221: Boss Phase 2

Zhu Zicong—that mass of grayish-white colloidal matter—"stared" at Wei Ziqing with dark holes, his voice carrying a playful tone: "Congratulations, the Boss has reached stage two."

Before his voice even faded, his colloidal torso suddenly contracted and launched!

Eight pale spider legs moved at a dazzling speed, stabbing into the surroundings, making him resemble a real giant spider as he approached Wei Ziqing at high speed in an eerie Z-shaped trajectory.

The tips of the four foremost limbs turned into a storm of grayish-white afterimages, stabbing, gouging, and sweeping toward him!

Simultaneously, more viscous, eerie green poison silk sprayed out from various parts of his torso, weaving through the gaps in the limb attacks, attempting to restrict Wei Ziqing's movement.

The attacks were too dense! Wei Ziqing's right-hand bone sword turned into a flash of white light, pushing the defensive Moves of the "Thousand Void Bone Erosion" sword technique to their limit.

Clang! Clang! Clink! Clink!

The blade clashed violently with the hard limb tips, sparks and fine bone chips flying. He had to be fully focused; in the instant of parrying physical attacks, he also had to use the smallest body sways to dodge or cut through those insidiously entangling poison silks.

However, the distance closed rapidly. In the moment he crossed his blade to parry two spider leg stabs, a strand of poison silk shot from Zhu Zicong's shoulder. Seizing the gap where his right-hand sword momentum was spent and his left side was slightly exposed, it snapped like a living thing, tightly binding his left wrist!

A massive force suddenly yanked him toward the front-left, and he instantly lost his balance!

Wei Ziqing reacted extremely quickly; instead of resisting with his bound left hand, he suddenly sank it in the direction of the pull, lowering his body with the momentum.

At the same time, his right-hand bone sword, using the rebound from the previous parry, slashed upward, precisely cutting the base of the poison silk wrapped around his wrist!

Shink!

The poison silk snapped. But another of Zhu Zicong's spider legs was already thrusting toward his face like a javelin!

In a flash, utilizing his forward-leaning, low-crouched posture now that the pull on his left hand was gone, Wei Ziqing kicked off hard. With an incredibly swift ground slide, he narrowly slipped beneath Zhu Zicong's torso, which was supported by multiple spider legs and held off the ground!

As he slid past, his right-hand bone sword wasn't idle either; the tip of the sword, like a viper flicking its tongue, rapidly stabbed upward several times, targeting the joints where Zhu Zicong's colloidal torso connected to his supporting legs!

Puchi! Puchi!

The sword tip felt like it was piercing a tough, colloidal substance, but it clearly failed to cause a heavy wound.

Wei Ziqing had already slid out from under the opponent, rolling to his feet and pulling back a few steps, panting heavily.

Close-quarters combat was too dangerous; the opponent's attack patterns and regenerative abilities exceeded expectations.

"Trying to run?" Zhu Zicong's cold sneer came as his eight limbs paddled, pouncing again with startling speed, refusing to give him a moment to catch his breath.

Seeing the opponent rapidly approaching, Wei Ziqing's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly changed his strategy.

Instead of retreating, he thrust his right-hand bone sword fiercely into the composite Materials of the laboratory floor and pried!

Crack! Boom!

A thick slab of flooring the size of a tabletop was actually pried up by his clever leverage and the strength of his armor! His left hand caught it in stride, and he hurled the heavy floor fragment violently toward the pouncing Zhu Zicong!

Zhu Zicong clearly hadn't expected this; a front spider leg stabbed out, shattering the flying floor slab in mid-air! But amidst the flying debris, Wei Ziqing repeated the trick. His right-hand sword flashed repeatedly as two or three more fragments of various sizes were flicked up and thrown in succession, blocking the spaces for him to dodge left or right!

Zhu Zicong let out an annoyed hiss, his multiple spider legs either parrying or swatting away the rubble, his movements inevitably showing a hint of delay and confusion.

Now!

This momentary distraction was exactly what Wei Ziqing wanted. With a backhand motion, his right hand precisely sheathed the bone sword into the "Venomous Scabbard" behind his waist with a "clink." His left hand then quickly pressed an inconspicuous biomass protrusion on the outside of the scabbard, twisting and flicking it with force!

A faint gurgling sound, like the switching of flowing liquid, came from inside the scabbard, followed by a slight "click" of some biological mechanism locking into place.

The faint light flowing over the surface of the scabbard abruptly changed from a calming pale blue to an unsettling dark purple that seemed saturated with death.

Toxin switch complete—from neuroparalysis to lethal poison.

Wei Ziqing gripped the hilt again and slowly drew the sword. On the blade, the pale blue had been completely replaced by a saturated, heart-stopping dark purple, as if even the surrounding light was being slightly absorbed.

He raised his sword, his crimson goggles locking onto the monster made of grayish-white colloid and pale limbs. His voice, coming through the armor, carried an unprecedented coldness and determination: "Now, I will no longer show you any mercy."

Before his words even fell, his figure moved! No longer using the previous strategy of kiting and dodging, he turned into a straight white line, charging toward Zhu Zicong with an unstoppable Aura! His right-hand bone sword thrust out in a simple and fierce trajectory, aimed directly at the constantly writhing core area on the opponent's colloidal torso.

"Wow! No mercy! I'm so scared!" Zhu Zicong let out an exaggerated, slimy cackle, his eight limbs dancing like a blooming flower of death as he met the charge head-on. "Please, you must spare me!"

Clang, clang, clink! Puchi!

