Chapter 37 :- Protagonist Chicken Out & Giant Monkey

It's undeniable that Chu Feng's decade-long experience in the apocalypse has honed his abilities to a formidable level. His constant battles since the world's end have further enhanced his skills, making him a match for Lu Yu in terms of attributes. 

This implies that if both were to engage in close combat at their peak states, Chu Feng would have the upper hand, even against Lu Yu and Ding Feng combined. 

This is because a person's combat strength is not solely dependent on the weapons they wield or their level of enhancement, but also heavily relies on their fighting skills.

However, Chu Feng's current situation is far from ideal. He had exhausted most of his stamina while assisting Tao Yong in dealing with the mobs. Even after a brief rest, his condition was still inferior to that of Lu Yu and Ding Feng. 

To make matters worse, Lu Yu's surprise attack had left a deep wound on his arm, causing continuous blood loss. The longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for Chu Feng.

Chu Feng was well aware of his predicament and knew he needed to resolve the situation quickly. 

However, Lu Yu seemed to have identified his weakness and kept provoking him while he was engaged in combat with Ding Feng. 

Normally, Chu Feng would have been able to maintain his composure and repel the two opponents with his unyielding spirit. But Lu Yu's provocations were all related to Yan Yun, which infuriated Chu Feng and made it difficult for him to remain calm.

In his rage, Chu Feng decided to charge at Lu Yu, intending to engage in a fight to the death. Lu Yu, with his superior mental power, was able to detect Chu Feng's emotional instability and launched a wind blade attack at him. 

At that moment, Chu Feng's rage had significantly reduced his special predictive ability, and his weakened physical state made it impossible for him to dodge Lu Yu's wind blade in time.

The wind blade, which was compressed and thus stronger at its center, hit Chu Feng, opening a long incision on his right abdomen and staining his shirt with blood. 

Chu Feng was only slightly pushed back by the strong wind, but this gave Ding Feng an opportunity to launch a kick at him.

In a typical fight, an ordinary person hit by Lu Yu's wind blade would easily lose their balance and become vulnerable to Ding Feng's subsequent attacks. But Chu Feng was no ordinary person. His rich combat experience and quick reactions allowed him to twist his body to avoid Ding Feng's kick and use his fire ax to force Ding Feng back while moving to the left.

Frustrated and angry at his injuries, Chu Feng cursed at Lu Yu, who was standing at a distance, refusing to engage in close combat. 

Lu Yu simply looked at Chu Feng and demanded an apology, promising to forgive him if he complied. Chu Feng responded with more curses, prompting Lu Yu to call him a fool and Ding Feng to launch another attack.

Chu Feng decided to retreat towards the entrance on the other side of the secret realm. Despite his exhaustion and injuries, Chu Feng was able to outrun Lu Yu and Ding Feng, thanks to a slight energy fluctuation in his feet that increased his running speed by at least 30%. 

Lu Yu, unable to catch up or hit Chu Feng with his wind blade, could only watch as Chu Feng disappeared into the distance.

In the meantime, Lu Yu consumed a black iron crystal nucleus to recover his physical strength and enhance his vitality, strength, and agility. With only two wind blades left and the need to control the two guys in front of him, Lu Yu felt it was necessary to consume the crystal nucleus. 

Looking at the overwhelmed Tao Yong and Wu Qiang in the distance, Lu Yu took a deep breath and told them, "It's up to you now."

After Lu Yu and his companions successfully eliminated two high-level mantises on the hotel's first floor, Lu Yu found his physical strength had been reduced to just over half. 

As they continued their journey through the secret realm, battling various monsters along the way, their energy reserves dwindled further.

In a strategic move to maintain his dominance and ensure absolute safety, Lu Yu consumed the crystal core without any second thoughts. This action left his companions, Tao Yong and Wu Qiang, utterly stunned.

Initially, when Yan Yun was healing them, they didn't give it much thought. After all, Yan Yun was helping them, and it would have been inappropriate to harbor any ill intentions at that moment. 

However, when Lu Yu unexpectedly attacked Chu Feng, they began to contemplate their future prospects.

They considered seizing the opportunity to eliminate Chu Feng and Lu Yu and claim the treasure for themselves. However, the conflict between the two parties concluded swiftly, with Lu Yu inflicting verbal harm on Chu Feng for the second time. This led them to abandon their initial plan decisively.

Later, they noticed Lu Yu appearing exhausted and out of breath, yet he still managed to transfer Ding Feng away. This observation sparked their curiosity once again. But now, it seemed as if Lu Yu had fully recovered. 

They were left wondering what had transpired.

Tao Yong, noticing Lu Yu's regained strength, didn't have the time to delve deeper into the matter. He reluctantly assured Lu Yu that they were on the same side. 

He didn't dare to flee or resist, as his awakened ability was merely strengthening. His role, aptly named Lux, was characterized by immense strength and resilience.

However, due to his lack of speed and excessive physical strength, he was incapable of using his own body to resist Lu Yu's wind blade. Moreover, he lacked special life-saving skills like Chu Feng. Unable to fight or flee, what could he possibly do?

Wu Qiang was in a similar predicament. He harbored a natural fear of Lu Yu. If it weren't for his special awakened abilities, he wouldn't even dare to entertain any thoughts of betrayal. 

