Chapter 31: Tactical Armor

𝗜'𝗺 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 10-20 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗞𝗼-𝗙𝗜. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗲! 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘆𝗼𝘂!!

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The sharp Tang knife plunged straight into the most vulnerable abdomen of the mutated dog, causing it to lose the ability to resist.

Seizing the moment, Ye Zian slashed the knife across the dog's belly, resulting in a massive wound that spilled its internal organs onto the ground.

"Awoo."

The mutated dog panted heavily, collapsing to the ground and howling in pain, its blood soaking the floor and mixing with the remnants of corpses from earlier.

Ye Zian gave it no chance to retaliate, using both hands to forcefully snap the dog's throat.

Beside the fallen creature, a purple card appeared, indicating that the mutated dog had been completely defeated by Ye Zian.

"Ha..."

Ye Zian exhaled deeply, collapsing onto the ground.

The battle had been evenly matched; it was only with the help of the Tang knife that he managed to narrowly win against the mutated dog.

Though the wounds on his body were not fatal, the dog had still inflicted significant injuries, and sweat mingled with the blood, causing a stinging pain at each wound.

Fortunately, this mutated dog had not fully evolved and was not a zombie dog; otherwise, he would have likely met his end today.

Seeing that the fight was over, Chen Ruoxue hurried over to support Ye Zian.

Looking at the deep and shallow wounds on his body, she anxiously took out some bandages to tend to him, asking urgently,

"Are you okay?"

Watching Ye Zian put himself in danger while she could only stand by, Chen Ruoxue began to question her own abilities for the first time.

A thought crossed her mind.

"If it weren't for saving me, Ye Zian wouldn't have gotten hurt this badly."

Ye Zian pulled out the Tang knife and, with Chen Ruoxue's help, managed to stand up.

The appearance of the mutated dog had indeed caught him off guard.

However, Ye Zian could easily see through Chen Ruoxue's emotional changes, and he comforted her, saying,

"This is a mutated dog, far stronger than an ordinary zombie. It's a creature that requires hundreds or thousands of people to deal with together."

Chen Ruoxue knew Ye Zian was trying to reassure her, and she silently resolved to train hard in the simulation room once they returned.

Just as Ye Zian prepared to pick up the card on the ground, a shadow rushed out from the darkness, crashing into both him and Chen Ruoxue.

The elevator doors behind them, already unstable due to the lack of power, easily gave way under the force of the impact.

The two of them slammed against the wall of the elevator shaft, along with the shadow, falling straight down the shaft.

If they fell into the seemingly bottomless elevator shaft, they would surely be dead or severely injured.

In a moment of crisis, Ye Zian recalled a scene from a movie about using the enemy's body to protect oneself.

He quickly wrapped his arms around Chen Ruoxue, pressing their bodies against the shadow.

"Bang!"

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed throughout the mall.

With the shadow cushioning their fall, Ye Zian felt safe, realizing he had underestimated the boost provided by his high attributes.

Chen Ruoxue fared a bit better, as the combined weight of Ye Zian and the shadow meant she had only sustained minor abrasions.

After a brief moment to gather herself, she took out a flashlight from her backpack to illuminate the dark space.

Surrounded by concrete walls, Ye Zian lay atop the body of a pitch-black beast, with his wounds still bleeding.

The flashlight beam revealed the shadow beneath them to be a smaller mutated dog, its head hanging limply, blood splattered everywhere.

Looking at the dead mutated dog, Ye Zian remarked,

"I didn't expect there to be two mutated dogs. It seems this one and the one upstairs were a pair, dying together."

The probability of encountering mutated creatures was exceptionally low, yet Ye Zian had encountered two in such a short time.

A pair of star-crossed lovers had perished here, a perfect opportunity for him to have some protection.

On the ground, there was also a blue card; Ye Zian picked it up and found it to be an equipment card for **[Tactical Armor]**.

"This is a good find."

Before he could finish his thought, a sound of gears turning echoed from above.

"Ka-chak!"

The elevator at the top began to shift, rapidly descending.

Ye Zian's heart raced; if the elevator landed on them, they would surely be turned into paste.

Could his journey as a villain end here?

Ye Zian quickly stored the mutated dog's corpse in his space and, using the last of his strength, wedged the Tang knife into the wall while pulling out several steel beams to construct a makeshift support structure.

For now, he could only hope for the best.

"Click, click, click."

As the elevator continued to fall, the friction from the clamps on either side slowed its descent somewhat.

However, both of them were still tense, pressed tightly against the ground, afraid to move.

With a massive crash, the area filled with smoke as the elevator came to a halt just a meter above them, trapped by the Tang knife and the steel beams.

They exchanged glances, both filled with the joy of having survived.

Several steel beams had already warped but remained stubbornly in place.

Ye Zian quickly used his mind to extract more steel beams, handing them to Chen Ruoxue to reinforce the elevator's structure.

Chen Ruoxue took her task seriously, immediately starting to secure the beams to the bottom of the elevator.

Meanwhile, Ye Zian had already collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.

In the cramped elevator shaft, surrounded by beams meant to support the elevator, this was all the space they had to move.

They could only curl up tightly together, facing each other.

Ye Zian's warm breath brushed against Chen Ruoxue's face, and in the enclosed space, the temperature began to rise, creating a charged atmosphere.

In the darkness, Chen Ruoxue gazed at Ye Zian with a somewhat dazed expression.

Recalling everything that had just happened, the strong-willed Chen Ruoxue unexpectedly leaned in and kissed Ye Zian on the lips.

This was not only due to the aura of dominance and strength Ye Zian had displayed during the fight but also the subtle feelings that had grown through their shared experiences.

Combined with the specific atmosphere, it led Chen Ruoxue to offer this kiss.

Left with no ability to resist, Ye Zian could only passively respond to Chen Ruoxue.

"Captain, city lord, are you down there?"

The oblivious call broke the intimate atmosphere, snapping Chen Ruoxue back to reality as she quickly pulled away.

The voice from above sounded urgent, revealing that the search team, along with Anna and An Ziyu, had come to provide support.

As the team arrived on the sixth floor, preparing for battle, they found the area littered with bloody corpses and the dead mutated dog but no sign of the two.

Had the city lord met with misfortune?

"Boss, boss!"

Anna's booming voice echoed throughout the mall.

At that moment, Anna spotted an elevator door that had been forcefully opened nearby. She rushed over, moving quickly.

The elevator shaft was over thirty meters deep, and all they could see was the top of the elevator below.

•---•---•---•---•

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗝𝗰1202' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗼-𝗙𝗶 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 35+ 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:

𝗞𝗼-𝗙𝗶.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗚𝗼𝗱𝗢𝗳𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