Chapter 1180: Blood Manipulation Mutation
Although Bai Zemin did not know where the campus pharmacy had been built in this dimension, his senses and ability were literally on the level of a god when compared to the humans of this alt-world.
It was not difficult at all for him to find the place, and with his speed, it took him no more than an instant to reach it.
Standing on top of a six-story building, Bai Zemin sighed slightly in relief as he saw the scene in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
About a dozen ice pikes struck the body of a creature several meters tall comparable to a three-story building.
Although the ice pikes looked extremely deadly and their sharp ends seemed to be able to pierce through everything, the beast's armor that continuously released sonic waves protected it from any damage.
However, the person who launched the ice pikes had clearly already learned the giant beast's attack pattern as it was soon revealed that each ice pike was nothing more than a weak shell to conceal the true attack.
A dense amount of white mist exploded outward as the ice pikes were destroyed by the sonic waves released by the creature, promptly covering an area of fifty meters and freezing everything in its interior.
Shriek!
The chilling shriek of the seven-meter-tall beetle caused the building in front of it to collapse directly with a thunderous explosion.
'Shangguan Bing Xue' rolled out of the way with all her might and rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging the sound wave caused by the beetle's shriek as well as the large debris of the destroyed building flying everywhere.
"Damn it!" She growled under her breath as she looked with a touch of desperation at the beast in front of her.
Amidst the entire frozen area, only the giant beetle continued to move.
Its steps were slow and unsteady as a result of having 80% of its body covered by a light layer of ice, but this was not enough to stop the beast.
"Just... Just what the hell is this monster...!"
'Shangguan Bing Xue's' body had several cuts, but the worst hit of all was right on her forehead from where red blood ran staining the right side of her face. Her clothes were in rags, her face was pale, and her left arm seemed to be disabled probably as a result of being hit by a large debris.
'She's running out of Spiritual Power.' Bai Zemin noticed from over 200 meters away.
Although he didn't know much about Spiritual Power, does he know much about Mana? Both were energies that Bai Zemin possessed, so to some extent he could sense them in the body of others if they had them.
And at this moment, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' was almost an empty shell inside.
"It's different from the Blazing Flame Beetle I fought against in my dimension." Bai Zemin looked at the flesh armor and the hundreds of small mouths around the creature, "This one seems to have less attack power overall but greater long-range fighting ability... If the me from back then encountered this monster while being on the same level as the Blazing Flame Beetle I would have definitely been killed."
The only reason Bai Zemin won that battle was because he used his advantages and the enemy's disadvantages to his favor, in addition to his quick wits.
Had it not been for the fact that the Blazing Flame Beetle was slow and had no ranged attack capability, Bai Zemin would have died without a doubt.
Bai Zemin watched for almost a full minute the way 'Shangguan Bing Xue' was doing her best to drive the mutant beast away from the area while giving her best to protect a particular area.
"I see... Now I understand." He looked at her with complicated eyes as he muttered to himself, "Although this Bing Xue's personality is not 100% accurate to the Bing Xue I know, they both have great similarities to each other... And apparently they both value friendship very highly."
Bai Zemin could sense that inside a half-destroyed building in the opposite direction of where 'Shangguan Bing Xue' was trying to carry the beetle was an unconscious person.
This person was definitely Chen He, as he was the only one who could not be seen anywhere.
"A great woman, undoubtedly." Bai Zemin raised a finger and pointed at the beetle with the intention of killing the beast.
Although she and he had no relationship, Bai Zemin felt extremely reluctant to let her die.
Not only was it about her being a good person, but it was also about her being, after all, a not-so-different version of one of the most important people in his life.
Bai Zemin was not a perfect god, he was just another human with flaws. It was impossible for him to always do what he was supposed to do, even leaving aside his emotions.
Just as Bai Zemin was planning to take the beetle's life, a thought that made him pause crossed his mind.
"..." Bai Zemin sighed softly, "Blood Chains."
...
'Shangguan Bing Xue' was running as she tried her best to pull the creature with her.
'It's no good... If I keep wasting energy on my ability I will lose the capacity to strengthen my body to return not to mention fight zombies or other creatures!' A flash of anger shone in her eyes as she remembered the way this whole mess had been unleashed: 'I swear to the heavens that if I get out of this alive I will definitely take care of that little good-for-nothing!'
