NFBE Chapter 405 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (16)
Chapter 405 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (16)
Lu Liruan: ...Holy crap!
But now there is no time to think about how this thing is constructed; it has already slowly approached again.
While this thing isn't incredibly fast and impossible to intercept or dodge, its main function is psychological deterrence.
Lu Liruan absolutely refused to let this thing get close to her.
The key point is that nobody knows what would happen if someone were actually hurt or caught by this thing.
What if this thing grabs you and twists you in half at the waist, like a pretzel...?
Neither Lu Liruan nor Liao Tingyuan dared to gamble.
But this thing seems to have no sense of pain at all; no matter how much it is attacked, it can still continue to move.
Methods that could render someone immobile seemed to have no effect on him...
This thing is definitely not human; it's just a rotting, stinking mass of flesh still held together by a skeleton.
Not only visually, but also olfactorily, Lu Liruan felt like she was going crazy.
It really stinks!
Moreover, it's not something you can adapt to. Generally speaking, when people are in an unpleasant odor, they will gradually adapt after the first few minutes, and even if they find it unpleasant, they can tolerate it.
But the smell was completely unbearable. Lu Liruan felt her nasal cavity burning, as if the smell itself had a scorching effect...
"Liao Tingyuan! Think of something!" Lu Liruan suddenly ducked down and slipped away from the thing again, but the thing flashed and blocked Lu Liruan's way.
This prevented Lu Liruan from running downstairs.
"Don't run downstairs!"
Liao Tingyuan saw through her intention and spoke up to stop her: "We don't know what's outside!"
This darkness is different from usual; it's so oppressive. Without light, like flies buzzing around the room, everyone scurries towards the darkest places, not knowing what might happen!
Lu Liruan understood what he meant. She was extremely anxious because, in the instant the flashlight beam shone as she returned to Liao Tingyuan's side:
It's completely extinguished!
Lu Liruan turned off the flashlight, then turned it back on. The extremely faint light flickered for only a moment before going out again.
Oops!
Just as he realized the flashlight beam was about to go out, Liao Tingyuan gestured for Lu Liruan to come to his side.
Without a light source, the chances of things changing are too high if the two people are separated.
The thing looked even more intent on attacking Lu Liruan, and Liao Tingyuan couldn't leave Lu Liruan alone to grope in the dark.
He grabbed Lu Liruan's hand, thinking of a solution: if all else fails, he'll have to...
Before his thoughts had fully formed, he suddenly felt the girl beside him squeeze his hand tightly, then grope to get closer.
Lu Liruan didn't know if that thing had the five senses, or if it had sight and hearing...
His facial features were so rotten they looked like they had melted away, and he was completely unrecognizable, as if he were unusable.
But he could pinpoint Lu Liruan's location precisely, and as long as he could prioritize attacking Lu Liruan, he wouldn't go towards Liao Tingyuan...
Unsure if he could hear her, Lu Liruan decided to be cautious.
She thought it was too forceful, and since she couldn't pinpoint the exact location, the moment she tiptoed over, her nose collided directly with Liao Tingyuan's cheek!
Liao Tingyuan flinched from the impact, and before he could ask about Lu Liruan's condition, he heard the girl's muffled voice whisper in his ear, "Try it..."
Lu Liruan's nose stung from the impact, and tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffed and said, "If I broke him into pieces, would he still be able to move?"
Her voice was pitiful, almost as if she were about to cry, but what she said was truly...
Liao Tingyuan was momentarily at a loss for how to react.
Then he felt something hard being stuffed into his palm.
The girl's small, burning palms patted his hand twice, as if entrusting her child to someone else: "It's up to you! I probably don't have the strength to cut it!"
Liao Tingyuan: ...
The girl's soft, hot, and rapid breath tickled Liao Tingyuan's ear: "Um..."
"what?"
Lu Liruan shook her phone, not knowing why she was doing it, trying to turn the flashlight back on.
Hearing Liao Tingyuan's voice: "What?"
"I've never done it."
"Just break that thing into pieces with a knife." Lu Liruan thought to herself, how come she can't understand what I'm saying in such an emergency?
Was I not clear enough?
Liao Tingyuan originally wanted to protect Lu Liruan first, but now that yesterday's deadline has passed, he wants to see what happens next, whether he can figure out the source of this thing, or whether it will have a fixed time of change like the previous days.