Now, seeing Lu Yu's capabilities, he too resigned to resistance. His awakened ability merely enhanced his speed, defense, and attack power. 

Even with excessive physical exertion, he couldn't outrun Lu Yu. Therefore, he had no choice but to comply with Tao Yong's arrangements and follow Lu Yu's directives.

Lu Yu, along with his two companions, cautiously approached the cave. He asked them about the monkey inside, 

"You mentioned earlier that you couldn't defeat this monkey. Have you fought it before?"

With Tao Yong's further explanation, Lu Yu began to understand the situation. The large monkey inside the cave was quite unique. It wouldn't leave the cave unless provoked, even if its companions were killed.

After they had eliminated the last dozen or so monkeys, they ventured inside and encountered this large monkey. They discovered that the monkey was enormous and appeared to be quite aggressive and fierce. Left with no choice, they had to flee for their lives.

However, after escaping a certain distance, they realized that the monster wasn't pursuing them. They then returned to the cave to retrieve the treasure. 

Based on their judgment and analysis, they believed that the monster wouldn't stray too far from the cave. This led them to devise a plan to lure the monster away and seize the treasure.

Lu Yu wasn't entirely sure about the veracity of their statements, but he had his own methods to verify them. He instructed, "Wu Qiang, you go and attract the monster. 

Tao Yong, you go ahead!"

Wu Qiang's awakened ability was different from ordinary abilities. His ability was animal-based. Humans could not only awaken various abilities but also awaken animal genes. 

Those who had awakened animal genes would retain human characteristics and wisdom while also possessing the characteristics of the animal. The power of the two would be superimposed on each other.

Wu Qiang was one such individual. The animal genes he had awakened were not of a lizard but of a dinosaur, specifically a Deinonychus. 

In normal times, his strength and speed were not much stronger than that of ordinary people. However, once in combat mode, his body and limbs would automatically take on the shape of a Deinonychus, enhancing his strength, agility, attack, and defense.

This was also the reason why he sustained only minor injuries despite facing numerous mutant monkeys after entering the secret realm. 

His ability had just been awakened, and its development was not particularly complete, making him appear more like a lizard.

As for whether he would betray Lu Yu in the future, Lu Yu wasn't concerned. He had the eyes of villains and knew how to subdue them.

Lu Yu signaled Wu Qiang, who had no choice but to stand in the middle of the cave. It was then that Lu Yu noticed that Wu Qiang wasn't wearing any shoes. Unaware of Lu Yu's thoughts, Wu Qiang took a deep breath. 

The exposed skin on his hands and feet began to mutate, darkening in color and wrinkling, giving the appearance of scales from a distance. Soon, his fingers and toes also transformed into claw-like structures. However, he didn't have a tail.

Observing Wu Qiang's transformation, Lu Yu thought to himself, "This guy's ability seems quite strong."

Although Chu Feng wasn't killed, Lu Yu felt a sense of regret. 

However, based on Chu Feng's performance, Lu Yu concluded that if Chu Feng didn't have any other tricks up his sleeve, he wouldn't be able to turn the tide. Therefore, Lu Yu decided to retrieve the treasure inside the cave.

While contemplating his next move, Wu Qiang, who had lured the monster, suddenly cursed and ran out of the cave in panic. 

A monkey, standing 1.8 meters tall at the waist, quickly caught up to Wu Qiang. The monkey moved swiftly and was extremely violent, completely ignoring Lu Yu and Tao Yong at the entrance of the cave.

Lu Yu quickly regained his senses and urgently instructed Tao Yong to enter the cave. Simultaneously, he glanced at the monkey that had emerged. A line of text appeared in his sight, 

{"Name: Mutated Golden Monkey. 

Level: Black Iron High Rank. Explanation: 

The power of the abyss has eroded their brains and changed their genes, causing them to lose their original intelligence and at the same time mutate to varying degrees. 

Note:" Although the mutated primates will lose their original intelligence, they will be better at melee than other animals, please handle with care."}

Observing the monkey, Lu Yu noticed a black pattern on the skin under the monkey's golden fur. The black lines appeared to be turning yellow. He wondered if it was about to become bronze level monster.

Shaking his head, Lu Yu stopped pondering over it and quickly followed Tao Yong into the cave. The cave wasn't very deep. Within two meters of entering, they could see a cave house the size of a classroom, standing three meters high.

The cave was completely enclosed, but the lighting was adequate due to the numerous night pearls embedded in the surrounding walls. 

In the middle of the cave, there was a square table with three stone pillars radiating a faint blue light. The blue light of the middle stone pillar was very bright, while the blue light of the stone pillars on either side was much dimmer.

Above each stone pillar, a treasure was floating. Floating above the middle stone pillar was a primitive-looking parchment scroll, about 25 centimeters long, tied with a red string. 

On the left was an antique ring with a relatively large sapphire at the top, the size of a black iron crystal nucleus. 

On the right was a jade pendant shaped like a drop of water.

The material of the jade pendant was very similar to Hetian jade, only the size of an adult thumb. The sight of the three faint blue stone pillars and the three suspended treasures was quite magical.

Upon seeing this mysterious cave and the three floating treasures, Tao Yong's breathing quickened.

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