The danger really woke up when the night was enveloping the ruins. The mutated creatures that emerged from day to night wandered in the darkness, creeping in from all sides with strange howls mixed with the rustling of whatever crawled across the rubble. With Lena's wrist in his hand, Ryan used Alicia's perceptual warning to avoid several waves of danger through the broken walls and finally found a place to stay - the control room of a semi-underground substation. The heavy metal door made a dull clang as it pushed up, and there was no enclosed space for the windows, which was finally a relief.
Lying in a corner, holding a worn bear doll, Lena soon fell asleep with exhaustion and fear, breathing as light as a feather. Leaning against the cold metal door, Ryan did not dare to relax. With his eyes closed, he ran the Stargazing Ideas in his head, slowly regaining the energy he had spent during the day, while trying to squeeze the rhythm of "time acceleration" better - the silver dots at his fingertips stopped floating, and he could follow his thoughts halfway around his knuckles.
Alicia's shadow floated in the middle of the room, not as if it needed a rest. She kept her eyes closed, and the light blue streaks swayed gently around her, as if listening to something.
"The girl's potential is deeper than it looks." She spoke suddenly, and the sound went straight into Ryan's head, afraid to wake Lena,"Pure as unadulterated life energy, it is rarely found in us. Use it well. she can treat you well... A shield."
Ryan opened his eyes and glanced at Lena, who was sleeping restlessly and frowning. His voice was low:"She's a person, not a tool. I'll teach her how to live, but I won't 'take advantage' of her."
Alicia snorted without approval, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice:"Feel free to do whatever you want. But in this world, hearts that are too soft and those that break those boundaries tend to die faster. I hope you don't regret it when you do."
It was just beginning to light, with a faint gray-blue light, and the three of them were on their way again - if Alicia's shadow was a human being. With Lena, the speed was much slower. When she took a few steps, her legs would become weak and she had to be supported by Ryan. But soon her usefulness was evident: when Ryan was clearing the twisted vine that was blocking his way, he was stuck in a bloody hole by a stabbing in the vine. Lena hurried over, her palms glowing pale green. With a touch, the wound stopped the blood, and even the swelling in her arm was lighter.
"Thank you, Lena." Ryan spoke sincerely.
Lena's face went red to the roots of her ear. Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's: "If only I could help..." It was the first time, so long after the disaster, that she felt she wasn't a liability and could really help someone.
Central Park used to be the green lung of the city, but now it's become a man-eating jungle. The tree grew stiffly, its limbs covered with glowing vines, and even the air carried a sweet, putrid smell that made people dizzy. Ryan followed the guidance of the system's map, pushed through the giant ferns that blocked the way, and inched toward the central Music Fountain Square.
The square is no longer what it used to be. The bottom of the dry water fountain was cracked, the once-bright lights fell to the ground and were wrapped in a ball by vines, and even the sculpture of an angel in the middle broke its head and fell to the side of the water.
Warning: Spacetime energy fluctuations are increasing, and guardian biology is active.]
[Target confirmation: A crystal in space-time, located in the northeast corner of the bottom of the main fountain pool.]
The instant the system prompt flashed, Ryan made a hasty gesture and the three squatted behind the statue of the broken-headed angel. Looking through the gap in the sculpture, there was a silver-blue light in the crack in the northeast corner of the pool floor - a crystal of space-time. But before he could be pleased, he saw three monsters circle around the crystal circle, like watching a show.
The thing was about the size of a wolfdog. Its skin was dark purple and covered with stone bumps. There were no eyes on its face. It was just a huge sucking cavity, opening and closing, full of fine teeth. The short, thick legs had sharp claws that creaked on stones and made them look unpleasant.
"It's a variant of the 'energy-eating beast'." Alicia's voice sank a little, heavy with silk,"It's because space-time energy is leaking out and changing them. The thing is particularly sensitive to energy and has a hard skin, and the weakness may be in the throat or the energy core - usually right underneath the nausea."
Three to one, still a monster you don't know. Ryan quickly made plans in his head:"Lena, stay here. Don't make a noise. Don'T use power. They can smell energy. I'll work with Alicia to fix them."
Lena nodded vigorously, her hand pressed tightly to her mouth, her eyes tense.
"How do I fight?" Ryan asked Alicia.
"Just be simple. I use an occult shock to steer one away. You use time to accelerate and solve the other two first. Remember, focus on the critical issues, save energy and time, and don't delay."
With the plan in place, Ryan took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the machete he'd snatched from the vulture's help - much more than a steel pipe and sharper.