However, besides anger, what 'Shangguan Bing Xue' felt was sadness.
She knew deep in her heart that she would not survive beyond this hour.
Who would want to die being a genius and having such a good appearance? Moreover, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' felt that there were many things she still needed to live and experience.
Unfortunately, the only path that would lead to her survival had been sealed by herself.
The beetle was so powerful that it had already locked her in with its killing intent, so even if she ran back to the gymnasium it would eventually catch up with her. Therefore, she could only escape by sacrificing someone else.
Did she have someone to sacrifice? Of course, she did.
Wasn't Chen He passed out? In fact, he was nothing but an obstacle from any point of view at this stage.
However, such a thought did not cross her mind even for once.
Boom!
An explosion brought 'Shangguan Bing Xue' out of her negative thoughts, but before she could move to the side she was startled when she felt the surroundings rumbling fiercely.
'And now what is it?!' The monster behind her better not come out with anything new this late in the game!
'Shangguan Bing Xue' didn't stop running, but when she looked back her blue eyes widened and her footsteps slowly stopped until she finally came to a complete stop.
There, about fifteen meters behind her, the over seven-meter tall beetle was lying on the ground with more than five chains each as thick as a tree trunk coiling fiercely around it.
No matter how much the beast shrieked, writhed, or how many sound waves it released using its armor's capacity... The thick, blood-red chains with golden shades showed no signs of giving way in the slightest.
What... Just, what's going on...
The beautiful blue eyes of 'Shangguan Bing Xue' trembled slightly as she realized that those terrifying chains not only could not be destroyed by the giant beetle but were also weakening it at a rapid rate with each passing second!
'Someone is helping me... Could it be...' A thought flashed in her head but she quickly dismissed it forcefully: 'It doesn't matter if someone is helping me or not. This is the only opportunity I have left!'
As the beetle released sound waves everywhere, shattering buildings and crushing the ground, its strength plummeted.
'Shangguan Bing Xue' used that time to take cover to the best of her ability before using most of what little Spiritual Power she had left to form a pure ice sword in her pristine hand.
About twenty seconds later, the beetle's revolt seemed to stop... and this was its signal to leave.
'Shangguan Bing Xue' came out like a whirlwind from behind her cover and dashed towards the weakened beetle using her max speed.
She frowned as her eyes met those of the beetle that was staring at her with murderous intent overflowing, but her movements were certainly not slow as she directly stabbed the spot between the creature's eyebrows.
Clang...
Shangguan Bing Xue's pupils trembled for an instant but she quickly recovered from the shock and fear she felt when she saw that she was unable to break through her enemy's defense.
One...two...three...four...ten...twenty...fifty....
For almost a full minute, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' used her ice sword to stab the same place over and over again without rest.
Two minutes later, gasping, she released the hilt of her sword firmly stuck on the beast's head and made it explode inside, freezing the destroyed brain.
"It ended..." 'Shangguan Bing Xue' fell to her two knees, panting heavily and sweating as she gazed with tired eyes at the downed giant monster in front of her.
She... Had she really killed such a terrifying monster...?
'No.' She looked at the red blood chains before searching her surroundings with no success.
She had delivered the last strike, that was for sure. However, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' was neither foolish nor arrogant enough to take credit for an achievement that did not belong to her.
Although she had her suspicions as regarding who had helped her, she had no way of proving it until she returned to the gymnasium. But even then, she doubted she would be able to get the answer she sought.
"Chen He..." 'Shangguan Bing Xue' grimaced as she forced herself to stand up, and after searching on the verge of collapsing for a while she finally found the building where Chen He was.
He had taken a direct hit from a sound wave, resulting in his current situation.
In the distance, Bai Zemin silently watched the retreat of 'Shangguan Bing Xue' with 'Chen He' unconscious on her back.
About a minute later, his body swayed and the next instant he appeared in front of the lifeless body of the giant beetle.
He looked at it for what seemed like an eternity before a faint smile formed at the corner of his lips.
"Interesting... I wasn't expecting this kind of result."
[For unknown reasons, your Blood Manipulation skill has mutated after coming into direct contact with a different battle energy.]
[Your Blood Manipulation skill is now not only able to restrict and absorb mana, but it can also slightly absorb the enemy's spiritual power in exchange for consuming mana].
* * * * * * *