Chapter 22: The Efficacy of 3 Charm Attribute Points
Both parties halted their steps. Inside the laboratory were an elderly man and a cute girl.
The cute girl had a delicate appearance, her outfit and hairstyle somewhat similar to Tokisaki Kurumi, yet she gave Su Xiao a strange feeling.
"A good dog doesn't block the way!"
Though the cute girl had an alluring look, her demeanor was far from cute as she coldly stared at Su Xiao.
"Looks like someone beat us to it. Who has the Philosopher's Stone?"
Su Xiao observed the expressions of the two contractors. The elderly man subconsciously glanced at the cute girl, as if she were the leader, while he seemed somewhat coerced.
"So it's on you. Then this old man is useless."
Zzzz~.
The Realm Severing Thread tightened, pale blue arcs of electricity enveloping it.
"When did this happen?"
The elderly man was greatly alarmed; he hadn't noticed the thread at all.
Su Xiao tightened the Realm Severing Thread. If it were just the thread's damage, it wouldn't kill the old man, but with the Azure Steel Shadow attached, it was a different story. 50 points of True Damage became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Plop.
The elderly man's head was severed, no Scarlet Card dropped.
Putting away the Realm Severing Thread, Su Xiao looked at the cute girl.
"Hand over the Philosopher's Stone."
Both parties had come to seize the Philosopher's Stone, so it came down to who was stronger.
"Not bad attack power, being able to one-shot that waste."
The cute girl's expression remained calm, seemingly indifferent to the old man's death.
"Disappear from my sight. This is your last chance."
The cute girl's attitude was equally tough. Su Xiao said nothing more, drew his blade, and charged forward.
"Thought Wave: Wall."
The cute girl let out a low shout, and an invisible wall rushed toward him.
Su Xiao stopped in his tracks and slashed at the invisible wall.
With a clang, the invisible wall was cut through but didn't shatter.
The cute girl's expression shifted, her eyes filled with wariness.
"You're strong. I can split two Philosopher's Stones with you. If we keep fighting, we'll both be exposed. King Bradley will arrive soon, and Pride will come too."
The cute girl didn't mention the death of her companion and instead began negotiating with Su Xiao.
"Four pieces, and at least Purple quality."
The cute girl hesitated. Su Xiao raised his blade and charged forward.
"Thought Wave: Firm Shield!"
Su Xiao slashed down, but the cute girl stood still, unmoving.
Clang. Another slash broke the shield, the blade stopping just centimeters from her cheek.
"Thought Wave: Impact."
A shockwave erupted, pushing Su Xiao back two steps.
"Fine, four pieces. What rotten luck."
The cute girl tossed out four Philosopher's Stones, one of which was even the size of an egg.
After catching the stones, Su Xiao looked the cute girl up and down. She gave him a strange feeling—this person probably wasn't a woman, yet didn't seem like a man either.
"What are you staring at? Never seen a Kurumi-style crossdresser before?"
Sure enough, this person wasn't a woman.
"Crossdresser... huh."
Su Xiao had learned something new. He'd seen women dressed as men, but this was his first time encountering a male contractor in women's clothing. Was this the legendary trap? It took immense courage, and overcoming the shame was a major hurdle.
The other's peculiar hobby had nothing to do with Su Xiao. He turned to leave.
Just then, a sharp alarm blared through the laboratory.
"Your people?"
The crossdresser looked at Su Xiao. His first thought was that Bubu Wang had been exposed, but he quickly dismissed that idea.
"No, it's your people."
"No, my people are right here."
The crossdresser pointed at the corpse on the ground.
"Then..."
The crossdresser thought of a possibility.
"I ran into another contractor earlier. Looks like there's a third group."
"Tch, what a damn mess. With Envy dead, everyone's losing their cool. I wonder which bastard killed him—what a madman."
Just as Su Xiao was about to part ways with the crossdresser, a violent tremor came from above, and the entire research institute began to tilt.
