The fishlike mouth split open at a horrifying angle.
Facing the Aberrant's lunging jaws, He Zheng's expression twisted savagely.
Tiny broken teeth lined the entire mouth like barbs. Looking closely, he could even see entrails writhing deep in its gullet.
Less than half a meter away, the creature's breath flooded his nose.
It smelled like rotting seaweed stirred into excrement, so overpowering he nearly retched.
Crack!
As the jaws snapped down, the flying fire axe wedged squarely between them.
Splinters flew. The immense bite crushed the axe's wooden haft.
"Aaaah!"
Seizing that brief pause, He Zheng roared and drove his left hand into the monster's mouth, clawing desperately into its gullet.
The Aberrant was too slippery and too heavy. Without doing this, he had no confidence he could hold it!
At the same time, Zhang Tie charged with everything he had.
He hurled himself at its feet like a cannonball and seized both ankles in a death grip.
He was afraid, too. But He Zheng couldn't restrain the monster alone, no matter how hard he fought.
"We've got it!"
"Ye Lin!"
"Shoot!"
With the creature finally held, He Zheng shouted.
Blood streamed from his mouth and nose. Pinned against the wall, he felt as though a truck were crushing him over and over.
The monster's strength was terrifying.
It thrashed like a crazed bull, breaking several of his ribs as it slammed into him.
In the wrenching agony, he felt as if his organs were about to be squeezed to pulp.
One second. Perhaps two.
Just as He Zheng was about to lose his grip, gunfire cracked out.
Bang! Bang!
The muzzle flashes blazed.
A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.
Two shots rang out in quick succession. The bullets seemed to form a single line as they bored into the monster's left eye.
Its eyeball burst. Pus, blood, and brains sprayed from the far side of its head.
Bloodied bullets spun out.
A system announcement sounded. The fish monster went rigid, then toppled backward with a thud.
...
"Hah... hah..."
Utterly drained, He Zheng slumped onto the floor, gasping.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I almost died!"
He let the curses fly.
Seeing Zhang Tie still sprawled on the floor, clinging to the creature's feet, he gave him a feeble kick.
"It's fucking dead... What are you still holding on for?"
He swallowed, struggling to slow his pounding heart.
He knew this had been far too much for the newcomers.
Looking at their shaken faces, he said little. With effort, he raised his head toward Ye Lin, who was slowly lowering his pistol.
"Kid, you're a... a pretty good shot."
"That fucking thing's finally dead..."
He sucked in another breath.
"You should've gotten points, right? How... how many?"
Ye Lin fell silent. After a brief hesitation, he answered slowly.
"One."
"Just one point."
He Zheng showed no surprise, as though he'd expected it.
"Hah. Thought so. Judging by your face, you're wondering... why so little?"
"Now do you believe me about every point being hard to earn? I only got 0.3. The big guy got 0.1 at most. You were lucky last round. Those rewards only came so easily because it's your first exam."
He managed a strained smile. For some reason, Ye Lin's expression made him feel a little better.
Ye Lin said nothing.
He knew why He Zheng had suddenly asked.
The monster was dead, but his heart was heavy.
When the system announced the one-point reward, he'd been more shaken than when the Aberrant first appeared.
One Aberrant, worth a total of 1.4 points, had been this hard to kill. He could scarcely imagine the horrors awaiting them in later exams.
No wonder He Zheng had no hope of leaving. Failing to earn points didn't necessarily mean he was incompetent.
"What about your arm?"
Pushing down the weight in his chest, Ye Lin looked at He Zheng's arm.
His left arm lay limp on the floor like a noodle, dripping blood.
It might have looked usable, but only a little flesh still connected it to his shoulder. The slightest tug could tear it off completely.
As the group's strongest fighter, his injuries would seriously compromise their chances from here on.
Seeing Ye Lin's concern, He Zheng staggered to his feet. The others cried out as he grimaced and forcibly tore away his ruined arm. Then he quickly took a spray bottle from his pocket and sprayed the wound.
Red liquid emerged from the nozzle. His wound healed with astonishing speed, stopping the bleeding and scabbing over within seconds. The agony on his face changed strangely into pleasure.
Seeing the others gape in shock, He Zheng gave them a weary glance. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
"Country bumpkins. Never seen one before?"
"Healing item. Comes with pain relief. System-made. Five points a bottle, but you only get three uses."
"Fuck... Last time my guts were hanging out, and I still couldn't bear to use it."
He bared his teeth, stashed the precious spray behind his waist, and tossed the severed arm casually aside.
"Losing my left arm won't make that much difference."
He shook out his right arm. Noticing Lin Ya and Hu Jia trembling with fear, he sneered, but said no more.
Newcomers performing poorly was normal. Ye Lin was the exception.
Apart from him, the best first-timer He Zheng had ever seen was only about as good as Zhang Tie. An Ke had at least thought to pick up an iron pipe, but she couldn't help much, either.
"What will you do afterward?"
Ye Lin frowned, not expecting him to give up an arm.
In his plan, He Zheng hadn't needed to sacrifice it, although sparing it would have cost Ye Lin two more bullets.
"It's fine. Finish the mission and get back to the Death Gaokao Space, and any injury can be healed. Just costs some points."
"Fucking system. Everything costs points."
"Forget it. What do we do next? Doesn't sound like the rest are coming."
He Zheng retrieved what remained of the fire axe. Finding it still barely usable, he walked over to Ye Lin.
With the bleeding stopped, he was pale but retained some fighting strength.
For some reason, the dense shrieks had gradually faded since they'd encountered this Aberrant.
That gave him some breathing room.
But he had no idea what to do next.
"We can only keep moving."
"It's not that the monsters aren't coming. They may be stuck somewhere."
There was no time to marvel at the mysteries of the Death Gaokao Space. Ye Lin nodded and explained as they walked.
"Aberrants probably aren't very intelligent. They act on instinct. I don't think they actually detected us. The commotion on the second floor drew their attention."
"I suspect there's something wrong with their vision. The others want to come, but they're blundering around the passages like headless flies. That's why they haven't arrived."
"The one we killed just happened to be nearby."
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
He Zheng instinctively asked.
He hoped Ye Lin was right, but he really didn't think their eyesight could be poor.
With eyes that big, surely they could see extremely well.
"Sound. They're far too sensitive to sound. That Aberrant leaped past you because someone screamed. That tells us it's highly sensitive to noise. From an evolutionary perspective, its hearing takes far greater priority than its vision."
"Of course, it might only be sensitive to high-frequency sounds."
"And..."