265: Chapter 265 Resources Upgraded Again! The Heaven-Defying Soul Gathering Crystal!

"Is this... it?"

Qin Ziyan looked at the corpse of the Titan King, which had collapsed like a mountain before her.

She was in a state of philosophical confusion, looking like she was asking herself, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"

It was like going to kill a slime in the newbie village with max-level god-tier gear.

Only to find out the slime was your own pet; not only did you fail to kill it, but you were also fed a mouthful of dog food in return.

It was simply absurd—absurdity opening the door for its mother, it had reached the peak of absurdity!

"Basic operation, don't get excited, everyone sit down."

Lin Yuan walked over to the crack in the Titan King's massive skull.

There, a crystal emitting a faint blue light was hovering silently.

A Star Core Fragment!

This was the ultimate goal of this mission.

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Yuan's eyes.

However.

Just at the moment his fingertips were about to touch the Star Core.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!!!"

A scalp-numbing screeching sound suddenly rang out from all directions.

The sound was so dense and piercing, as if thousands of fingernails were frantically scratching against a blackboard, making one's scalp feel like it was doing a disco dance.

"What is that sound?"

Su Yuyan instinctively raised her flamethrower.

"Underground!"

Luo Qinghan's face turned pale instantly. She stared fixedly at the detector in her hand; the red dots on it were as dense as a pot of boiling red bean porridge.

"Everyone, stay alert! It's a rat tide! A mutated rat tide!"

Before she could finish speaking.

The previously silent underground cavern was instantly submerged by a black tide.

Was that really a tide?

It was clearly countless mutated black rats as big as cats!

Their eyes were crimson, their fangs were exposed, and their bodies emitted a nauseating stench of rot.

Like a black carpet, they surged wildly along the walls, ceiling, and floor.

"Holy crap! Were these rats raised on Miracle-Gro or something?"

Watching a mutated rat jump a full meter high, Qin Ziyan couldn't help but curse.

"Rat-tat-tat—!!!"

Gunfire erupted instantly.

But in the face of such a magnitude of rat tide, ordinary bullets were merely tickling them.

These mutated rats were not only thick-skinned but also fearless; as soon as the ones in front were blown apart, the ones behind would step over their companions' corpses and pounce.

"This is a treat for those with trypophobia."

Lin Yuan frowned.

He wasn't afraid of a one-on-one fight with the Titan King, but this endless sea of mobs was truly disgusting.

Lin Yuan gave a low shout, and the Spatial Blade in his hand erupted instantly, clearing a vacuum zone around him.

But the others were not so lucky.

The number of rats in the tide was simply too large, instantly breaking up their formation.

...At the edge of the battlefield.

Chen Hanyue was currently locked in a bitter battle.

As an ice-type Ability User, she was originally at a great advantage in this kind of group battle.

Polar Ice Ring!

With a wave of her fair hand, a white wave of cold air exploded outward with her as the center, instantly freezing the mutated rats within a ten-meter radius into ice sculptures.

However.

The next second.

Even more mutated rats shattered the ice sculptures and pounced on her frantically.

"Damn it... is this never going to end?"

Chen Hanyue gritted her teeth, fine cold sweat seeping from her forehead.

When dealing with the Titan King earlier, she had already exhausted a large amount of her Superpower to assist Lin Yuan.

Now, facing this endless rat tide, her Superpower reserves were hitting rock bottom.

Just then.

A strange black shadow suddenly darted out from the rat pack.

Fast!

Too fast!

It was so fast that Chen Hanyue only had time to see a blur.

"Rip—"

Her pride-and-joy Frost Shield shattered instantly, a sharp pain shot through her left shoulder, and blood splattered.

"SSS-rank... Shadow Rat Emperor?!"

Chen Hanyue clutched her wound and stumbled back, a flash of despair in her eyes.

Surrounded by the rat pack.

A rat, only the size of an ordinary house dog.

But pitch black all over, with eyes gleaming with intelligence, was crouching on a piece of rubble.

It licked the blood off its claws, its eyes revealing a human-like mockery.

Just like it was looking at prey struggling in its death throes.

"Squeak!"

Following the Rat Emperor's order.

The surrounding rat pack stopped their frantic attacks and instead formed a circle, trapping Chen Hanyue tightly in the middle.

Is this... a cat playing with a mouse?

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Chen Hanyue's heart.

She wanted to call for help.

But looking over, Lin Yuan was surrounded by the rat tide in the Core Zone, and Su Yuyan and the others were also unable to help themselves.

No one could save her.

"Could it be... that I am going to die here?"

"Die at the hands of a bunch of dirty rats?"

Chen Hanyue gripped the ice blade in her hand, a flash of determination in her beautiful eyes.

Even if she had to die.

She would take this Rat Emperor down with her!

"Come on! You beast!"

She overdraw her vitality, forcibly condensing one last ice spike, and was about to charge at the Rat Emperor.

However.

The Rat Emperor was faster than her.

The moment she made her move, the Rat Emperor's figure had already vanished from its spot.

The next moment.

A chill of death struck from behind.

Those sharp claws were aimed straight at her heart!

It's over.

Chen Hanyue closed her eyes in despair.

In her mind, countless images flashed by like a revolving lantern.

The final image that remained.

Was actually that man who always teased her with a wicked smile and treated her like a tool.

"Lin Yuan..."

If she hadn't been so tsundere back then and had submitted to him earlier, would she have been able to live a few more episodes?

Just at that critical moment when the claws were about to pierce her heart.

