69: Chapter 69 Shen Yi, is she a fourth-tier imposter?

However, Lin Mo's transformation was not yet over.

After activating Lightning Flash, golden lightning surged from within him, continuously condensing on his body.

Those bolts of lightning seemed to have a will of their own, wandering, entreating, and leaping across his skin before finally transforming into a lightning cloak.

With every sway of the cloak, a shower of golden light particles would fall—the power of extremely compressed lightning. As they hit the ground, they exploded into fist-sized shallow pits.

Lin Mo looked up.

His eyes had completely turned golden, a flowing gold like molten lava.

A faint phantom vaguely emerged behind him.

It was a dragon.

A dragon composed of pure lightning, perched in the night sky, looking down upon those ant-like lives below.

It opened its mouth and let out a silent roar.

The surrounding veterans tried to rush forward to help, but Lin Mo raised his hand to stop them.

"Stay back, everyone. I'm going to slaughter him with my own hands!"

The late Rank 3 Mimic froze for a moment, then laughed even louder.

"You? A Rank 2 little bug thinks he can fight me just because he popped some pills?"

As soon as the words left its mouth, the Mimic moved first.

Its speed was astonishingly fast, leaving an afterimage where it stood. Its true body had already lunged in front of Lin Mo, sweeping its tentacles across!

Lin Mo neither dodged nor avoided it, striking out directly with his blade!

The blade light exploded as Flowing Cloud Continuous Slash was activated.

In an instant, ten blade strikes landed on the Mimic simultaneously!

The lightning mark special effect of Lightning Flash was instantly fully stacked!

Thunderclap, triggered!

Boom—!

A burst of lightning exploded on the Mimic's body. Gray-black blood gushed out as its entire body was sent flying, smashing into a broken wall.

The veterans watching from a distance were stunned.

"One hit? A single hit sent a late Rank 3 Mimic flying?!"

"That wasn't just being sent flying, it was blasted away!"

"What is that lightning on his body?"

"Lin Mo! Kill that monster!"

"Kill it!"

Unsure of who started it, a chorus of shouts soon echoed through the surroundings.

But the Mimic wasn't dead.

It crawled out from the pile of rubble and looked down at its wounds. The places where the Thunderclap had torn into it were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Mimic looked at its severed tentacle and then at Lin Mo, a trace of wariness flashing in its eyes.

But soon, that wariness turned into a more intense killing intent.

"Interesting. A Rank 2 bug actually managed to wound me. That was beyond my expectations, but you cannot kill me."

After speaking, the Mimic suddenly lunged toward a nearby corpse—a veteran it had just killed.

It opened its mouth and bit into the corpse, tearing and devouring it frantically.

This scene shocked everyone around.

No one had expected the Mimic to perform such a bizarre action.

But in the next second, their expressions changed.

They realized that the wounds on the Mimic were healing at an incredible speed.

Lin Mo watched this scene, fury boiling in his chest.

His figure blurred, leaving behind an afterimage as he charged once more at the beast that was desecrating his comrade's corpse!

The creature couldn't dodge and took another hit from the blade.

Thunderclap triggered again.

It was sent flying once more.

But as soon as it landed, it lunged toward another corpse—this time, it was Lao Hei's.

Lin Mo's pupils constricted sharply.

"You're looking for death!"

He was completely enraged.

Void-Treading Lingyan Steps, activate!

He instantly appeared in front of the Mimic and slashed his blade at the mouth that was currently biting!

The creature retreated with a scream, but it still had a chunk of flesh in its mouth.

It swallowed it, and its wounds began to heal again.

"It's useless. There are corpses everywhere here. You can't kill—"

It didn't finish its sentence.

Because Lin Mo was already behind it.

The blade light flashed again.

Another Thunderclap.

Another blast sending it flying.

But this time, Lin Mo didn't give it a chance to devour anything.

The moment it was sent flying, Lin Mo moved as well.

Aurora Overlapping Blades, activate!

Lin Mo appeared directly where the Mimic was about to land and struck again.

Blasted away again.

Teleporting again.

Another strike.

Seven times in a row.

The creature was blasted into a bloody mess, unable to even hit the ground, let alone devour a corpse.

After enduring the seventh Thunderclap, it finally couldn't take it anymore.

It lay in the rubble, charred all over, the speed of its healing no longer able to keep up with the rate it was being blasted.

It looked at Lin Mo, and for the first time, fear appeared in its eyes.

"You... what on earth are you..."

Lin Mo flashed in front of it and looked down.

"This strike is for Lao Hei!"

A flash of the blade.

Its left arm flew off.

"Ah—!"

Amidst the scream, Lin Mo struck again.

The right arm.

Another strike.

The left leg.

Another strike.

The right leg.

With all four limbs severed, it lay in a pool of blood like a human torso.

Lin Mo raised his blade and aimed it at its neck.

"Wait—" it tried to say something.

The blade fell.

The head rolled three meters away.

[Ding! Killed a late Rank 3 Mimic, obtained slaughter value +1800]

[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for completing a special challenge. Obtained title—Sin Hunter. Rewarded special pupil technique—Eye of Sin-Eating]

[Effect: No Mimic can hide from the host's eyes. No matter what form they take, the host can directly see through to their true face.]

[Special Note: This pupil technique has a natural restraining effect on Mimics. Mimics locked on by the Eye of Sin-Eating will feel a fear that comes from their soul.]

