"Weren't we all running together? Why isn't Brother Su here?" The Night Guardian's expression stiffened.
"I didn't notice... But if he isn't here, then there's only one possibility..."
They looked toward the outside of the corridor with grim expressions, and they also heard the monster's roar.
At that time, everyone was terrified by the monster. Each of us wished for an extra pair of legs to run faster; who would have noticed Su Qi suddenly go missing?
"What do we do?"
"Can he still get in?"
"That monster is still outside, I'm afraid..."
A heavy feeling settled in everyone's hearts. Given how terrifying that monster was, Su Qi's chances were slim at best.
Ah Qie couldn't help but say, "Should we... Try to save him?"
"Roar!"
Suddenly, several roars like that of the monster echoed from a distance.
"There are more of its kind!"
The people couldn't help but step back a few paces, sweat rolling down their foreheads.
"It's no use." Xun Xiaohuan leaned against the wall and said calmly, "The monster is waiting right outside, and you've also heard that there's more than one. Going out now would be suicide."
"If he's smart, he should choose a place to hide, but I advise you not to get your hopes up too high."
Xun Xiaohuan looked outside: "In such a deadly night, I don't know... how he could survive."
The Night Guardian sighed. He and Old Tomato also knew this point; there was no way out given the current situation.
"This instance is even more perilous than we had imagined."
"Don't lose heart, everyone. Currently down one person, we need to cooperate even more."
The Night Guardian was now taking on the role of leader. He pointed to the Tower: "We should first go in and see what the situation is like."
Everyone nodded, as there seemed to be no other option.
They all headed towards the passageway to the Tower.
-----------------
Meanwhile, in the dark of the night.
Several monsters were crawling through the streets, their saliva giving off a foul stench, dripping onto the ground. Their crimson eyes flickered through the darkness, as if searching for delicious food.
And Su Qi, who everyone thought was most likely finished,
was stealthily following behind a monster, and in a curious turn of events... it seemed like the monster hadn't detected him at all and continued to crawl towards the front streets, roaring.
"It seems these monsters mainly rely on their hearing to locate things; their vision is limited in the darkness. As long as someone isn't foolish enough to stand right in front of them, they won't be discovered."
Of course, this was mainly because Su Qi had activated the special effect of the "Dark Wind Boots." At the cost of 100 Physical Strength, one could enter Stealth State for five minutes.
Su Qi's form was like a shadow in the darkness, making not a single sound.
He could now easily find a way to enter the Tower safely without issue.
But he didn't do that.
Su Qi looked towards a distant monster's head, where a dark red exclamation mark was displayed.
[Following this Night Demon may lead to a discovery]
"This really is a dangerous dilemma for me."
Su Qi was on full alert.
The "Dark Wind Boots" equipment lasted only five minutes per use, and although there was no cooldown time, each activation cost 100 Physical Strength.
In theory, with his 350 Physical Strength, he could only use it three times.
But once the Physical Strength dropped too low, it would trigger an automatic recovery until it returned to 30%, which is 105.
With this ability, Su Qi could use it an unlimited number of times, but the instant he activated it, his Physical Strength would be at an extremely dangerous level.
His current behavior was like walking on the tip of a knife or back-flipping at the edge of a cliff. Once discovered, it would be game over.
"Now, I must calculate to the second, there's no room for even the slightest error."
Su Qi's gaze was intensely focused in the darkness, his expression as calm as ice, his footsteps heavy yet silent as he moved through the streets like a ghost. He didn't need to follow too closely, just keeping it in sight was enough.
The Monster wasn't fast as it roamed, occasionally grabbing a few zombies to tear apart and toss into its mouth in the darkness.
And then it gradually moved in a certain direction toward the center of the city.
"The Monsters must have their own lair, and it's probably heading there now."
This wasn't hard to guess since these creatures seemed unable to appear during the day, only wandering at night, which indicated they must have a hiding spot.
Su Qi followed cautiously, always mindful of the time in Stealth State, as his Physical Strength dropped to 5, he would experience dizziness and need to catch his breath to recover.
And after an hour of this cat and mouse game,
The Monster finally stopped its wandering outside an abandoned parking lot.
It had the intelligence to move the massive heap of scrap metal at the entrance to the lot, revealing an opening.
Then crawled inside.
Su Qi's eyes lit up with the prospect of new developments.
Yet he wasn't in a rush, but waited silently for his Physical Strength to recover.
"These creatures aren't like the ones in the last instance, they possess a certain level of intelligence, even the ability to think..."
As Su Qi observed the creature along the way, it seemed to have some human consciousness in its actions, yet not much.
Once his Physical Strength had recovered to 30%,
Su Qi, holding his butcher's knife, stayed concealed as he approached the parking lot.
The interior of the parking lot was vast, with moonlight cascading through the windows in the darkness, allowing some outlines to be visible.
"The Monster went this way," said Su Qi, following the traces on the ground deeper inside.
The further he went inside, the more he realized the parking lot was deeper than he thought and the deeper it went... the more complex it seemed to be inside.
Soon enough, he heard the Monster's hoarse roaring, but the sound wasn't ferocious; it sounded like it was licking something.
Su Qi squinted his eyes and peeked around the wall.
He saw a very strange scene.
The horrible, flesh-covered Monster was crouched outside a reinforced steel door, tearing into a piece of raw meat placed in an iron basin.
And behind the steel door, there was a faint light, casting the shadow of a person watching in silence.
After a minute,
The Monster swallowed all the meat, then the rotting head began to sprout hair inch by inch; the dreadful, fleshly body also grew skin, and its crimson eyes seemed to turn black.
The Monster let out a low growl, but this time it wasn't as wild, instead, it portrayed a hint of pain, then quieted down, collapsed on the ground, and began to gasp heavily, with a hint of a human touch.
This situation lasted for a minute.
But then,
The Monster's body suddenly convulsed, the hair all fell out, and the skin that grew over its body rapidly decayed, its pupils turned back to a bloodthirsty red, emitting a terrifying roar.
The figure behind the steel door sighed, then the surroundings lit up with an abundance of ultraviolet light, scorching the Monster, forcing it to painly flee.
Once it was confirmed that the Monster had left the parking lot,
That figure slowly deactivated the protections and pushed open the steel door.
Just as he crouched down, ready to collect the hair and skin on the ground with tweezers,
Su Qi was already silently standing beside him, a butcher's knife resting against his neck.
"Don't move."