Chapter 320: Hard-Fought Battle

Bloodsucking Vine is originally a living thing; though its intelligence is low, it can understand Lin Yifan's orders.

So it immediately released the tightly wrapped Pure Spirit Herb it had enveloped.

A flower bud sits atop the Pure Spirit Herb; it opens when needed and automatically closes when not.

When the Pure Spirit Herb activates, the Eerie Whisper around his ears vanishes instantly.

When he pulls out the Radiant Stone again, a small patch of surrounding darkness is dispelled.

It doesn't affect the larger environment, but at least it lets him see clearly.

When Lin Yifan has light, he sees blood‑red eyes hidden in the darkness and shivers.

Those blood‑red eyes glare in the night, accompanied by a low hum, as a dozen gigantic mutated fly monsters slam wildly at the shield.

Their claws scrape the energy barrier with a screech, saliva drips from their mouths, corroding small pits in the ground.

"Even their saliva is corrosive?" Lin Yifan's gaze sharpens as he quickly assesses the threat level.

These monsters are clearly far more dangerous than ordinary beasts, possibly poisonous.

What puzzles Lin Yifan is that his Eye of Appraisal can retrieve information on any item.

Although when scanning fellow Humans—Survivors—he only sees a fragment of data, in real society that advantage is already considerable.

Yet the never‑mistaken Lin Yifan missed on this mutated fly monster.

【Special Type Dark Creature】

Name: Dark Slaughter Fly

Skill:???

Level:???

This thing has no information beyond its name.

Sometimes Lin Yifan can't help but wonder if he has the wrong target.

But his sixth sense tells him these insects are extremely terrifying; a head‑on clash, even with some strength, would never match these monsters.

Fortunately, Lin Yifan dared to step out, and he wasn't unprepared.

All animals fear fire!

It's ingrained in their bones.

Even these gigantic mutated mosquitoes can't easily change an animal's nature!

Thus Lin Yifan's solution is fire technique; to counter Maggot Human Bone he has kept accelerants like fire oil and even crafted numerous explosive flame weapons.

He hopes that one day he can unleash these flames to slaughter everything.

Now the chance has arrived, so Lin Yifan immediately pulls out a reserve fuel bomb, lights it, and hurls it into the Dark Slaughter Fly swarm.

A blinding white flash erupts, the Dark Slaughter Flies emit painful howls, and nearby allies recoil.

To his surprise, they don't become immobilized like ordinary nocturnal creatures; after shaking their heads a few times, they glare at him again ferociously.

"Resistance this strong? That's terrifying!" Lin Yifan stares, his face full of disbelief.

Although it's his first time using poison, it shouldn't be this grim, right?

If it doesn't kill, he's certainly doomed.

Lin Yifan feels a sinking in his heart, but soon regains his composure.

He swiftly draws a custom flame projector from his waist, a modification based on a pre‑apocalypse Blueprint, its fuel mixed with high‑concentration corrosive agent specifically for these stubborn mutated beings.

"Since poison fails, taste this!" he growls, pulling the trigger.

Scalding flames surge out, instantly devouring several charging Dark Slaughter Flies.

A sizzling burn echoes from the fire, and the air fills with a charred odor.

The flame‑encased flies emit sharp screeches, their wings beating wildly, yet they cannot escape the fire's erosion.

However, the remaining flies seem enraged; they stop blindly ramming the shield and begin to disperse tactically, approaching Lin Yifan from multiple angles.

Cold glints flash in their compound eyes, as if calculating the optimal attack timing.

"These guys... actually have tactical awareness?" Lin Yifan's forehead beads with cold sweat, his grip on the flame projector trembling slightly.

He realizes he may have underestimated the intelligence of these dark creatures.

At the moment he hesitates, an unusually massive slaughter fly lunges from the side, its sharp proboscis stabbing his neck!

Lin Yifan darts away hastily but still tears his shoulder, blood gushing instantly.

"Shh—" The excruciating pain makes him gasp cold air, accompanied by dizziness.

He looks down; the skin around the wound is blackening, toxin spreading rapidly!

"Damn!" He grits his teeth, pulls a vial of antidote from his pack, and pours it onto the wound.

The moment the antidote meets the toxin, a "hiss" sounds, and the intense pain nearly forces him to collapse.

The Pure Spirit Herb seems to sense its master's peril; its bud suddenly blooms, emitting a gentle green glow.

Under the glow, Lin Yifan's wound heals at a visible speed, the toxin being purified bit by bit.

"Well done!" Lin Yifan's spirit lifts; he rises again, eyes a fierce glint as he looks at the snarling slaughter flies.

"Since fire and poison aren't enough, let's try this!" He abruptly pulls a crystal flashing with lightning from his chest—a "Thunder Core" he once found in a ruin, reluctant to use until now.

Lin Yifan hoists the crystal high and slams it down hard.

"Boom—!!!"

Blinding lightning erupts centered on him, savage currents raging like silver serpents, instantly enveloping all nearby slaughter flies.

The monsters convulse wildly in the thunder, finally turning into charred corpses that fall away.

The smoke clears; Lin Yifan pants, scanning the surroundings. The darkness temporarily steadies, yet he knows the lurking danger in this wasteland is far from over.

"Need to leave quickly..." he mutters, stowing the Pure Spirit Herb and Radiant Stone, sprinting toward the distant ridge.

However, he fails to notice that shortly after his departure, tiny black insect eggs crawl from the charred slaughter‑fly corpses, silently merging into the darkness...

Lin Yifan ran at full speed, and only after confirming there were no pursuers behind him did he lean against a dead tree to catch his breath. The night wind swept across the wasteland, emitting

a low whine, as if the darkness itself were whispering conspiratorially.

He lowered his head to examine the wound on his shoulder; although Pure Spirit Herb purified the toxins, the skin still bore strange black markings that spread like a spiderweb.