Chapter 8: Attack and Defense Reversed
Phew—, temporarily safe!
Lin Yue looked down and saw over ten mutant dogs lunge at nothing, heavily slamming into Black Tortoise's shell, making a thudding "bang bang"; they could only futilely jump and howl below, unable to even reach the shell's edge.
Huff… huff…
Lin Yue braced his knees, gasping violently, yet a fierce, delighted grin spread across his face.
Excellent…… now we've swapped attack and defense!
He glanced over and saw, not far away, a section of steel pipe jutting out from the concrete rubble, as thick as a child's arm, about 1.5 meters long, its broken end forming a sharp bevel.
He carefully lowered himself, and with a exertion of his right hand, he firmly grasped the 1.5‑meter steel pipe.
Just now, wasn't it exhilarating chasing them?
Lin Yue hefted the weighty steel pipe in his hand, the corners of his mouth curling into a grim arc.
Now……
My turn!
As his words fell, he slammed the 1.5‑meter steel pipe down hard at the mutant dogs below!
Pfft!
The sharp broken end of the pipe pierced the mutant dog's skull without resistance, pinning it firmly to the ground.
That mutant dog lost consciousness before it could even struggle.
Blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere, the scene extremely gruesome.
This gruesome sight caused the surrounding mutant dogs to momentarily stir.
But Lin Yue gave them no time to react.
He pulled the pipe free, bringing a spray of blood, then raised it high again, locking onto the next target.
Bang!
Another dull thud sounded, and the second mutant dog collapsed.
With Black Tortoise protecting him, Lin Yue had no worry for his own safety; he only needed to kill the mutant dogs below.
Raising the pipe and smashing the mutant dogs, his efficiency was extremely high.
Each swing took away one mutant dog.
Just as Lin Yue himself had said, the roles of attack and defense had been reversed!
At first, the mutant dog pack attacked frenziedly out of their bloodthirsty instinct.
But as the corpses of their companions piled up beneath their feet, and as this human harvested them one after another, these mutant dogs, who originally knew nothing of fear, finally felt fear!
Behind the pack, the largest mutant dog leader let out a restless, anxious growl.
In its pair of grim‑green eyes, the emotion of "fear" appeared for the first time.
It couldn't understand why its minions couldn't harm that giant turtle, or why this seemingly weak prey, once atop the giant turtle's back, would become so terrifying.
Lin Yue's motion never paused; the pipe, whistling through the air, came down again, snapping the spine of a mutant dog trying to flee.
Aooo——!!!
Finally, the leader let out a long, unwilling howl.
That was the signal to retreat.
The remaining over‑ten mutant dogs, as if pardoned, instantly ceased attacking, tucked their tails, and fled head‑down into the depths of the street, vanishing in an instant into the shadows of the ruins.
The whole world fell silent in an instant.
Only Lin Yue's heavy breathing remained, along with the "drip‑drip" of blood falling from the pipe.
He gazed at the corpses littering the ground, then at his blood‑soaked pipe; he felt as if he'd been fished out of water, his clothes soaked with sweat.
Although Lin Yue now felt he had no strength left and was covered in wounds, he was extremely glad, for he had survived.
Lin Yue planted the heavy pipe on the turtle's back, propping up his nearly exhausted body as he jumped down from Black Tortoise.
Only when his feet touched solid ground did he truly feel the relief of having survived.
His arms were sore and numb, trembling; each breath tugged at his burning muscles all over.
He lowered his gaze to the ground; the edge of Black Tortoise's shell was ringed with a circle of mutant dog corpses, roughly over twenty in number.
Well done, big guy.
Lin Yue gasped, reaching out to pat the cold shell beneath him.
Black Tortoise's throat emitted a low gurgle, as if responding.
It slowly turned its massive head, its ancient, simple eyes rubbing against Lin Yue's pant leg, showing a hint of closeness.
Taking stock of the gains.
He muttered to himself, walking toward the first mutant dog corpse.
This was the one he had beaten to death with his own baton.
He placed his hand on the monster's cold corpse, silently chanting:
Absorb.
