"Wait, this guy is trying to... help?"
The girl with the mechanical arm immediately noticed Ji Xun's gesture. Her instincts told her: What can he possibly do to help?
But this was an A-grade disaster!
Could he really think he could intervene in this battle with such weak combat abilities?
Why not just stay as bait and survive?
Over the course of their day together, she had realized that Ji Xun wasn't just weakened by the Fallen Witch's draining abilities. He was genuinely weak, and she couldn't sense any kind of magical energy from him at all.
But at the same time, looking at his actions, she immediately noticed something else: He hasn't been affected by the mental corruption?
Under normal circumstances, anyone who was in close proximity to the Fallen Witch would have fallen under her mental control long ago, especially considering the monster had mutated into an A-grade disaster.
Yet, here Ji Xun was, not only free from mental control but also so calm and composed, signaling his intent to help.
Could it be that he has awakened some kind of demonic sigil related to mental power?
Suddenly, the girl realized something.
That's why he was able to survive the entire night with the witch. But even with strong mental power, it doesn't hide the fact that he's still weak in combat.
...
"Should I... let him try?"
For a brief moment, the girl hesitated.
Though she didn't believe Ji Xun could be of much help, at this point, she had no choice.
The monster had mutated again, and though she still had a fighting chance, she couldn't defeat it in the short term.
And now, with all the monsters in the alternate dimension in berserk mode, she had heard the gunfire from outside. If they didn't act quickly, the other monsters would breach the door, and the situation would escalate.
She made up her mind. Let him try. The situation can't get any worse anyway.
She knew that the witch's weakness was its mouthparts.
The only way to deal lethal damage was through that vulnerable area.
But the monster was clever. It had kept its mouthparts hidden throughout the fight.
With that thought, the girl made a calculated decision and deliberately created a "mistake" during the battle.
She gripped the creature's tail with one hand and, with the other, forced herself to hold its front limbs at bay.
It seemed like both of her hands were immobilized in an instant.
The witch immediately sensed the opening and, without hesitation, its grotesque, baby-like mouth opened, ejecting a spiny, fleshy appendage aimed directly at her chest.
"Whoosh!"
The speed was blinding.
The girl's pupils constricted. She saw the mouthpart coming straight at her and thought, Finally, it's showing its true form. This is the best chance!
...
At almost the same time.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from the room.
The shot was perfectly timed.
Most people would have missed such a fleeting opening, but Ji Xun had seized it with pinpoint accuracy.
The girl exhaled in relief. Not bad... he didn't miss his chance.
However, just as she was about to feel pleased, a more astonishing sight unfolded before her.
Almost immediately after the gunshot rang out, the world before her exploded in a crimson mist.
"What...?"
The girl was stunned.
The shot had not only been perfectly timed but was also executed with incredible precision!
The mouthpart was fragile, and the regular Demon-Breaking Bullet easily shattered the spiny appendage.
She watched in shock as the blood mist exploded in front of her. Her brain was slowly processing what her eyes had just witnessed: A perfect shot!?
She had known that anyone who dared to offer help would likely be good with a gun.
But what made this different was that he had done it under the influence of the witch's mental corruption. Hitting the target wasn't just about shooting well; it was about maintaining composure amidst the fear and confusion caused by the spiritual chaos.
It was hard enough for most people to stay calm and focused with the looming fear of death and mental distortion, but this guy had done it like it was nothing.
It seemed like he had predicted her movements and the monster's response, allowing him to fire with pinpoint precision.
Such calmness and foresight were impressive—even she wouldn't have done any better.
"Not bad..."
The girl murmured to herself.
She had thought it would take several opportunities to land a successful shot, but it was all over with just one.
But now wasn't the time to be amazed. The creature's mouthpart had been heavily damaged, and the whole room echoed with its horrible screeches.
First, kill the monster!
Her eyes sharpened, and she immediately gathered the power needed for her secret technique. Her aura exploded as she released her telekinetic power, causing an invisible force to surge around her.
It felt like two opposing forces collided, and after a brief moment of struggle, the monster's distorted face inside its mouth exploded, splattering blood and chunks of flesh all around.
...
Ji Xun watched as the monster's face shattered before him, completely confused by the girl's move, but that didn't stop him from realizing that her attack had been incredibly powerful.
"Telekinetic attack?"
He set the gun aside and leaned against the wall.
His body wasn't as resilient as hers. The impact from the battle had left him feeling as though a truck had run over him, with sharp pain coursing through his internal organs.
The monster was dead, and the girl with the mechanical arm let out a sigh of relief.
She glanced at the monster's corpse, then at Ji Xun in the corner, her expression complex, as though wrestling with something internally.
But after a moment, everything was reined back in.
Ji Xun noticed the inner conflict in her eyes and raised an eyebrow.
He could guess what she was thinking.
Once the prey was dead, the value of the bait was gone.
Now, the loot had been claimed, and her secrets were exposed. Under normal circumstances, someone more ruthless would have killed the witness to prevent loose ends.
With such a gap in strength, Ji Xun wouldn't have stood a chance in a confrontation.
And honestly, she wouldn't even need to make a move herself.
During their fight with the monster, she could have easily used the creature's power to kill him if she wanted.
But she didn't.
Even though it would have made things easier for her, she hadn't burned bridges and had, to the best of her ability, kept their cooperation intact.
Of course, if their partnership hadn't been based on trust, Ji Xun would have taken a shot at her as well. Even if it meant risking his life to be killed by the monster, he would have shot first and asked questions later.
...
"This is a Healing Elixir."
The girl's gaze no longer held any trace of inner turmoil.
Instead, she tossed a red vial toward Ji Xun and said, "I got a very rare material. If we make it out alive, I'll settle the compensation for you."
This time, she didn't mention just money—she mentioned additional compensation.
Ji Xun took the vial and smiled, drinking it down in one go.
The fact that she hadn't killed him already was already a sign of goodwill, so he wasn't going to be picky about the rest.
He noticed a silvery light flickering on the corpse, which struck him as unusual.
Did she really just "loot" this monster?
The girl silently drew out a dagger from her leg holster and began to probe the monster's corpse, pulling out something that looked like amber but was semi-transparent.
She thought Ji Xun was curious about the material, so she pointed it out and said, "This."
[Fallen Witch's Secondary Mutated Pituitary Gland]
Quality: Exceptional Silver
Description: A highly rare spiritual material, containing intense disaster energy.
Ji Xun looked at the amber-like material, which was radiating an even more terrifying mental energy than the witch's own aura.
His senses recoiled as he received a prompt in his mind: "You have been affected by curse energy, Chaos +3."
His eyelid twitched. This was a radiation source.
The mechanical-armed girl didn't linger on it. She took out a blank card and whispered, "Contain!"
The hexagram pattern on the back of the card lit up, and the pituitary gland vanished immediately. Then, on the front of the previously blank card, the same image of the material appeared.
The mental corruption disappeared in an instant.
Ji Xun watched in amazement. Spatial containment card?
Another one of these magical cards.
With the material secured, the girl stared at the card in her hand, her expression growing complex.
What she had originally come for was just a witch's material, but now she had something far more valuable.
The best material quality that a first-tier disaster could yield was "Silver," and it was already extremely rare for it to turn into "Exceptional Silver." What she had just acquired had an even rarer "Exceptional" prefix—this was practically a one-in-a-million chance.
In that brief moment when she touched the material, she had felt its immense mental energy. It was the perfect material for crafting her professional cards!
After all, this was a mutated A-grade disaster.
The girl didn't think too much about it. She picked up the glowing white light from the monster's corpse and said, "I have use for the materials. This card is yours. Your mental power