"I know." Liao Tingyuan nodded, then realized that Lu Liruan couldn't see.
I understand what you mean, but what I'm trying to say is that I've never dismembered... at least a humanoid, still-moving thing...
Big job.
Liao Tingyuan wants to say: Although his job sounds mysterious, overall it is a law-abiding job where you have to go to get off work on time and don't have to risk your life.
But there's no point in saying more now.
Liao Tingyuan understood that what Lu Liruan said was indeed a method worth considering.
Now their movement is restricted, and even if they hide inside a house, they will still be blocked by this thing.
Liao Tingyuan was also unwilling to let him set foot in his house.
Dismembering him into eight pieces is out of the question.
Liao Tingyuan wanted to try cutting off his leg first. He felt that his idea was easier to implement and more in line with normal thinking than Lu Liruan's idea of dismembering him into eight pieces.
"call--"
Lu Liruan felt a gust of wind sweep past her ear.
"Pfft-"
Without a moment to think, Liao Tingyuan swiftly pulled Lu Liruan in front of him, and with the knife in his hand, he swung it in the direction from which the sound came!
bingo!
When it's not a leg.
Liao Tingyuan originally swung his knife diagonally downwards, but that thing... had already twisted to the side from the waist.
Based on his intuition, Liao Tingyuan guessed that his knife should have struck the area around Liao Tingyuan's abdomen and hip.
The skin was very thin, and then... it felt like the blade was embedded in the bone.
Liao Tingyuan used a lot of strength, and Lu Liruan could feel his body tensing up and gathering power. The aftershocks from the blows on the bone, and the friction sound of the blade against the bone when he sheathed the knife, all made Lu Liruan's teeth ache.
This is too...
But then, Liao Tingyuan missed two strikes.
The blade made a "whoosh" sound as it sliced through the air, but it couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the object.
It can only be explored in the void.
This won't work!
Lu Liruan could sense that with Liao Tingyuan's skills, dealing with this thing, at least without being blocked or injured by it, was entirely possible. But the problem was that he was protecting her!
Lu Liruan had no idea what his moves were. It was the first time the two of them had faced such a situation together, and Lu Liruan felt that they had absolutely no chemistry!
She had no idea what Liao Tingyuan would do next, or which direction she should hide in to cooperate with her.
On several occasions, her position even hindered Liao Tingyuan from making moves and swinging his sword.
This prevented Liao Tingyuan from using his full potential, forcing him to focus on dodging and defense.
Lu Liruan said to herself: Be quick-witted! React faster!
But it was completely useless.
This is not something that can be achieved simply by concentrating or wanting to do well.
In Lu Liruan's life, the only few times she had been in a fight were when she was a child fighting with boys and throwing mud at their faces, and when she grew up, she splashed hot pot soup on a perverted man. Apart from that, she had no fighting skills whatsoever!
but……
An idea suddenly popped into Lu Liruan's mind!
In that instant, she felt that there was still some truth to it!
In her panic, Lu Liruan pressed the phone she was holding again.
The screen lit up faintly.
Lu Liruan was taken aback. Just now, when the light emitted by the flashlight was absorbed, the screen was still dimly lit.
Liao Tingyuan also noticed the light and whispered urgently to Lu Liruan, "Extend it forward a little."
"I need to go inside!" Lu Liruan said anxiously.
“No, we can’t get separated…” Liao Tingyuan had only refused halfway when Lu Liruan shook her head: “We can’t do it like this. You hold him off, I’ll go get something!”
Lu Liruan tried to put the phone in Liao Tingyuan's hand, but Liao Tingyuan was groping forward with one hand and holding a knife in the other, so he couldn't free up any space.
Lu Liruan didn't know if there would be any unexpected situations after she went inside and separated from Liao Tingyuan, but it was obvious that Liao Tingyuan needed light more than she did.
The screen needs to be kept on.
Lu Liruan opened the music app on the screen. As long as she opened the music video, it would keep playing and the screen would not turn off.
Lu Liruan quickly clicked on the play bar below, where a song was halfway through playing.
A buffered notification appears on the screen.
Lu Liruan rushed over and placed her phone on the step closest to Liao Tingyuan.
He quickly patted Liao Tingyuan on the back, then, like a big rabbit, he hopped and skipped into the house!
The moment Lu Liruan stepped into the house.
Aside from the sounds of fighting, the corridor behind me was very quiet.
