Chapter 452: Potion Obtained
With such immense force, Xu Huo couldn't control his body at all and could only go with the flow, doing his best to protect himself along the way. Because his protective suit—a game item—was damaged, the feedback from both the seawater pressure and the uncontrolled collisions was excruciating pain.
Wearing the suit prevented him from breathing, so only after the water's churning slowed did he put on the "Oxygen Supply" and then unzip the outer protective suit.
Using a thread to hook onto a fixed object in the laboratory, he stabilized himself as much as possible to search for Dr. Deng and the others.
Although he had placed an automatic raft outside the cabinet where Dr. Deng was hiding, he wasn't sure it wouldn't be destroyed in the explosion. If the cabinet was swept back into the lab, it would be fine, but if it ended up outside, he'd have to salvage it from the seabed—and he didn't know if Dr. Deng could survive until then.
Just then, he felt an unusual undercurrent surging from behind. He instinctively turned his head and saw a long blade slashing toward his face mask.
Dodging to the side to avoid the blade, Xu Huo kicked into the darkness. Kong Hui, whose figure was hidden, seemed to peel away from a layer of algae-like covering, swept further away by the current.
She had wounds from the explosion—many, but not fatal. However, wearing ordinary protective gear made moving underwater difficult, and her usually proud combat skills were ineffective.
Since she was still alive, Kong Cheng was most likely alive too.
Xu Huo turned and swam toward the laboratory room.
Seeing him about to flee, Kong Hui immediately followed. The moment she stepped onto the lab floor, a conveyor belt suddenly appeared beneath her feet, rapidly sending her forward.
Using the current to dodge the blade swung from behind, Xu Huo lured her into the room and hung the Umbrella of Justice on his waist.
Kong Hui's movements visibly hesitated at the sight of the umbrella, probably recalling the broken twin swords from earlier. She became especially cautious, keeping a few meters away as she reached out with both hands, making a motion like gripping and pulling a lid.
Xu Huo's "Seeing Is Believing" couldn't evade all traits—he had realized this after Kong Cheng used traits like "Random Grab"—but seeing his own legs inexplicably shift to the right still shocked him. His body had been split in two by Kong Hui's trait!
It was a true split, like a live person being cut in a magic trick. Everything below his waist was separated from his body. He felt no pain and couldn't control his legs to walk... He was frozen in place!
Kong Hui's face showed a triumphant expression as she stepped forward. But just as she raised her blade, her expression suddenly changed, and her eyes went blank as she stood still.
The Star-Binding Sphere had taken effect, but Xu Huo couldn't move either. However, Kong Hui wasn't far away—just a single reach would be enough to finish her!
He had just taken out the Crimson Sword when a white undercurrent shot through the observation window. Kong Cheng, wrapped in a layer of bubbles, closed in instantly, swinging a blade that could cut through D-grade items straight at Xu Huo's neck!
Having been on guard against him all along, Xu Huo spun around and met the broom handle with his sword!
"Bang!" A dull metallic clash rang out. Both of them recoiled. Kong Cheng was surprised that Xu Huo hadn't been controlled by the magician's trait, while Kong Hui, freed from the Star-Binding Sphere's influence, instantly snapped back to her senses and struck from behind.
At this point, both siblings were at the edge of the Star-Binding Sphere's range. Xu Huo picked up his pen and activated "Power of Writing." As the two focused on his hand, he secretly used the strings to pull Kong Cheng toward him.
But he underestimated Kong Cheng's strength. While being affected by the trait, the man suddenly retreated, instantly leaving the room!
Xu Huo's brows furrowed. Having failed to deceive him this time, it would be much harder to lure him close again.
Kong Cheng, now realizing that Xu Huo had only pretended to be affected by Kong Hui's trait to draw him out, turned to flee the room.
But at that moment, a swift figure burst out of the dark water. With a swing of a long blade, it pierced straight through his abdomen and slashed upward!
Kong Cheng, wrapped in a layer of bubbles, spat blood. But at the critical moment, he tilted sideways. The blade didn't split him in two but tore open his waist and abdomen, severing his arms!
"You're still alive?!" Kong Cheng shouted in shock and anger at the newcomer.
Miao Yu, clad in a metal exoskeleton, swung the blade back again. "If you're not dead, how could I die?!"
The two fought, moving slightly away from the room. The effect of the "Power of Writing" wore off, and Xu Huo quickly retrieved his "Non-Knotting Thread," looped it around Kong Hui's neck, and dragged her toward him.
Coming to her senses, Kong Hui naturally wouldn't wait to die. She touched the thread around her neck, and the tightening item instantly loosened, floating off over her head. Then, the debris and fragments in the room shot toward Xu Huo like arrows!
Xu Huo blocked and retreated, and with a flick of his right hand, the short arrow he had released earlier, hidden among the bullet-like debris, pierced through Kong Hui's neck!
"Ugh...!" A stream of blood spurted from her throat. Kong Hui clutched her neck, floating up with shock and disbelief in her eyes.
After confirming her death, Xu Huo checked the positions of Kong Cheng and Miao Yu. Finding them a considerable distance away, he abandoned the idea of helping and turned back into the laboratory.
Even with the lights on, the water was still murky. Fortunately, the explosion had blown a hole in the lab's outer wall, allowing free passage in and out.
He first checked all the rooms with a view of the seabed, comparing the angles of the paintings to feel along the walls opposite the windows.
The most secure and stable hiding places in the entire lab were these metal walls. Even such a massive explosion hadn't completely destroyed them. If the S-grade potion was indeed still hidden in the lab, it could only be here.
When he reached the extended corridor, he suddenly found a crack in the wall at the corresponding passage. Squeezing through the gap, he discovered that inside, it wasn't an unsealed structural frame as the records indicated, but a gap wide enough for a person to pass sideways.
Reaching inside, Xu Huo touched something soft. Pulling it out, he saw it was a sex doll.
"Please select a mode. Based on the user's current heart rate, we recommend the Wild Mode."
The highly realistic sex doll looked just like a real person. Several icons of different colors were flashing on its chest, as if urging Xu Huo to make a choice.
Xu Huo's hand hovered over the icons for a few seconds, then he stabbed into the doll's mouth, thrusting all the way into its abdomen. After fumbling around inside, he pulled out a long box about two fingers wide.
Opening the lid, he saw a syringe inside. The light blue liquid looked similar to the evolution agents given by the game, but he could tell at a glance—this was the real perfect S-grade syringe!
He stored the syringe along with the sex doll into his luggage compartment, then turned and swam out. Once outside the lab, he activated the automatic raft. The rapidly inflating raft shot up like a cannonball, dragging him toward the surface!
(Chapter End)