Every resident had a special ability that grew stronger with the worsening of their pollution level, and this also greatly altered their appearance and mind.
So, they were very greedy for themselves.
The ability of Tentacle Man was to secrete a potent toxin from his tentacles, which was also his reliance for survival.
This was something Su Qi had learned from his notes, which also contained cautionary advice on how to stealthily avoid powerful abnormalities when going out and how to ambush them, among other things.
To survive, he really put in a great deal of effort.
Su Qi had also finished cleaning the first floor; the apartment's contents were indeed dangerous - shadows lurked in the bathroom mirror, blood boiled in the toilet, and the freezer in the kitchen seemed to contain something alive.
"Well then, it's time to go out and buy groceries."
Su Qi was not afraid; although this was a spooky instance, shopping for groceries was one of his favorite activities. The joy of haggling with the aunties and uncles at the bustling market, driving down the prices, was a pleasure in its own right.
Only this time he was facing abnormalities, and the price would have to be slashed in a more physical sense.
He put the Hundred Man Slaughter Blade in his hand and stepped out with confidence.
Stepping outside, he could see the desolate city streets, the cold wind blowing from unknown corners; the streets were littered with abandoned cars and mottled walls, signaling that this condition seemed to have persisted for quite some time.
Occasionally, he could hear a heavy panting sound, like that of a wild dog shaking itself, coming sporadically.
Upon stepping onto the street, Su Qi saw the information.
[Every minute spent in the land of pollution, Spiritual Power will be -1]
From this, it seemed he could at least stay here for a little over an hour, and he also had a timepiece that could isolate 90% of the pollution on him.
"Looking for ingredients is just one part of going out, the more important thing is... to see if I can find the source of collapse."
With Su Qi's supermodel-like spiritual power, he naturally would not settle for just surviving ten days or entering the third floor.
He was a grown man now; he wanted all three tasks!
He continued along the street.
Soon enough, Su Qi saw an abnormality resembling a hyena. It was half the height of a person and pierced with various metal scraps, its flesh turned inside out, yet this did not impede its movements in the slightest.
[Name: Level 1 Pollution Abnormality]
[Strength: 20]
[Movement Technique: 20]
[Physical Strength: 500]
[Spiritual Power: 0]
It twitched its nose and noticed Su Qi, then lunged with a crimson tongue, in a brainless, frenzied manner.
"Swoosh!"
The Hundred Man Slaughter Blade radiated a malevolent aura, brimming with cold light.
Su Qi did not hesitate to charge forward; his Physical Strength was full now, and he could fully wield the deadly blade.
The abnormality was extremely fast, but lacking in brain cells, it charged straight into the blade.
Su Qi's wrist twisted, and with the attribute bonus of the blade, the sharp edge sliced swiftly and accurately through, like cutting through tofu, easily claiming its head without any resistance.
"Although its strength and speed are greater than that of an ordinary person, without a brain, it can't even compare to the Killing Demons of the little town."
He kicked away the abnormality's head and kept walking along the street.
Although some abnormalities appeared along the way, they were all about the same level as the first hyena-like creature - dangerous, but not enough.
But when he reached the next block,
Level 2 pollution abnormalities started to appear, their Strength and Movement Technique averaging around thirty, although Su Qi managed to deal with them.
Now his Strength and Movement Technique attributes were both 15, and with the bonus from the Hundred Man Slaughter Blade, he could burst forth with comparable might.
Plus, the most important thing.
Combat was not just about comparing attributes for victory or defeat; if the opponent wasn't bulletproof, sometimes it was a matter of a single blow, especially since Su Qi also possessed a powerful Skill called "Thunderbolt" in his hand.
Su Qi moved on.
"This is the Third Block; the pollution is even more apparent, and the abnormalities are getting stronger."
"That means I'm not going in the wrong direction, the closer I get to the source of collapse, the more severe the pollution."
Su Qi could already distinctly hear various spiritual pollution-like screams, resonating with his heart, making them hard to ignore; he looked at the prompt in front of him[Spiritual Power -4], then did not retreat but instead turned on the watch to activate it.
```
[You will be immune to 90% of pollution, duration five minutes]
Instantly.
He felt a clarity wash over his mind, the surrounding screeches diminishing to a mere whisper.
"The area up ahead is lethal now."
Su Qi looked toward the end of the block and could also see some huge vague figures in the mist, standing 5-10 metres tall, some carrying objects as big as buses, footfalls thundering on the ground.
"They are all monsters now."
He quickened his pace, sprinting down the streets.
This time, he must acquire the information he needed; Su Qi never returned empty-handed.
The massive aberration moved slowly and didn't notice Su Qi following behind, allowing him to quickly reach the end of the street.
At this dilapidated intersection.
Su Qi controlled his movements, then peeked out, and at that instant, he felt as if the hissing sound was a horde of demonic spirits howling into his brain!
But with the immunity from the watch, he was instantly clear-headed.
At the same time.
He could finally see the streets a kilometre away.
That was the city center.
All the buildings were flattened, surrounded by astonishingly huge monstrosities.
Jellyfish-like tentacle monsters shrouded the sky like black shadows.
Disproportioned human-shaped monsters, their heads like two sirens, moved slowly.
And a mountain of flesh full of abscesses, every lump of its flesh sprouting eyes.
[Spiritual Power -1]
Even the watch couldn't completely ward off the sight.
And at the center of it all.
There seemed to be an item placed there, unclear from this distance.
"Is that the Source of Pollution?"
Su Qi could see [?] and [!] appear but was too far away to glean more information.
However.
Su Qi withdrew his gaze.
Now that he knew where the source was, the information he had gathered was sufficient.
What came next was to return and plan, because... each of those terrifying giant monsters was exceedingly dangerous, far beyond what he could currently contend with.
Relying solely on the watch and the "Thunderbolt" Skill to bypass these monsters and reach the center had a success rate of perhaps less than 1%.
Ten minutes later.
Su Qi, carrying the body of a Level 2 abnormality, returned to his apartment.
He placed it in the kitchen freezer, which was filled with various abnormal parts: eyeballs, tentacles, ears studded with rusted nails, and so forth.
It seemed these were leftovers from what the administrator had cooked.
And at that moment.
A series of heavy footsteps began to echo, followed by a terrifying, deep voice: "It doesn't seem to be your turn to be on duty today, what are you doing..."
Su Qi turned around, the full body bandages making the identity of the person before him clear.
The Bandaged Man.
"But never mind."
It stared at Su Qi, issuing a strange laugh, while holding a sickle in its hand.
"Knowing you're a hot commodity and still daring to wander alone."
"I'm really quite lucky."
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