【Detected deceased lifeform (Grade‑1 Mutant Dog), no Energy Crystal detected, absorbed ambient energy, gained 1 point of energy.】
As expected, not every one has it.
Lin Yue wasn't surprised.
If every Grade‑1 Mutant Beast could produce a 10‑point energy crystal, that would be too easy.
He moved on to the next corpse, the one Black Tortoise had bitten to death.
【Detected deceased lifeform (Grade‑1 Mutant Dog), Grade‑1 Energy Crystal detected, absorb?】
Yes!
【Absorbed Grade‑1 Energy Crystal, gained 10 points of energy.】
Lin Yue's spirits lifted—this second mutant dog already had an energy crystal; just now he had killed over twenty mutant dogs in total, and at this rate Black Tortoise would be able to advance immediately!
But ideals are beautiful, reality is always cruel.
"Absorb!"
【……Absorb scattered energy, gain 1 point of energy.】
"Absorb!"
【……Absorb scattered energy, gain 1 point of energy.】
……
A succession of seven or eight corpses each provided only a negligible amount of scattered energy.
Lin Yue frowned slightly; the drop rate of energy crystals was lower than he had expected.
Just as he had just found energy crystals to be scarce,
"Absorb!"
【Detected dead lifeform (Level 1 Mutant Dog), detected Level 1 Energy Crystal, absorb?】
Another one!
Lin Yue felt a surge of joy and continued to the next one.
【Detected dead lifeform (Level 1 Mutant Dog), detected Level 1 Energy Crystal, absorb?】
【Detected dead lifeform (Level 1 Mutant Dog), detected Level 1 Energy Crystal, absorb?】
Three in a row!
"Not bad luck."
Lin Yue's breathing grew somewhat ragged.
In the end, over twenty corpses contributed a total of four intact Level 1 Energy Crystals, plus several points of scattered energy.
He immediately pulled up the system interface.
【Host: Lin Yue】
【Pet: Black Tortoise】
【Species: Black Iron Mystic Armor Turtle】
……
【Required for advancement to Level 2: 92/100 energy points.】
"Ninety-two points! Only eight points short!"
Lin Yue felt a bit regretful.
But this also means that as long as he kills one more Level 1 Mutant Beast that can drop an energy crystal, or gathers enough scattered energy from a few ordinary monsters, Black Tortoise can immediately advance to Level 2!
By then, Black Tortoise's size, strength, and defense will all be considerably stronger than at Level 1.
His survival capital in this apocalypse will also increase greatly!
……
At the same time, on the roof of the six-story residential building.
A man with a ferocious scar on his face slowly lowered his military binoculars; his eyes were icy cold.
"Boss, how is it? Has that kid finished his business?"
Behind him, a thin, monkey‑like man stepped forward and obsequiously offered a cigarette.
The scar‑faced man didn't take it, merely using his calloused hand to lightly rub the waist‑worn, gleaming machete, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"It's over."
"That kid…… is a tough character. One person, one turtle, he's slaughtered over half the mutant dog pack."
The thin man's tone carried a hint of lingering fear.
"That turtle……"
Greed burst uncontrollably in the scar‑faced man's eyes; he licked his chapped lips and said, word by word:
"It's a treasure."
He had seen many mutant beasts—ferocious, bizarre, powerful, too many to count.
But he had never seen anything like Black Tortoise.
Its indestructible defense, respectable attack, and ability to be tamed by humans.
In this apocalypse, such a pet means a trump card that can sweep aside all opposition!
"Boss, that kid isn't easy to provoke, we……"
The thin man hesitated a little.
"Hmph."
The scar‑faced man gave a cold snort, cutting him off, his eyes full of contempt,
"No matter how fierce, he's still just one person. Two fists can't fight four hands—he'll understand that soon enough."
He turned away, no longer looking toward Lin Yue, as if the prey were already in his bag.
He turned to his companions and, in an unquestionable tone, quietly ordered:
"That turtle is a treasure—find a way, bring it over."
End of Chapter
