4: Chapter 4 The Mysterious Child Beast

The bald head of a Phantom Child Beast slowly poked out through the crack in the door, revealing pale, hairless skin and pitch-black pupils devoid of whites.

Accompanied by an eerie grin that stretched to its ears, a childish yet sinister aura washed over them.

Chen Ye felt his scalp tingle, a chill shooting straight up his spine.

The illusion had just broken, but the mental interference had not yet fully dissipated.

Qin Ruoxue was still deep in a stupor!

Without a moment of hesitation, Chen Ye gripped the scalpel in his hand, his gaze falling on Qin Ruoxue's curled-up legs.

The girl's skirt was in disarray, with a length of snow-white, lustrous thigh exposed, completely defenseless.

Her skin was as delicate as fine mutton-fat jade, appearing strikingly dazzling in the dim corridor.

Hardening his heart, he placed one hand on her snow-white thigh.

With a flick of his other wrist, he plunged the scalpel with precision and restraint into the soft flesh on the outer side of Qin Ruoxue's thigh!

"Ah!" A shrill yet delicate scream suddenly rang out!

Qin Ruoxue's eyes snapped open, her cold, almond-shaped eyes instantly filling with tears from the intense pain, her slender fingers tightly covering the wound on her thigh.

Blood trickled down her fair, tender thigh, staining the hem of her white nurse's uniform red.

She trembled all over from the pain, her pearly teeth biting down on her pale pink lips, soft, pained moans escaping from between her teeth, sounding fragile and enough to make anyone's heart tremble.

Had it not been for the surrounding dangers, Chen Ye would surely have let his imagination run wild while staring at her.

But at this moment, he could only force down the distracting thoughts in his heart, his eyes fixed intently on that Phantom Child Beast.

Although the wound was agonizing, as Qin Ruoxue looked around, she realized she was not in the corridor at all.

"You were right, we were caught in an illusion!" Qin Ruoxue managed to force a smile through her painful expression. "But could you find a different way to wake me up next time? It hurts so much!"

"Be glad you made it out; don't be picky!" Chen Ye couldn't help but retort.

Just then, the Phantom Child Beast's head fully emerged from the crack in the door, revealing its entire body.

This was a Tier 1 Phantom Child Beast, which specialized in using mental sound waves to create illusions to hunt humans!

It had a pale, small face resembling a human infant, but it was paired with an incredibly ugly monster body: its grayish-black, wrinkled skin was sticky and disgusting, covered in uneven, hard bumps, and its limbs were short and thin but tipped with pitch-black, sharp, hooked claws.

A long, thin tail covered in spikes dragged behind it; this deformed combination of a child's face and a monster's body was enough to make anyone's stomach churn at a single glance.

"Waa! Waa!" The Phantom Child Beast let out an infant-like cry, its shrill sound waves echoing through the corridor.

But seeing that Chen Ye and his companion's eyes were clear and that they hadn't fallen into the illusion at all, a flicker of human-like confusion crossed its pitch-black eye sockets; it seemed unable to understand why its illusion had failed.

Qin Ruoxue only took one glance before her face turned deathly pale from the disgust of such a hideous and grotesque appearance, and she covered her mouth, dry-heaving twice.

Subconsciously, she shrank behind Chen Ye, her slender arms clutching his arm tightly, her soft body pressed against him, filled with fear and revulsion.

Chen Ye's eyes darkened as he instantly grasped the key point.

No wonder that since the second floor, they hadn't encountered any Mutated Beast or heard a single living soul.

It turned out the people here had long been trapped by the Phantom Child Beast's illusion and had become its prey!

"Hurry! Go to the Basement!" Chen Ye dared not delay.

He grabbed Qin Ruoxue's cold, slender wrist and dragged her as they rushed down the stairs.

At the same time, he sternly cautioned, "Do not use your Healing Ability to treat the wound; keeping the pain is the only way to resist the illusion!"

Qin Ruoxue stumbled from his pull, her heart skipping a beat, full of confusion: "How did he know that I awakened a Healing Ability? I only just found out myself!"

But before she could ask, the Phantom Child Beast behind them flew into a rage!

Its speed was outrageously fast; its body flashed into a grayish-black afterimage, and in the blink of an eye, it had rushed right in front of them.

