Chapter 51 Warehouse Monster

Lin Yan deftly pried open the mutated spider's hard head shell, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a fist-sized, jet-black crystal core with what appeared to be a faint green light shimmering inside.

She wiped it on a rag and handed it to Ruan Ning, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating.

"Here, this thing feels pretty powerful," Lin Yan said, her eyes showing a hint of barely perceptible admiration as she looked at Ruan Ning. The strength and decisiveness Ruan Ning displayed in the previous battle had won her over.

Ruan Ning took the crystal core and immediately felt a cold and violent energy fluctuation, far exceeding those she had collected before.

She nodded without saying much, and immediately took out the few ordinary mutated crystal cores and level-two zombie crystal cores she had obtained in the previous battle. She held them in her palm, closed her eyes, concentrated, and began to fully circulate her supernatural energy to absorb them.

The pure energy flowed like a stream into her nearly dried-up meridians, rapidly replenishing her depleted energy. In particular, the crystal core of the level-two mental zombie was of great benefit in restoring her severely depleted mental strength.

Her pale face regained a rosy hue at a visible speed, and the faint moisture around her began to circulate again.

Meanwhile, the soldiers began carefully cutting the hanging spider cocoons.

The scene was heartbreaking.

Most of the cocoons contain the remains of long-rotted zombies or mutated animals, while some are unfortunate survivors who were found dead, their bodies shriveled, as if they had been drained of nutrients.

Only from the two outermost cocoons came extremely faint groans.

The soldiers quickly rescued the two survivors.

They were a young couple, emaciated and severely dehydrated, with deep bloody marks from the spider silk binding their bodies, but they were still alive. The military doctor immediately stepped forward to provide emergency treatment and rehydration.

About half an hour later, Ruan Ning slowly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. Although she hadn't fully recovered to her peak condition, her supernatural abilities and mental strength had recovered to about 70%, at least giving her the ability to continue fighting.

She carefully put away the special spider crystal core. The energy of this crystal core was too enormous and violent, and she needed a safer environment and more energy to try to absorb it.

"Reporting, Captain, the survivors have received emergency treatment and are out of immediate danger. All cocoons have been inspected," a sergeant reported.

The captain frowned as he looked at the two remaining survivors and said in a deep voice, "Send them back to the outer convoy. The rest of you, target—the underground warehouse! Be careful, the warehouse entrance might be even more dangerous!"

The team regrouped. One member was lightly wounded, and two were seriously injured. Including Ruan Ning's squad, twelve members remained combat-ready. They reorganized their equipment and, with caution, headed towards the warehouse area indicated by the shopping center's signs.

The warehouse entrance was located on the basement level. The heavy fireproof roller shutter door was torn open by some enormous force, twisted and gaping open. Inside, it was pitch black, emitting an even stronger musty smell and a strange odor similar to that of stored food.

Ruan Ning took a deep breath, and her mental energy, like tentacles, first probed into the darkness.

“The space inside is very large, with many shelves… there are not many signs of life, but… there are a few with very strong signals, and they seem to be ‘asleep’?” Zhou Min whispered to the others, sharing her perceptions.

The group, in battle formation, cautiously stepped into the darkness.

The beam of the flashlight cut a limited arc in the almost solid darkness, illuminating the mountain of shelves and the scattered clutter on the floor.

The air was thick with years of dust, decaying matter, and a nauseating, fermenting stench. The space was more expansive than I had imagined, like an underground labyrinth.

Zhou Min followed closely beside Ruan Ning, her voice low and tense: "Our senses have been interfered with... The energy field here is very chaotic. There are three of those 'sleeping' signals deep ahead, just to the right, and their energy intensity... is very high, no less than that spider from before."

The captain gestured, and the troops immediately stopped, using the shelves for cover. He whispered, "Ruan Ning, can you identify what it is?"

Ruan Ning closed her eyes and concentrated, her mental energy extending forward like a fine net. After a moment, she opened her eyes, her gaze serious: "Not zombies... Their forms are very strange, like... a mixture of some kind of plant and animal tissue? They are slowly absorbing the residual organic energy in the warehouse, in a low-consumption dormant state."

"A hybrid of plants and animals?" Lin Yan gripped her battle axe tightly. "Just how many other strange things are there in this godforsaken place?!"

"Try to avoid them; our target is the supplies," the captain decided. Avoiding alerting these unknown monsters was the best option.

The team began cautiously making their way deeper into the warehouse, the area where important supplies were typically stored. They tried to move as quietly as possible, avoiding obstacles on the ground, and keeping their flashlight beams as low as possible.

However, just as they were passing through an area filled with barrels of liquid, an accident occurred! A soldier accidentally kicked an empty metal can, making a loud "clang" that sounded like a thunderclap in the deathly silent warehouse!

Almost the instant the sound rang out, the three "sleeping" signals in the depths of darkness ahead were suddenly "awakened"! A violent, hungry mental wave swept over like a tidal wave!

"Roar—!" A deep roar, neither human nor beast, resounded, accompanied by a heavy, dragging sound like roots being pulled on the ground, rapidly approaching!

"Prepare for battle! They've been alerted!" the captain roared, and all the gun barrels instantly pointed in the direction from which the sound came.

The flashlight beam shone brightly, and the monster that appeared made everyone gasp in horror!

Those were three creatures whose forms were indescribable!

