"When did this decline start, and how long can you hold out?"
"It began right after I finished eating. Based on the current situation, I think I can hold on for about 10 more minutes."
Hearing Zhou Kai's response, Lu Luo fell into contemplation. Zhou Kai's evil-warding petty energy wasn't just for driving away evil spirits. In a sense, it could even act like radar. Its continuous decline meant that the evil-warding petty energy was constantly protecting Zhou Kai from some kind of danger, so the threat had always been there, right by his side.
If the hidden danger beside him can be neutralized by the evil-warding petty energy, that only suggests that the danger isn't of a direct physical nature.
As Lu Luo pondered, a loud "BOOM!" resounded, causing a huge dent in the rest area's door.
"HISS! HISS! HISS!" Strange sounds came from outside the door, sounding eerily like the hissing of some kind of monster.
[At the moment, there's no way to determine the type of the entity based on the sound, but it can be confirmed, with high probability, that it's not human.]
"Do you really need to state the obvious?" Lu Luo said irritably.
Lu Luo, whose strength had reached 4.0, grabbed a table and the folded iron bed, dragging them over to barricade the door. He then braced the door with one foot.
By his side, Zhou Kai panicked, pressing himself against the wall, and asked Lu Luo, "What's the situation, Brother Luo?"
"Not clear. Maybe it's just a giant cockroach."
"Are you joking? Since when are cockroaches that big?"
"You know I'm joking and you still ask me? How would I know what that thing is!"
"BOOM!" The second impact hit. The door, along with the iron bed, table, and Lu Luo's body, were all pushed back a little.
Judging solely by strength, the entity outside was far stronger than Lu Luo. However, it was still weaker than the deformed species from last time.
Fortunately, if it's only this level of strength and its speed is reasonable, I should be able to deal with it.
Lu Luo wasn't panicked by the attacks. He knew he needed to clear his thoughts about what was happening.
This is Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals' rest area, and the danger emerged near midnight, just after we were rescued from the Exotic Species mutation incident. Assuming Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals orchestrated this incident, we would normally be absorbed into its fold like guinea pigs. However, due to Gu Fangyi's outright refusal, neither Zhou Kai nor I signed the new contract. Furthermore, both Gu Fangyi and I surmised at the Security Bureau that the incident wasn't the act of an individual. Thus, the three of us have become a certain threat to Blue Sky Biotech Company. Eliminating us could significantly reduce the risks associated with this issue and would be an excellent execution plan. According to the beneficiary principle, if you analyze the event and identify who ultimately benefits from it, that entity is inevitably the perpetrator. So, the ones attacking us are from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals—they want to silence us! Is Chu Qi involved too?
Lu Luo's analysis had no evidence, but he didn't need any. He wasn't about to tattle to the Security Bureau, as evidence was meaningless to him.
[Your analysis is quite something; even I'm almost convinced by it. Kudos from the great Observer Sequence to the host's agile mind. However, you'd better get ready. The room's temperature is dropping, and the air has stopped circulating. It must be some ability that has invaded this place, not the one outside.]
Is this a second Exotic Species? The hidden-danger type that Zhou Kai encountered? Did it come through the damaged door? Other than the drop in temperature, I don't feel anything else. Could it be a Specter Species? Didn't Zhou Kai say his evil-warding petty energy could hold out for 10 minutes! Is this jerk bullshitting?
"Brother Kane, someone's trying to kill us, using Exotic Species to do it. Get ready."
"What did you say? How could anyone use Exotic Species?"
Seeing Zhou Kai feign surprise, Lu Luo found it amusing. If this guy were really that obtuse, he wouldn't have come running to cling to my coattails the moment something happened. Lu Luo looked at Zhou Kai with a half-smile.
"Brother Kane, we've shed blood together. Cut the act at a time like this; it's pointless."
Zhou Kai's mouth twitched, knowing Lu Luo had seen through his thoughts.
"Fine, I know it's Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. But do they really need to go this far? All we did was reject their revised contract—we still have the student aid contract, don't we? Are they really resorting to murder over this?"
"You've got it wrong. We're not just their student aid recipients now; we're also survivors of the Exotic Species incident. If they can't recruit us, then silencing us is naturally the best approach. If they've truly mastered the method of creating Exotic Species, killing us would cost them almost nothing in legal repercussions. They can just blame it all on Exotic Species mutations."
"So what do we do now? Are we supposed to just sit here and wait to die?"
If it were the old Lu Luo, he would have been clueless at a time like this. But the Lu Luo of today had nearly reached an attribute score of 5 across the board. His physical condition was even stronger than many First Tier Transcendents, so he decided to deal with the current situation in a more direct manner. Lu Luo was in need of energy, and the appearance of Exotic Species, despite the danger, presented a huge opportunity.
"Of course we're not waiting to die. We'll kill them, just like we did back at the 404 Exhibition Hall."
At that moment, a somewhat faint voice responded to Lu Luo.
"It's so cold, Lu Luo!"
"Yeah, it is cold, but we still need to hang in there. Our adversary might be a Specter Species—tough to handle. Brother Kane, be careful."
"What do you mean, cold? Who are you talking to? Don't scare me, Brother Luo! Is there someone else here? Is a Specter Species something like a ghost? Can you clarify a bit more? I really hate horror stories."
Zhou Kai's voice now had a whine to it; clearly, he really detested horror stories.
Zhou Kai's sudden outburst caught Lu Luo off guard. If the one speaking now was Zhou Kai, then who said 'it's so cold' just now?
He turned his head to look behind him. There was nothing; everything seemed normal. But when Lu Luo looked into the mirror behind him, his fist unconsciously clenched.
There was no one in the mirror—indeed, no one. Not even himself.
[Specter Species—if I was only suspicious before, now I'm 100 percent certain. But since it hasn't materialized, I can't pinpoint what kind of Exotic Species it is. Specter Species might not be the strongest type of Exotic Species, but their abilities are definitely the most peculiar.]
It's taken over the mirror, huh? Now I'm caught between two fronts. This is annoying.
Fighting off the monster outside the door while also having to watch out for the mirror behind him was undeniably a terrible situation.
Lu Luo grabbed the phone in the rest area, but as soon as he picked it up, that ghostly voice appeared again.
"Are you trying to call someone? You can tell me their name; I'll help you!"
"Damn! Even the phone's compromised."