It opened its massive mouth, filled with sharp teeth, and lunged at them with a foul, rotting wind!

"Watch out!" Qin Ruoxue was so terrified that her face drained of color, her entire body freezing in place, unable to dodge in time.

Chen Ye's pupils contracted sharply; without time to think, he instinctively raised his right fist, channeling all 50 points of his Basic Strength, and slammed it hard into the Phantom Child Beast's head!

"Bang!" A dull, massive boom exploded!

Chen Ye felt as if his fist had struck hard bone, and a massive force rebounded back.

Yet, the sizable Phantom Child Beast was sent flying by his punch.

It slammed heavily against the wall, let out a shrill wail, and curled up on the ground, unable to get up for a long while!

Qin Ruoxue was instantly dumbfounded, her cold, almond-shaped eyes wide open, her small mouth slightly parted, filled with shock!

She had always thought Chen Ye was just a lecherous and frivolous man who looked weak and pathetic; she never expected his strength to be even more terrifying than it was downstairs just now!

[Ding! Qin Ruoxue's Trust +15! Current: 50!]

[Obedience +10! Current: 25!]

[Symbiosis Value +25! Current: 75!]

[Host Passive Attribute Updated: Basic Strength +25 → Current: 75]

Chen Ye himself was stunned, looking down at his fist with a face full of surprise: This was a native beast whose body strength was comparable to a brick wall; with 50 points of increased strength, the effect was actually this exaggerated!

"Don't just stand there! Run!" Chen Ye snapped back to reality, grabbed the still-dazed Qin Ruoxue, and sprinted toward the Basement.

The two ran swiftly, heading down the stairs, and within half a minute, they reached the iron door of the Basement.

But what made Chen Ye's heart sink was that the iron door was locked tight, and they had no key!

Behind them, the wails of the Phantom Child Beast rang out again; it had climbed back up and was pursuing them at incredible speed!

"What do we do? I forgot we don't have a key," Qin Ruoxue asked anxiously.

"So you didn't have a key from the start, and yet you still brought me here!" Chen Ye was speechless at the beauty before him, who was now hopping with anxiety.

"Damn it!" Chen Ye cursed under his breath. "I'll just have to try brute force!"

He then channeled all 75 points of his Basic Strength, clenched his right fist, tensed his muscles, and slammed it hard toward the lock cylinder of the iron door!

"Clang!" With a massive boom, the iron lock was smashed, and the iron door swung open!

"Put on your gas mask, quick!" Chen Ye pulled Qin Ruoxue into the supply storage room.

The two quickly grabbed the gas masks hanging on the wall and put them on; the sealed masks instantly blocked the erosion of the Toxic Mist.

Qin Ruoxue wanted to rush out as soon as she put on the mask, but Chen Ye grabbed her.

"Wait!" Chen Ye scanned the room and grabbed a few sharp medical scalpels, stuffing them into his pocket!

Just then, "Roar!" The roar of the Phantom Child Beast came; it had already reached the entrance of the storage room.

Behind it followed 4 Tier 1 Mutated Beasts; clearly, they had been controlled by its mental sound waves and had become its minions!

The four monsters roared and lunged straight at the two of them!

"Retreat inside, quick!" Chen Ye's expression changed drastically as he pulled Qin Ruoxue back into the storage room.

He slammed the iron door shut, slid the bolt, and quickly moved the solid wooden table, iron cabinet, medical kits, and other supplies nearby to barricade the door tightly!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The Mutated Beasts outside slammed frantically against the door; the heavy iron door shook violently, and the bolt let out an unbearable creaking sound, ready to snap at any moment!

At this critical moment, Chen Ye turned to look at Qin Ruoxue, his voice urgent: "Search quickly! See if there is anything useful in the storage room and bring it all here!"

Qin Ruoxue was also panicked; she nodded quickly, her slender figure rummaging rapidly through the storage room, her heart filled with chaos.

Chen Ye leaned against the door, his face solemn, quickly analyzing the battle situation: He now had 75 points of Basic Strength; dealing with one Mutated Beast was no problem, but one against four, he wasn't sure if he could win!

The shaking of the iron door became more and more intense, the cracks in the door lock grew larger, and breaking the door was only a matter of time!

A desperate situation once again enveloped the two of them!