Lu Luo touched his chest, relieved that the Ghoul's attack had merely been a collision. If it had been a claw strike, the damage would have been unimaginable. Blood loss and cold were extremely unpleasant negative statuses.
As Lu Luo caressed his wound, the Ghoul charged at him again. He intended to raise his hands to block, but his body stiffened once more.
"You still haven't answered my question, Lu Luo!"
The revolting nature of the Specter Species was even more outrageous than Lu Luo had imagined, but this time, he was prepared.
He had already thrown his sharpened cleaver. Having been wounded by it several times, the Ghoul hesitated. Even though it lacked a brain, its survival instincts were still present.
A few seconds later, Lu Luo finally broke free from Yuan Jingkong's hold. He burst through the door and rushed outside.
The warm environment outdoors quickly revived him.
The space here was large enough that even if Yuan Jingkong tried to lower the temperature, it was unlikely to succeed. Even if it could, the cost would not be insignificant.
Although temporarily safe, Lu Luo had also lost his weapon. Barehanded against a Second Tier Aberration, even with his strong physique, he had no chance of winning.
"[Your current condition is extremely poor, and it's not sensible to engage in close combat with a Second Tier Aberration.]"
The Observer's advice was sound; melee combat was indeed not a good choice at this moment.
Humans, unlike Exotic Species, do not possess claws—a fundamental difference in natural weaponry.
The Ghoul charged at him again, its claws grazing his forehead. As several severed strands of hair drifted into Lu Luo's vision, a second claw struck out.
Lu Luo consecutively dodged its claw attacks over a dozen times, occasionally counterattacking with his fists.
But such attacks were meaningless against an Aberration, just as the Observer had indicated, akin to playfully pounding one's chest with small fists.
Four points of strength were indeed formidable for an ordinary person, but he was facing an Aberration.
Moreover, he only possessed pure physical strength and had not mastered Dark Energy, resulting in even less damage inflicted on the Aberration.
Lu Luo scanned his surroundings. He didn't see anything that could be transformed into a weapon using Fusioner, and even if there was, he didn't have enough energy at the moment.
While pondering, he continued to dodge the Ghoul's claws. Lu Luo had already begun to conserve his stamina, giving up on attacking.
If I use steel wire, it's not impossible, but steel wire has very specific environmental requirements. Plus, with my remaining energy, I can only perform one precise operation. Forget it, let's try the steel wire! There are no other options now anyway.
"[Yuan Jingkong is approaching. Fortunately, it moves slowly. This lower-tier, spectral-type Specter Species doesn't possess high-speed movement. Run, Lu Xiaoluo! If you don't shake off Yuan Jingkong, you'll just die here.]"
"Got it!"
Lu Luo kicked the Ghoul away and turned to sprint toward a nearby column.
Although a column lacked the destructive power of the stairwell, it offered more opportunities and fewer restrictions.
His strength was now far greater than before. As long as he could successfully garrote it, he wouldn't need the inertia and impact force from the stairwell.
Lu Luo stood next to the column and beckoned to the Ghoul.
"Come here, I'm going to take you down today!"
Normally, Ghouls did not experience emotions like anger, but perhaps Lu Luo's expression was too vivid. After hearing his provocation, the Ghoul immediately roared and charged at him.
"[It's coming! It's coming! It's striding this way!]"
Confident, Lu Luo sidestepped the Ghoul's attack, stepped on its thigh, and wrapped his arms around its neck.
"Steel wire!"
"[Seven energy points consumed for one Object Transformation: Iron Sheet - Steel Wire]"
After looping the thin steel wire around the Ghoul's neck, Lu Luo immediately tightened it. He wrapped the other end of the wire around the column and activated Fusioner again.
"Gear."
"[Twelve energy points consumed for one Object Transformation: Iron Sheet - Gear]"
Just like that, a new device incorporating a lever, gear, and steel wire rope appeared in Lu Luo's hands. He pulled the steel wire rope taut and sprinted, employing the same technique he had used to kill the mechanical shark.
CLICK!
Soon, he heard an object tumbling—the sound of the Ghoul's head falling off.
"[Lu Xiaoluo, your combat skills are becoming increasingly proficient. It's a pity there's no S-rank combat evaluation reward for this. I'll give you a thumbs-up for now! Another Aberration has appeared to your front-left. Given your current state, do you want to continue?]"
"Again?"
Lu Luo, who had just slain the Ghoul, hadn't yet had the chance to deal with the corpse or recover energy when a second Ghoul appeared!
His stamina, energy, and overall condition were all terrible. The Observer was right; this time, he was genuinely preparing to run away.
"GRAH!" The Ghoul lunged straight for Lu Luo, and by a stroke of bad luck, Yuan Jingkong arrived at that moment.
This time, while Yuan Jingkong didn't bind Lu Luo's entire body, it managed to ensnare one of his legs.
"Lu Luo, I've come for you again!" Yuan Jingkong's voice once again echoed in his ears.
"Get lost!" Lu Luo was exasperated by Yuan Jingkong. He felt utterly powerless against this type of spectral monster at the moment.
Lu Luo clenched his fists tightly. At this distance, he no longer had time to think about how to break free from Yuan Jingkong; he had to face the Ghoul's approaching claws.
Gripping the steel wire firmly with his fingertips, he thought, A second one, then? So be it. After killing this one, I should have enough energy to synthesize the Wraith Blade.
Staring at the Ghoul, Lu Luo began to calculate the angle for slitting its throat.
At this point, my only option is to trade an injury for the kill. It's risky, but it's the most efficient way. Only by finishing off this Ghoul can I figure out how to deal with Yuan Jingkong.
Lu Luo temporarily held his breath, calmly observing the Ghoul's attack angle, recalling the sensation from when he had activated the Observer's overclock mode.
His usually sharp eyes narrowed further and further, then suddenly snapped open.
"On the left!"
Lu Luo twisted his body in an awkward manner, letting the Ghoul's claw pierce his right shoulder. Simultaneously, his other arm wrapped around the Ghoul's neck.
He had no energy left. This time, he had to rely solely on himself!
SWOOSH!
The steel wire tightened instantaneously. Lu Luo, having just broken free from Yuan Jingkong's hold, performed an aerial split, his toes pressing against the steel wire.
Applying additional force with both hands, he drove the wire deeper into the flesh of the Ghoul's neck.
The Ghoul's elongated tongue kept flicking across Lu Luo's face. Soon, his face was smeared with blood, giving him a ferocious appearance.
"Die!"
The wire sliced into Lu Luo's hands, pressing against bone, as he finally severed the Ghoul's head, killing another one.
"Phew! Just one left."
Compared to the Ghoul, while Yuan Jingkong's abilities were bizarre, it posed no substantial physical threat and moved very slowly. Facing it alone wasn't particularly dangerous.
Just as he was preparing to inspect the Ghoul's corpse, Chu Qi's voice came from a distance.
"Lu Luo, let me!"
"[From her angle, she probably can't see that the Ghoul is already down. Maybe she wants to play the hero. Don't misunderstand, the 'hero' here refers to that girl named Chu Qi, and the 'beauty' refers to you.]"
As Lu Luo moved aside, four consecutive gunshots—BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!—rang out, each accurately striking the Ghoul's body.
As blood splattered, the headless corpse of the Ghoul slumped to the ground.
Chu Qi is probably from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals... But why would she help me? Lu Luo was puzzled.