A thunderous voice rang out: "Good luck! Good luck to you! Good luck brings joy and love! Good luck, good luck to us all!"
Lu Liruan almost tripped and fell on the threshold.
She was so nervous just now that she didn't look at anything. Now she remembered that the last time she opened the music app was when she felt something was wrong at home, and she played this song in the middle of the night to give herself courage.
She couldn't see Liao Tingyuan's expression behind her, but Lu Liruan felt... he must have been startled too.
Forget it.
In the dim light, Lu Liruan saw Liao Tingyuan kick the thing directly against the opposite wall. As it slid down, there was a sticky human-shaped object on the wall.
After entering the room, Lu Liruan felt along the wall, and after turning a corner, there was no light at all.
Lu Liruan thought to herself: Fortunately, I have been staying at Liao Tingyuan's house for the past two days and I remember the layout of their house, otherwise I would be completely clueless.
Lu Liruan searched the shelves by the door and the dining table, but couldn't find Liao Tingyuan's phone.
Perhaps it's being charged in the bedroom?
Lu Liruan didn't insist on finding it; she hadn't come in to look for her phone.
Lu Liruan continued to feel her way forward, her destination the kitchen.
The kitchen was to the left of the entrance. Lu Liruan bent over and felt her way along the wall as fast as she could. She bumped into corners and scraped herself, wincing in pain, but she didn't care at the moment.
Lu Liruan touched the refrigerator!
They've gone into the kitchen!
Lu Liruan slowly reached out...
found it!
Her eyes lit up.
After finding what she wanted, Lu Liruan quickly reached back to her original location.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Lu Liruan felt like she had walked a long way, even though normally it was only a few steps from the door to the kitchen.
But after what happened last time when she went upstairs, Lu Liruan didn't panic. She just walked out along the wall.
Finally, the sounds of fighting could be heard.
The thing's hissing and panting was getting closer to the door. It seemed that the thing was still watching him!
Liao Tingyuan had no idea what was going on with Lu Liruan. Several minutes had passed since she entered the house, and he had called her name several times, but received no response.
He could only stand guard at the door, preventing the thing from having a chance to enter.
He tried to cut off the thing's leg again, but the thing's bones were surprisingly hard.
Judging from Liao Tingyuan's cooking experience.
Even the toughest spare ribs are much easier to chop than this.
Fortunately, Lu Liruan was unaware of his internal comparisons, otherwise she would probably have been traumatized for quite some time.
Why use chopping ribs as an analogy? Because, in terms of bone types, Liao Tingyuan has only ever chopped ribs.
Chopping other things... I doubt it will work.
Now that Lu Liruan has something in her hand, she feels not afraid at all, but rather eager to try it out.
When they finally saw that faint glimmer of light, they also saw something with a more twisted and contorted body protruding into the room.
Liao Tingyuan was behind him.
Lu Liruan took two quick steps and rushed to the thing.
Liao Tingyuan shouted, "Step back a bit, or you might get hurt!"
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Liruan swung the object in her hand with all her might—
"Bam—"
The thing tilted and fell out!
That thing stood there and fought with Liao Tingyuan for a while. Even after being broken by Liao Tingyuan, it didn't fall down and continued to twist and entangle.
This was the first time he had fallen.
When Liao Tingyuan heard Lu Liruan's voice, although he didn't know what she was going to do, Lu Liruan's voice was really full of high spirits.
Knowing the girl's somewhat reckless personality, Liao Tingyuan quickly dodged away, hugging the wall.
If he hadn't reacted quickly, that stuff would have covered him in it...
Liao Tingyuan's usually calm expression showed a hint of surprise.
He squinted at the wriggling thing that hadn't yet risen, then looked in Lu Liruan's direction.
Seeing Lu Liruan's hand...
I took a large stainless steel spatula for stir-frying.
Duang, it's huge!
The oldest in the family.
Lu Liruan clicked her tongue and then let out a smug whistle: "Nice!"
Liao Tingyuan: ...
Lu Liruan had just briefly recalled her few battles that were not glorious but were still victorious, and under pressure, she instantly summarized her experience.
Whether it's throwing sand or splashing hot pot soup, the other side is no match for you.
My own moves are all about having a wide range of attacks!
As long as the strike range is wide enough, who cares about accuracy?
One scattering and a whole swath; one splash and a whole basinful...