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.

Eye of Sin-Eating?

He blinked, feeling a warm current surging deep within his right eye.

The feeling was strange, as if countless eyes were opening in his pupil, and as if countless gazes were being projected from the abyss.

He looked up and scanned his surroundings.

Then his pupils constricted sharply.

In his field of vision, the entire world had changed.

The normal veterans and students were shrouded in a faint white light, clean and pure.

But in the crowd, there were over a dozen figures shrouded in dark red outlines.

Those outlines flickered like flames, so glaring they couldn't be ignored.

One.

Two.

Three.

Five.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Lin Mo's breath hitched.

Fifteen.

Aside from the Mimics that had already been killed, there were still fifteen Mimics hiding in the crowd.

Some had already torn off their disguises to reveal their hideous appearances, but others were still wearing military uniforms, and some were even students in school uniforms.

But in Lin Mo's right eye, their true faces had nowhere to hide.

That Sixth Battalion veteran standing at the front of the crowd—the dark red outline on him was as thick as blood. He was a late Rank 3 Mimic.

That female student hiding in the back with a face full of fear—her outline was lighter, but she was indeed a Mimic, with a cultivation of only Rank 1 Level 7.

That medic who was bandaging the wounded—his hands were shaking, not from nervousness, but because he was suppressing the urge to eat people.

Lin Mo's fists clenched tight.

But his gaze didn't stop.

He continued scanning through them one by one, counting those dark red outlines.

Suddenly, Lin Mo's pupils constricted sharply.

Behind a collapsed bunker at the edge of the camp, several figures were huddled together.

Yi Xiaoyu, Lin Sisi, Ye Zhixia, and Shen Yi.

The girls were huddled close, supporting each other.

Yi Xiaoyu had a wound on her arm, and Lin Sisi was bandaging it. Shen Yi had her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly as if she were crying.

But in Lin Mo's right eye—

Amongst the three white lights, there was actually a dark red outline mixed in.

That dark red outline was coming from none other than Shen Yi.

Lin Mo's heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

Shen Yi?

The Shen Yi who always followed him around, calling him handsome with every breath?

The Shen Yi who said she would cook for him, carry his things, and called him the most amazing person she'd ever seen?

His mind went blank.

Impossible.

I must have seen it wrong.

He blinked hard and looked again.

It was still dark red.

Shen Yi's outline was a glaring dark red.

Lin Mo's hands began to shake.

Not from anger.

But from extreme terror.

The dark red outline on Shen Yi was so thick it was turning black.

That blackness was as thick as ink and as deep as an abyss, almost dripping blood in his vision.

Rank 4.

At least Rank 4.

Why would Shen Yi be a Rank 4 Mimic?

Right now, this Rank 4 Mimic was with the girls he was closest to.

Lin Mo felt like he was going crazy.

But he knew he had to stay calm.

He had to be calm!

He absolutely could not reveal that he could see through disguises at this moment, otherwise Yi Xiaoyu and the others would be in danger.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Then he called up the system panel.

[Name: Lin Mo]

[Class: Awakener]

[traits: God Speed (top-grade purple), Lightning Flash (high-grade purple)]

[Pupil Technique: Eye of Sin-Eating (purple)]

[cultivation: Rank 2 Level 6]

[Strength: 167]

[Agility: 167]

[Constitution: 104]

[Spirit: 101]

[slaughter value: 4765]

[achievement points: 1]

With Starlight Moon Condensation active, his Strength and Agility attributes had indeed climbed to the level of a late Rank 3.

But this was far from enough; Shen Yi was a Rank 4 Mimic!

Even the Agility attribute Lin Mo was most proud of was far inferior to a Rank 4 Mimic's.

My cultivation is too low, Lin Mo sighed inwardly, then looked at the slaughter value column.

4765 points.

Looking at this number, Lin Mo quickly calculated.

From Rank 2 Level 6 to Rank 2 Level 7, it takes 1000 points.

To Rank 2 Level 8, 1100 points.

To Rank 2 Level 9, 1200 points.

It's enough!

Lin Mo didn't hesitate.

He thought, "System, help me increase my cultivation."

[Ding! Consumed 1000 slaughter value, cultivation increased to Rank 2 Level 7, remaining slaughter value 3765]

[Ding! Consumed 1100 slaughter value, cultivation increased to Rank 2 Level 8, remaining slaughter value 2665]

[Ding! Consumed 1200 slaughter value, cultivation increased to Rank 2 Level 9, remaining slaughter value 1465]

[Ding! Detected that the host has reached the peak of Rank 2. Consuming 2500 slaughter value can break through to Rank 3. Current slaughter value is insufficient.]

Waves of heat exploded within him. His bones crackled, his muscles expanded, his blood roared, and his cultivation rose rapidly.

The surrounding veterans watched this, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.

"What... what is he doing?"

"His aura is rising! It's still rising!"

"Rank 2 Level 7... Rank 2 Level 8... Rank 2 Level 9?!"

"My god, wasn't he just at Rank 2 Level 6?!"

"Is he even fucking human?!"

Three seconds.

Only three seconds.

Lin Mo's cultivation had soared all the way from Rank 2 Level 6 to the peak of Rank 2 Level 9.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging, overwhelming power within his body.

...