Alicia pressed an almost invisible ball of magical energy on the tip of her finger and silently threw it at the farthest powerful beast. There was a small crack, and the energy ball exploded, not hurting it, but irritating it. The energy-eating beast gave a low growl, turned in the direction the energy was coming, and slowly moved this way, a little farther away from the other two.
It's now!
Ryan ran out from behind the sculpture like a cheetah and headed for the nearest powerful beast. At the same time, "time acceleration" poured into the legs, and the feet went much faster at once, and stones splashed underfoot.
The phablet had just sensed the movement and turned its head. Rayne's machete had already struck with a trace of silver light - the energy attached to space-time. It was so fast that it didn't hide.
"Puzzling!"
The point of the knife fell directly into its open suction receptacle, almost breaking the head in half. Dark purple blood sprayed Ryan's pants, and the thing twitched twice and stopped moving.
Another enabling beast reacted, screaming and pounding at it, its mouth open, and a foul smell of blood hit its face.
"Go to the left!" Alicia's voice sounded like a reflex.
Ryan rolled to the left at once. The rock hurt his back and the powerful beast flung itself out of sight. But before he could get up, he heard footsteps behind him - the one that had been led away was back, too, and the two monsters stood right and left, holding him in the middle.
"Please!" Ryan bit his teeth, his spirits tight. Time going back is two chances, and you can't use them at will.
Using the speed of time, he flickered between the two beasts' bites. From time to time, his machete scratched holes in them, but it only scratched the skin and couldn't hurt the damage - the skin was so hard.
"They attack on a regular basis! The one on the left takes half a second to lunge, and the one on the right loves to sweep with his paw!"Alicia's voice was fast. "Find a chance. Fix it together!"
Ryan knows what he knows. He deliberately slowed the film halfway and sold a punch. The powerful beast on the left lunged at him and scratched his face with its paws. Rayne's eyes lit up, and he filled his hand with the acceleration of time, slashing the machete first, directly into its mouthpiece, and stabbing deeper - probably to the core of energy - and the enabling beast stopped moving.
But at that moment, the right-handed claw struck his waist! Ryan twisted around quickly, but once again he was cut in a bloody hole that made him gasp in pain.
"It's now!" Alicia called out.
Resistance to the pain, Ryan swung his machete aside with the force of his twisting back - slamming it with the weight of the dead animal into the neck of the right.
"click!" The sound of a bone breaking can be heard with toothpaste. The omnipotamus on the right gave a whimper and fell to the ground, kicking its legs twice before moving.
The battle is finally over. Ryan leaned on the knife, gasping for air. The wound in his waist was burning, his mental strength was running out, and his eyes were a little dark.
Lena ran to him quickly, her hands green and pressed gently against his wound. The coolness spread. The wound soon stopped hurting and even the strength came back.
"Thank you, Lena." Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and said it sincerely.
He went to the bottom of the jet pool, picked up the broken rocks, and finally saw the crystals of space-time. Just the size of a pigeon egg, it has an irregular shape, and it looks like a silver-blue river spinning inside. It's so beautiful that you can't move your eyes.
He reached out and touched, and the crystal instantly turned into a gush of warm energy that ran down his fingertips into his body, warm.
[Ding!Successfully absorbed "crystals of space-time."]
[Newbie task "Familiar Forces" completes!]
[Prize award: Time-backed skills cooling time reduced by 10%.Unlocking new skills: time accelerates (beginner) proficiency increases.]
Space-time affinity has improved significantly! The Astrospheric Idea improves its efficiency!]
[The degree of stability of Alicia's soul is slightly improved.]
Ryan could feel that he was more sensitive to the energy of space and time around him, and the energy circulation in his body was faster. Beside Alicia, the shadow seemed to solidify again. She nodded, and there was a slight satisfaction in her voice. "It wasn't a waste of time."
But before Ryan could pull Lena away, the system interface suddenly popped up. This time the frame was glaring red. The warning sounded loud in my head!
Warning! High-intensity void energy response was detected quickly approached!]
[Source analysis: unknown higher vacuum creature - a "predator!"]
Danger Level: Very High! Evacuation is recommended immediately! Repeat, evacuate now!]
In the distant sky, a small black dot was growing rapidly, and a horrible pressure that made the scalp prickly appear like a tide, leaving people breathless.
Ryan's face went white and he grabbed Lena's hand, which she wasn't aware of yet.
"Run!"
(End of this chapter)