"Crack—"

The sound of space shattering rang out.

Chen Hanyue opened her eyes abruptly.

She saw that the Rat Emperor, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, was now being gripped tightly by the throat by a slender, powerful hand, suspended in mid-air, its limbs kicking powerlessly.

And behind it.

Lin Yuan was stepping out from a pitch-black spatial rift, not even a wrinkle on his trench coat.

At this moment.

In Chen Hanyue's eyes.

The surrounding nauseating rat tide seemed to disappear, and the dim underground cavern seemed to light up with a holy glow.

The man holding the Rat Emperor with one hand was like a legendary hero stepping on colorful auspicious clouds.

He was so handsome it was practically cheating!

"Lin... Lin Yuan..."

Chen Hanyue's voice trembled, and her eyes instantly turned red.

For the first time, she didn't call Lin Yuan Master...

That sense of relief from surviving a disaster.

Combined with that momentary heartbeat, it completely broke down the last line of defense in her heart.

Whatever high-and-mighty goddess.

Whatever icy queen.

At this moment, all turned into tenderness.

Lin Yuan checked his Superpower.

He was slightly stunned.

Oh?

It turned green already? (Referring to loyalty level).

【Ding! Goddess Chen Hanyue's affinity increased, material rewards have undergone a qualitative change!】

【Original supply "Soul-Condensing Pill" upgraded to—"Soul-Gathering Crystal"!】

【Supply Attribute: Soul-Gathering Crystal (automatically gain one per second), each one increases Spiritual Power by 10!】

"Holy crap?"

Lin Yuan looked at the shivering Rat Emperor in his hand and almost laughed out loud.

This is the rhythm of taking off!

You have to know, the previous Soul-Condensing Pill was useful, but it only increased Spiritual Power by 1 point per pill.

And this Soul-Gathering Crystal actually increases it by 10 points!

What kind of concept is this?

This means the speed at which he can increase his Spiritual Power using this will undergo a qualitative change!

In the later stages, Lin Yuan didn't even dare to imagine what level his Spiritual Power would reach!

"This rat is simply my lucky star."

Lin Yuan looked at the Rat Emperor in his hand, his eyes suddenly becoming incomparably "gentle."

Rat Emperor: "???"

From this human's eyes, it read something even more terrifying than death.

That was the look of someone looking at the God of Wealth!

"To thank you for your assist."

Lin Yuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"I've decided to grant you a whole corpse."

Before he finished speaking.

Spatial Power erupted.

"Bang!"

The Shadow Rat Emperor didn't even have time to scream before it was compressed by space into a... uh, how should I put it.

This is very awkward.

So much for the whole corpse, it turned into a compressed biscuit instead.

"Sorry, I didn't control my strength well."

Lin Yuan casually tossed the Rat Emperor's corpse aside and turned to look at Chen Hanyue, who was stunned.

"Can you still walk?"

He reached out his hand.

Chen Hanyue looked at that hand which had just crushed the Rat Emperor to death but was now clean and slender, and her heart began to beat wildly against her will.

She bit her lip, and two blushes flew onto her face.

Then.

In the bewildered gaze of the mutated rats.

She didn't take Lin Yuan's hand, but instead threw herself directly into Lin Yuan's arms, wrapping her hands tightly around his waist.

"I... I can't walk."

"My legs are weak."

Lin Yuan: "..."

Is this the legendary "charging with the ball"?

That's a bit of a foul, referee!

The surrounding mutated rat pack, having lost the command of the Rat Emperor, instantly fell into chaos.

These low-level creatures, once they lost their leader, were just a scattered mess.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

They looked in terror at the man who had casually crushed their boss to death; how could they dare to step forward? They all tucked their tails and scattered in flight.

Crisis averted.

Lin Yuan looked down at Chen Hanyue, who was as docile as a kitten in his arms, a playful arc curling on the corner of his mouth.

"Legs are weak?"

"Then who was so fierce just now, charging into the rat pack alone and going on a rampage?"

Chen Hanyue buried her face in his chest, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzzing:

"That was... that was adrenaline..."

"Can't it be that the effect has worn off now?"

Listen to that.

Is that even human talk?

This coquettish tone—if anyone who knew Chen Hanyue before were to hear it, they would probably gouge their eyes out and wash them on the spot.

Is this still that Chen university belle who kept strangers at a distance and was as cold as ten-thousand-year glacial ice?

This is clearly just a love-struck little wife!

"Fine, fine, you're right."

Lin Yuan shook his head helplessly and casually wrapped his arm around her slender yet elastic waist.

"But now is not the time for romance."

He looked up into the distance.

Although Su Yuyan and the others were in a sorry state, they hadn't suffered any serious injuries.

And in the Core Zone.

That Star Core Fragment was still hovering there, emitting an alluring glow.

"Business first."

Lin Yuan patted Chen Hanyue's back.

"When we get back, we'll go to the hot spring to properly 'treat' your weak legs."

Upon hearing the word "hot spring," Chen Hanyue seemed to think of something, and her ears turned completely red.

But she didn't let go; instead, she hugged him even tighter.

"Mm... I'll listen to you."

Watching this scene.

Not far away, Qin Ziyan silently put down the gun in her hand.

She glanced at the rat corpses all over the ground, then looked at the two people over there feeding dog food to everyone.

She suddenly felt.

She should be under the car, not in the car.

This Apocalypse...

Why does it feel like only she is seriously trying to survive?!

Are these people here to save the world, or are they here on their honeymoon, hey!