side she was worried about.

The alarm continued to blare; hiding here, they could still hear the rumble of battle outside.

【Fusion Berserker Body-Lv. 56】

After Hong Ling was engulfed by that sludge-like tentacle mass, the monster's level increased significantly, making it quite formidable.

Shen Zexi's figure darted to the monster's flank, his Aberrant Arts condensing a slender thunder blade in his palm, slicing toward the joint of the beast's hind leg—but upon impact, most of the force was deflected, leaving only a faint white trace.

And that white trace was erased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Qi Hengyu came in from another direction, slamming a punch with obvious impact into the monster's shoulder blade, shaking it sideways.

The monster lowered its head, slamming its forepaw onto the ground, shaking loose stones and glass shards to scatter in all directions.

Luo Jinyou's tail swept swiftly through the air, using nearby pillars and overturned stalls as fulcrums, repeatedly shifting direction around the monster.

He left several narrow gashes on the monster's flank, but the wounds healed quickly.

"This thing's self-healing speed is too fast!"

Min Tianyou stood a bit farther away; the ice cones surrounding him shot toward the monster's head, covering about half of its head area, but it merely flicked its head, shattering the ice into tiny fragments.

The monster's self-healing speed is too fast; if they want to extract Hong Ling from its body, they must inflict massive damage simultaneously to expose the swallowed Hong Ling.

Meng Kexin slammed a hammer hard into the monster's side; the heavy blow sent it staggering sideways, obviously such blunt force caused only limited damage.

"It's really troublesome......"

——————————————

Zhiruo sat in the corner of the safe passageway, her back against the wall, with Sister Zhang's removed coat draped over her knees.

Her gaze fell through the gap in the passageway onto the atrium area, where the battle was slicing the space into light and dark fragments.

Those young people looked about the same age as her son, some even younger, yet they seemed accustomed to this scene, unhesitatingly shielding this group of adults while they themselves went to meet the enemy.

Sister Zhang stood at the edge of the passageway, one hand on the wall, her eyes fixed on the monster's direction; she didn't know how that little girl was doing, but from the way she vanished, it likely boded ill.

Zhiruo looked at her for a moment, then said, "...... Sister Zhang, don't worry too much."

Sister Zhang didn't turn back; only her clenched hand trembled uncontrollably.

"...... That child's nature isn't bad." she said, her voice a little hoarse.

"Believe me, they seem to want to save that child too, just......"

Zhiruo fell silent, watching the figures moving quickly outside the passageway.

A youth in a black cloak slipped past the monster's side; when his cuff was ripped open, blood spurted out, but he acted as if nothing had happened, hastily sprayed some medicine on his arm, and kept fighting.

Her gaze lingered on the fierce battle outside for a moment, then returned to the quiet Yang Yixie sitting beside her.

Yang Yixie was lowering his head, tapping something on his phone—apparently playing a pixel game—while outside, people worried about their lives and deaths, yet he could sit here unfazed, gaming.

She watched his lips slightly pursed, then heard a dull thud from outside, as if something heavy had struck the ground.

Through the gap, she could just see the girl who had been slapped to the ground by the monster's palm, struggling to rise amidst the settling dust.

If that blow had landed on an ordinary person, they would already be lifeless.

Zhiruo's gaze never left Yang Yixie.

She watched him put down his phone, lift his head, and their eyes met.

"Xiao Xie," she lowered her voice deliberately, "you have a way to deal with that monster, right?"