The sounds of clashing and Sharp Weapons entering flesh (if it could be called "flesh") instantly rang out in rapid succession. Wei Ziqing completely abandoned complex feints, his sword style becoming extremely concise and swift. He no longer sought a one-hit kill, but instead utilized the inevitable coordination gaps and turning inertia of the opponent's eight-limb attacks. Like the most cunning fish, he stayed close to Zhu Zicong's attack radius, performing high-speed circular movements.

Although Zhu Zicong's attacks were fierce, his body required the coordination of eight limbs to Move and attack. During rapid turns or when dealing with close-quarters combat from the side or rear, there would always be one or two limbs at the end of their exertion or in the middle of repositioning. This was the tiny flaw Wei Ziqing had been searching for!

Swish! A sword stroke swept past, leaving a deep purple mark on the joint of a spider leg about to sweep. Shink! Another sword strike took advantage of his turn, piercing into the side-rear of the colloidal torso, the dark purple sinking in. Wei Ziqing was like a maggot on a bone, meeting speed with speed and breaking force with skill. Every contact of the venom-quenched bone sword with the opponent's body left behind that lethal dark purple hue. Zhu Zicong's manic laughter gradually mixed with an annoyed hiss, his attacks becoming increasingly violent as poison silk sprayed out as if it cost nothing, attempting to block all of Wei Ziqing's maneuvering space.

Just as the battle entered its most intense stage of slaughter—

Boom!!!!

The thick wall on the other side of the laboratory was once again brutally smashed open, creating a huge hole! Amidst the rubble and dust, that hideous semi-biological, semi-mechanical Hideous Chariot charged in with a low roar! The crude sensors on its head swayed left and right, instantly locking onto the high-speed moving white figure in the field—Wei Ziqing.

Without any pause, the Hideous Chariot let out a violent roar, its tracks and anti-joint mechanical feet crushing the ground as it charged fiercely toward Wei Ziqing like a crazed steel rhino! This time, it seemed to have been given clearer instructions, its charge path even more resolute!

"Oh no!" Wei Ziqing's heart sank. If it were just him, he might still be able to use his mobility to deal with this hunk of metal. But Lawyer Shen was still unconscious in the middle of the field!

Without hesitation, he gave up a perfect opportunity to continue pursuing Zhu Zicong. Pushing off hard, he retreated rapidly, flying toward where Shen Mingyuan lay.

Almost at the same time he reached Shen Mingyuan's side, the Hideous Chariot's impact arrived! Wei Ziqing's left hand reached out quickly, grabbing Shen Mingyuan around the waist and protecting him at his side. His right-hand bone sword stabbed fiercely into the ground for leverage, the muscles in his legs swelling to their limit under the armor as he threw them both sideways, narrowly escaping!

Boom!!!

The Hideous Chariot brushed past their clothes and crushed the ground where Shen Mingyuan had just been lying into a deep pit, sending rubble flying.

But the crisis was far from over. After the Hideous Chariot overshot, its massive body suddenly paused, and an opening armor plate on its head flipped open with a "clack," revealing a constantly writhing, biological gland-like muzzle underneath.

Pfft—!!!

A large mass of viscous, dark green acid emitting pungent white smoke was sprayed out under high pressure. With a vast coverage area, it showered down toward the newly stabilized Wei Ziqing and the Shen Mingyuan he was protecting!

Wei Ziqing's pupils contracted, and he leaped toward a higher equipment base at the rear with all his strength while holding Shen Mingyuan. Most of the acid missed, splashing onto the metal floor and discarded equipment, immediately letting out a terrifying "sizzle" of corrosion. The thick composite Materials floor was eaten away into pits, and the surfaces of the metal equipment instantly became uneven and pitted, sending up billowing clouds of pungent smoke.

However, Zhu Zicong's cold sneer and the sound of spider legs cutting through the air were already approaching from the other side! With the threat of acid in front, a powerful enemy lurking on the side, and the need to protect a completely unconscious person... Wei Ziqing landed on the base with Shen Mingyuan, his footing not yet stable, when two of Zhu Zicong's sharp limbs stabbed toward him like poison spears. Meanwhile, the Hideous Chariot adjusted its direction, the gland muzzle on its head beginning to pulse and charge again, signaling that an even denser wave of acid spray was imminent.

A disadvantage, an unprecedented disadvantage! He would have needed to give his all to deal with either one of them alone, yet now he was trapped in a desperate situation, sandwiched between both while having to protect someone else.

Wei Ziqing gripped his bone sword tightly, shielding Shen Mingyuan behind him. His crimson goggles scanned rapidly as his brain frantically calculated a path to survival that almost didn't exist.

Just then—

Vroom—!!!!

A distant yet approaching, high-pitched and passionate engine roar, like a metallic howl, violently tore through the heavy air of the underground laboratory, pouring in through some unsealed ventilation duct or opening in an extremely overbearing manner!

Immediately afterward, a vigorous light and shadow of interwoven silver-gray and black, accompanied by the screech of tires against the rock walls and the sound of falling rubble, whistled in from a slanted hole high up in the laboratory—originally perhaps a loading port for large equipment—like a cheetah breaking free from its shackles!

It drew a sharp arc in the air and landed heavily, blocking the way between Wei Ziqing and Shen Mingyuan, and Zhu Zicong and the mechanical Hideous Chariot!

The body was sleek, its lines full of power; it was precisely that motorcycle with self-awareness.

And straddling it was a man in black special ops gear, his face cold and his eyes sharp as knives. He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic scene before finally fixing on Zhu Zicong's inhuman colloidal body.

Lu Jianchuan had arrived.