13: Chapter 13 One Strike, One Fatal Blow

Chen Ye's eyes were cold and sharp. Utilizing the 5 points of Basic Speed he had just added, he shifted his body to the side and easily dodged the mutated gecko's pounce.

Although 5 points of Basic Speed wasn't fast, it was enough to dodge a simple, charging Aberrant.

The mutated gecko's momentum was too strong; it couldn't stop in time.

It crashed straight into Chen Ye's home, causing the wall to emit a dull, booming sound.

Chen Ye didn't hesitate in the slightest. He turned and rushed to the side of Shen Jiaojiao, who was slumped on the ground, bent down, and scooped her up into his arms.

Her soft, delicate body pressed against his chest, warm and fragrant.

Shen Jiaojiao was stiff all over, her body still trembling uncontrollably. The wound on her fair neck was still throbbing with pain, and her face was terrifyingly pale.

Carrying her, Chen Ye turned and quickly rushed into Shen Jiaojiao's living room.

"Let me go! Chen Ye, let me go now!" Shen Jiaojiao snapped to her senses and struggled fiercely in Chen Ye's arms.

Her fair little hands pushed against Chen Ye's chest as she screamed with a sobbing voice, "You can't beat it! You are no match for it at all!"

"If you want to save me, go out and lure it away! Otherwise, we are both going to die here!"

Even now, she didn't believe that Chen Ye had the ability to confront that terrifying mutated beast.

She only felt that Chen Ye was dragging her down and doing useless work.

Chen Ye paid absolutely no attention to her crying and struggling. He exerted a little strength in his arms and gently placed her by the soft sofa in the living room.

He turned to face the door, spread his feet slightly, steadied his stance, and slowly tensed his arms.

He poured all 200 points of his Basic Strength into his right arm.

His arm, which usually looked slightly thin and weak, now had taut muscle lines, filled with explosive power.

It was as if he were a completely different person from his usual timid and cowardly self!

Shen Jiaojiao sat slumped on the smooth living room floor, her body trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Looking at Chen Ye's tall, straight back, her eyes were still filled with despair.

She still didn't believe that this neighbor, who usually seemed weak and incompetent, could defeat that terrifying mutated beast.

Soon, a violent roar came from outside the door!

"Clang!"

The hideous mutated gecko roared and charged in again.

Its sharp claws carried a fishy stench as it lunged straight at Chen Ye, the blood-sucking spike in its mouth flashing with a deadly cold light!

Terrified, Shen Jiaojiao instantly closed her eyes, curled up on the sofa, and trembled violently, with only one thought in her mind.

This time, she was really going to die!

At this critical moment.

Chen Ye's eyes were as cold and sharp as knives as he suddenly threw a punch with his right arm!

All 200 points of Basic Strength were poured into this single punch.

Carrying a force of a thousand pounds, it smashed heavily onto the mutated gecko's head!

"Bang!"

A deafening, dull thud exploded instantly!

The hideous and terrifying mutated gecko was sent flying with a "whoosh" sound.

Its thick body slammed heavily against the wall behind it, and blood splattered instantly, staining the entire wall red.

The mutated gecko's body twitched violently on the ground a few times, its limbs kicked out, its head tilted to the side, and it completely lost its breath.

That terrifying blood-sucking mouthpart also hung down limply, devoid of any trace of ferocity.

The air instantly froze.

In the entire living room, only the sound of their rapid breathing and the faint dripping of blood from the wall remained.

Shen Jiaojiao, curled up on the sofa, slowly opened her tightly shut eyes.

The moment she saw the scene before her, she froze in place, her almond eyes wide open, her cherry lips slightly parted, her face full of disbelief, and she even forgot to tremble.

That Chen Ye, who was usually timid and looked weak and incompetent.

Had actually killed that terrifying mutated beast that had plunged her into a desperate situation with just one punch!

The contrast between his past and present image was like two different people; he was so powerful that she couldn't believe her own eyes!

Her delicate body was still trembling slightly, and the eyes that had been filled with despair and fear were now only filled with shock and awe.

She looked at Chen Ye's tall, straight back, and the emotions in her eyes instantly became incredibly complex.

Just then, a crisp system notification sound slowly rang in Chen Ye's mind:

[Ding! Shen Jiaojiao's mindset has changed drastically!]

[Trust + 10 → Current 15]

[Obedience + 2 → Current 2]

[Symbiosis Value + 12 → Current 17]

[Host passive attribute updated: Basic Speed + 12 → Current 17]

Chen Ye slowly retracted his fist, the corners of his mouth curling into a calm smile.

Shen Jiaojiao's back was pressed tightly against his brown leather sofa, her heart still pounding with lingering fear.

Chen Ye gently moved his right arm, feeling a slight soreness in his knuckles.

He knew clearly that this mutated gecko was only the lowest level of blood-sucking mutated beast, and its combat power couldn't even compare to one-tenth of the Phantom Child Beast from earlier in the day.

Even with an increase of 200 points of Basic Strength, his arm still ached from the impact against the beast's hard scales.

To face the stronger mutated beasts that would appear in the future, he had to strengthen his Superpower as soon as possible using Symbiosis Value and crystals.

He strode to the side of the beast's corpse, bent down, and gently pried at the beast's head, causing a crystal the size of a fingernail, glowing with a faint white light, to fall into his palm.

The crystal was cool to the touch and surrounded by weak energy fluctuations; it was the most precious cornerstone of survival in the apocalypse.

"What, what exactly is this thing?" Shen Jiaojiao pushed herself up slowly from the sofa, the shallow wound on her neck still flushed red, her tone filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Her long hair was slightly messy, and her form-fitting slip dress accentuated her soft figure, but the white skirt hem had several large holes torn by the mutated gecko, making her look both beautiful and disheveled.

Her eyes were filled with curiosity about the unknown.

Chen Ye rubbed the crystal with his fingertips, his tone calm yet firm: "This is a beast crystal, the foundation for surviving in the apocalypse; it can upgrade Superpowers and strengthen the body."

Shen Jiaojiao listened, half-understanding; words like apocalypse, Superpowers, and crystals were too distant for her.

She opened her mouth, just about to ask Chen Ye why he possessed such terrifying power, when a sharp siren suddenly sounded from outside the hallway.

The sound of rhythmic footsteps approached from afar, breaking the silence of the hallway.

Chen Ye's eyes darkened slightly, and he calmly tucked the crystal into his pocket.

The next second, Sun Haoyu rushed in, panting.

His floral shirt was crumpled into a ball, and his face was plastered with fake anxiety.

Behind him followed four armed SWAT officers, fully protected and with guns ready; they were the team from the local area that had arrived to clear out the mutated beasts.

Clearly, this scumbag had fled downstairs, ran into the SWAT team, and then dared to bring people back to play the hero.

"Jiaojiao! Are you okay!" Sun Haoyu rushed to Shen Jiaojiao and reached out to hug her.

However, his gaze first swept over the beast's corpse on the ground, and he asked sharply, "Who killed this monster?"

From beginning to end, he didn't ask a single word about whether Shen Jiaojiao was injured or scared.

Looking at this man who was selfish to the bone, the last bit of affection in Shen Jiaojiao's heart was completely extinguished, and her eyes were filled with resentment and disappointment.

"I was almost bitten to death by the beast, and you come back without caring about me, instead asking who killed the beast first?"