"It's over. That thing has been released."
The crossdresser, who was no pushover, showed fear on their face. After all, they could go toe-to-toe with Su Xiao, though in a deathmatch, the crossdresser would surely die.
"Hey, Blade Guy, let's temporarily cooperate and break out, or we might both die here."
As they spoke, the crossdresser sent Su Xiao a file.
"I've been watching the Third Research Institute for a while. There's a synthetic beast here that's a monster."
Su Xiao checked the file sent by the crossdresser.
Name: Type III Synthetic Beast (Leader-Class Creature)
Health: 100%
Mana: 60/60
Strength: 50 (World Limit)
Agility: 34
Endurance: 42
Intelligence: 6
Charm: -4
Skill 1: Synthetic Creature (Passive): Health +500, no vital points.
Skill 2: Ancient Ape Bloodline (Passive): Strength +15, Agility +12, Endurance +16.
Skill 3: Unknown.
Skill 4: Unknown.
Skill 5: Unknown.
Skill 6: Unknown.
Su Xiao's eyes twitched at the data on this unknown synthetic beast, but he felt a hint of doubt.
"With a beast this strong, why don't the Homunculi use it?"
He hadn't seen such a monster in the original story, so the crossdresser's words seemed unreliable.
"This monster has no reason and attacks indiscriminately. The Third Research Institute only releases it as a last resort."
No sooner had the crossdresser spoken than a rumbling came from above.
Boom!
The Third Research Institute began to collapse. Su Xiao was on the third underground floor; if the institute caved in, he'd be buried alive.
The crossdresser raised one hand above their head, and without any visible action, a large hole appeared in the ceiling above.
The crossdresser floated up to the upper floor, and Su Xiao was quick to follow.
Soon, Su Xiao reached the first floor of the institute. It was a bloodbath, with numerous researchers killed.
A dozen or so contractors were fleeing in panic, as if something terrifying was chasing them.
Su Xiao immediately ran in the opposite direction. Before he could escape the institute, a loud crash came from above. A five-meter-tall upright creature smashed through the ceiling, walls crumbling like paper before it.
It was a humanoid creature covered in needle-like black fur, with abnormally thick arms, resembling a black gorilla. It held a human leg in its mouth, chewing as blood dripped from its lips.
After finishing the leg, the gorilla synthetic beast wiped its mouth.
"Roar!"
The gorilla beast pounded its chest and let out a furious roar, shockwaves spreading outward.
If one looked closely at its eyes, they'd see red light flickering.
The gorilla turned its gaze to the fleeing contractors. It casually grabbed a three-meter-wide chunk of cement from the ground, tossing it in its hand like a piece of foam before hurling it at them.
Whoosh~.
The cement block turned into a blur from the immense kinetic energy, slamming into the contractors. Their bodies burst like tomatoes hit by a hammer.
A chill ran down Su Xiao's spine. This gorilla was not to be fought head-on.
Perhaps only the Minotaur Lord from the Akame ga Kill world could match this gorilla. This thing was like the protagonist of King Kong, no—it was far stronger.
"Temporary ally, what now? You're melee, hold it off from the front, and I'll support you."
The crossdresser was terrified, their slender legs trembling.
"Bullshit. If you're so capable, you do it. Let's split up and run, see who gets unlucky."
Su Xiao turned and fled. He had no intention of fighting this monster head-on. 50 Strength points must be terrifying.
Su Xiao and the crossdresser chose to run in different directions. The gorilla synthetic beast glanced at the crossdresser, then fixed its gaze on Su Xiao.
Clearly, Su Xiao's luck was bad. This synthetic beast gorilla had its eyes on him.
With the Arena King's bonus, Su Xiao's Charm attribute was 5 points, while the crossdresser's was 15. The gorilla found Su Xiao displeasing and charged straight at him.
His 3 points of base Charm attribute had now exerted its "great efficacy." The gorilla really didn't like Su Xiao and decided to smash him to death!