novel
| ← Ch.022 | Ch.024 → |
Zheng's eyes were bloody red. Whether it was from the anger he felt or Lan's blood, he didn't know. When the girl disappeared around the corner, he charged forward. However, he used too much strength and ran into the wall.
His enhanced reaction speed saved him at that moment. Everything slowed down, and he felt like every movement took a great deal of energy even with his physical fitness. His body felt as if it was going to tear up. The ground, air, even the wall; there was seemingly a force from every object pulling on his body to prevent him from moving too fast. He had never experienced this phenomenon before.
So when he reached close to the wall, the air felt so condensed, like it was liquid. He could even step on the air and jump at the wall. Then he kicked on the wall to make the turn. The first thing he saw was an Alien dragging Lan. This Alien was a size smaller than the one before but it was still over two meters tall and three meters in length. It dragged Lan towards the deeper end of the hall. The girl's left shoulder was crushed. Her body filled with blood. There was only despair and a hint of longing in her eyes.
Zheng suddenly understood that longing. It was the hope for life and future. Even though he never saw his own eyes, he knew when he was in a hopeless situation he must have had that hint of longing in his eyes. He was certain of it!
In Zheng's eyes, Lan's image became Xiaoyi's, about to get ripped apart and become a pile of flesh. Or it became himself. When he gets dragged by an Alien, he would have the same despair and longing, then get ripped apart... He doesn't want this! He had to save this girl no matter what!
"Ahh!" Zheng screamed like a madman. He could almost see every movement the Alien made as everything slowed down. The jump he made off the wall shot him straight towards the Alien.
This all happened in an instant. From Lan's perspective, Zheng charged at the wall then kicked at it in a weird angle. That kick made a muffled sound, and embedded two footprints on the steel wall. Then, he disappeared from her eyes. She couldn't follow that kind of speed.
Zheng reached the Alien. He could see the saliva dripping off its mouth, and that long tongue. He swung his steel bar at its tongue with pinpoint accuracy. With a dull sound, Lan fell on the floor. The Alien started to scream like crazy. Acid sprayed from its broken tongue. The tongue was cut in half.
It wasn't over yet. Zheng screamed along with the Alien. He lost all sense. His eyes were bloody red and filled with frenzy. It may have been the blood of Lan, or they'd really turned red.
As Zheng landed behind the Alien, he swung at its back. With a sound of metals colliding, the steel bar got bent. Though the Alien did not look good either. The exoskeleton on its back cracked and acid poured out from the wound. At this point, the ground was filled with craters from the acid.
The Alien's speed was just as fast. Even when Zheng felt the surroundings slow down, he was only on par with the Alien's speed. When the Alien swiped at him with its claw, he could barely raise his arm to block it in time. With a loud sound, the impact knocked him to the ground, and the whole hall vibrated. Blood poured down from his head from the impact.
Zheng fought for his life at this point. He didn't have a shell as tough as the Alien's exoskeleton. When he blocked the swipe, it left a few holes on his arm. Not only that, but the Alien was so powerful that when Zheng's head hit the ground he almost fainted. He bit his tongue at that moment, the pain from it keeping him awake.
He didn't even plan to get up. He pulled another steel bar from his back and swung it with all he had at the Alien's feet. His physical strength and the buff from Qi knocked the Alien to the ground. As the Alien fell, it raised its tail and stabbed at Zheng's leg. The Alien's combat instincts were so strong, it lived up to being a species that evolved for killing and survival.
Zheng's mind went blank. He felt as if his body was moving on its own. Countless instincts for combat rose to his mind. He dodged to the side then rolled back, which pulled his leg away from the tail. Then he kicked at the ground and jumped at the Alien, while he stabbed at its mouth with the steel bar.
He let go of the bar in the Alien's mouth and pulled another one from his back. He kept stabbing at the Alien's head with it, non-stop, even when the acid from the Alien's blood sprayed all over his body. He looked like he'd gone insane and wanted to tear the Alien to pieces. Fortunately Lan reacted in time. She ignored her injuries and jumped at Zheng. She knocked both of them to the ground a few meters away. That's when Zheng slowly woke up.
The front of his body felt painful and a burning sensation. He quickly took off all his clothes and attempted to wipe off the acid on his body. The acid caused a sizzling sound on the ground and corroded the steel like melting ice. Yet, Zheng's skin only turned slightly dark. There was no sign of corrosion, which surprised Lan quite a bit.
As Lan stopped his bleeding with the haemostasis spray, she said with a light voice, "It's great to be alive. Thank you... But why isn't there any injuries on your skin? The Alien's blood should be highly acidic.""Maybe it's because I have high stats in cell vitality and immunization. At least my skin is burned dark by the acid."
As he tried to take out another haemostasis spray from his ring, his whole body went into a seizure. A painful and paralyzing sensation started from his internal organs, like countless ants crawling on them. Then this pain spread to his bones and marrow, before it moved along with his blood to the skin. Gradually all he could see was whiteness, and he felt as if he was about to die.
'Just think about it. Apes reached this limit and became human, then what will humans become when we reach it?'
'Needs a substance similar to the epinephrine hormone that can only be produced by the human body. The crucial point is... it's a poison. You probably heard of stories like a mother lifting a car to save her son. This actually happened but this woman died soon afterward. Scientists found a micro amount of this substance in her blood. '
'... Genetic constraint... '
Zheng remembered Xuan's words on the genetic constraint. He didn't know if he accidentally unlocked this genetic constraint, but he knew that he was struggling on the brink of death. The seizure in his internal organs was getting stronger, and blood bled through his mouth and nose. Then his lungs also started to have seizures. He could barely breathe in any air. He opened his mouth wide while struggling to breathe.
Lan reacted instantly. She held onto Zheng's body and put her lips on his, trying to give him air. After about ten seconds, Zheng's internal organs slowly calmed down, then his lungs also started to breath, the pain in his skin fading. But Lan didn't know and continued giving him air. At the same time she also wept and mumbled, "Don't die. Please. Don't leave me alone. Please stay alive with me..."
| ← Ch. 022 | Ch. 024 → |