It largely retains the outline of a human, but its body surface is covered with a thick, bark-like brown keratin layer, its limbs are twisted and deformed, and tentacles like roots or vines extend from their ends, constantly wriggling.

Their heads lacked distinct facial features, consisting only of a constantly opening and closing cavity filled with sharp teeth, from which flowed a viscous green sap. They resembled human corpses parasitized by some kind of crazed plant, or clumsily mimicking human forms—plant freaks!

"Fire!"

Bullets rained down, but hitting their thick "bark" had little effect, only creating shallow craters from which a little green sap oozed. This only further enraged them!

One of the plant monsters suddenly lashed out with a vine tentacle, whipping across the battlefield with astonishing speed! A soldier, unable to dodge in time, was struck directly in the chest, sent flying backward and crashing into a shelf, his fate unknown!

The other one spewed out a large clump of green, viscous spores from its cavity, which immediately made a hissing, corrosive sound when they touched the shelf!

"Beware of the corrosive spores! Don't let them get close!" Ruan Ning warned sharply, while quickly forming hand seals.

"Water Curtain Barrier!" A wide wall of water rose instantly, blocking most of the corrosive spores that were spraying out. When the spores came into contact with the water curtain, they reacted violently, emitting puffs of white smoke, and the water curtain was also rapidly thinning.

"Lin Yan, Zhou Min, cooperate with me! Take care of the one on the left first!" Ruan Ning spoke quickly; in battle, she was always the calmest commander.

Lin Yan roared and charged forward, her battle axe slashing with immense force at the vine tentacles lashing out at the plant monster from the left! This time, the sharp alloy battle axe successfully pierced the tough plant tissue, though it didn't completely sever it, it still made the monster's movements falter!

Despite her headache, Zhou Min concentrated all her mental energy, transforming it into an invisible hammer, and slammed it down on the plant monster's suspected head!

"Hiss!" The plant monster let out a sharp hiss, its movements becoming noticeably stiff and chaotic!

Now!

Ruan Ning's eyes flashed with a cold light. Instead of using a large-scale skill that consumed a lot of energy, she compressed and shaped her supernatural power to an extreme!

"Mystic Ice Thorn!"

The water molecules in the air were instantly sucked away, condensing in front of her into three ice cones as thick as an arm, crystal clear, and radiating extreme cold! The tips of the ice cones gleamed with a sharp, metallic luster!

"go!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three ice spikes shot out like crossbow bolts, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, with perfect accuracy towards the plant monster controlled by Lin Yan and Zhou Min!

The first one pierced through the joint where its vines were swinging, pinning it firmly to the shelf behind it!

The second root runs through the main "root" that supports its body!

The third, most lethal blow, shot directly into its open cavity and pierced through the back of its head!

Extreme cold energy erupted from within, and the plant monster's massive body was covered in frost at a visible speed, its movements completely frozen. Then, with a "crack," it shattered into frozen plant chunks and stiff flesh tissue scattered all over the ground!

One has been dealt with, but the other two have already broken through the water curtain debris and are closing in! The situation remains critical!

Ruan Ning's face turned even paler; the continuous high-intensity battles and precise control of her supernatural abilities had taken a heavy toll on her.

But her gaze remained resolute. She took a deep breath, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and the remaining water-based abilities and mental power began to intertwine and resonate in a more complex way—

She was going to try a new combination technique, which was very risky, but it was the fastest way to end the fight!

"Lin Yan, Zhou Min, cover me for three seconds!" she whispered.

Without hesitation, Lin Yan and Zhou Min stepped forward, one using her battle axe to desperately block the frenzied attack of a plant monster, while the other unleashed her mental shockwave with all her might to disrupt the other's advance.

Three seconds, gone in the blink of an eye!

Ruan Ning's aura suddenly became dangerous and profound, and she thrust her hands forward violently!

"Mental shockwave and cold wave outbreak!"

An invisible, extremely cold wave, mixed with her powerful mental energy, spread out suddenly from her center, like a circular ripple of death!

This is not a physical freezing, but a chill that directly affects the spirit and energy core of a living organism!

The two ferocious plant monsters suddenly froze, and the "bark" covering their bodies instantly solidified into a thick layer of ice. The green energy flowing inside dimmed and extinguished at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Their violent mental fluctuations vanished suddenly, like a candle flame being extinguished!

"Splash!" "Splash!"

Two grotesque plant-like bodies, instantly frozen to death, lay stiffly on the ground, their surfaces covered in eerie frost, and remained motionless.

Inside the warehouse, a deathly silence returned, broken only by the heavy breathing of the crowd.

Ruan Ning swayed, but Lin Yan caught her with lightning speed. Her forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat; this combination attack had almost drained most of the strength she had just recovered.

The captain and his soldiers stared at the three bizarrely shaped monster corpses on the ground, then at the nearly exhausted Ruan Ning, their eyes filled with shock and gratitude. Without her, this squad might have been wiped out here.

"Quickly, check the wounded! Spatial ability users, gather supplies! We must get out of here as soon as possible!" The captain quickly recovered from his shock and issued the order. No one knew whether this eerie warehouse harbored anything else terrifying.

Ruan Ning leaned against Lin Yan, breathing slightly heavily, her gaze sweeping across the depths of the warehouse. The danger here was temporarily averted, but the danger in Pingzhou City seemed to be deeper and more mysterious than she had anticipated.

She needs power, even greater power.