Chapter 72: Where Is the Seven-Inch Weak Spot?
Space warped and fractured. In the blink of an eye, the two figures vanished from their original spot, reappearing behind another thick concrete pillar several meters away.
Almost simultaneously, a deafening BOOM——!!! ripped through the room as a plasma blast tore straight through the flooring.
Before Chu Yang could even steady his balance, he ignored the churning blood in his chest and clasped his hands violently in mid-air once more. “Spatial Strangulation!”
An invisible force field clamped around the Lightning Python’s thick abdomen, constricting with crushing ferocity!
With a sharp crack-rip, several scales along the monster’s belly warped outward, sending a spray of dark blood into the air.
Yet its scaled armor was simply too thick and dense; the attack failed to deliver a fatal blow.
“Damn it! This beast’s hide is ridiculous!” Chu Yang cursed under his breath. The severe strain on his mental reserves caused black spots to swarm across his vision, nearly dropping him to his knees.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to Jiang Jue, whose face was equally pale, and asked urgently, “Brother Jiang! They say to kill a snake you have to strike its seven-inch mark—where the hell is this thing’s weak spot?!”
Jiang Jue didn’t answer right away. Wiping a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his sharp gaze locked onto the python’s thrashing body.
Its dark gray scales gleamed with a cold, metallic luster under the dim light, packed together like interlocking armor. But on its lower abdomen—where it had slammed heavily into the concrete wall earlier—a single scale had peeled back at the corner. Beneath it lay a patch of pale, tender flesh, with dark red blood seeping from the edges.
Right there!
Jiang Jue’s pupils contracted into needlepoints. Without holding back a single shred of power, he channeled every last drop of his lightning energy into the tip of his straight blade. The weapon transformed into a dazzling purple streak of light, lunging toward that single vulnerable target in the straightest, fastest line possible!
“Die!”
The blade bit cleanly through the exposed gap, burying itself all the way to the hilt! The violent lightning energy detonated directly inside the python’s central nervous system!
The creature’s golden slit pupils dilated instantly, its primal malice freezing in place as sheer agony took over.
Its colossal frame convulsed and thrashed erratically, pulverizing the surrounding desks and drywall into dust. Finally, the crackling lightning across its scales faded, and its massive body crashed to the floor with a heavy thud, kicking up a thick cloud of debris.
Jiang Jue dropped to one knee, leaning his weight against the planted blade as he gasped for air, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his lips. The concussive shockwaves from the lightning collision and the final desperate thrust had left him with severe internal injuries.
Chu Yang stumbled over, his face drained of color. The agonizing migraine from overdrawing his mental power made his head throb mercilessly.
Forcing himself down into a crouch, he drove his dagger into the python’s skull and dug out the crystal core.
The stone was the size of a chicken egg, boasting an exceptionally deep, pure blue hue that seemed to contain a miniature storm churning within. Holding it sent a gentle, tingling numbness through his fingers alongside surging energy waves.
“A pure offensive Lightning-element crystal core… Tier 3.” Handing the stone to Jiang Jue, Chu Yang spoke in a hoarse voice, “Brother Jiang… this is the exact boost you need to recover.”
Jiang Jue took the crystal. The cool surface brushed against his fingertips, and the dense, violent energy inside resonated with his own core, causing the dormant electricity in his meridians to stir.
He gave a slight nod, then looked up at Chu Yang’s ghastly pale complexion, his brows instantly knitting with concern. “How are you holding up?”
“I won’t die, but it feels like someone took a blender to my brain.” Chu Yang forced a wry, strained smile, glancing around the devastated fourth floor, which looked like it had been ravaged by a localized hurricane. “With this much noise, every zombie in the district is probably heading our way. We need to get downstairs right now.”
Jiang Jue pushed himself up, carefully pocketing the Tier 3 core, and extended an arm to steady Chu Yang’s swaying frame. “Let’s move.”
Supporting each other down to the ground floor, the scene that greeted them was exactly as grim as they had anticipated.
The deafening battle upstairs had drawn a massive horde.
The entrance to the abandoned commercial complex was now swarming with dense clusters of zombies. Roaring and clawing, their rotting arms reached greedily through the shattered doorways, bringing with them a suffocating stench of decay.
“Qiang! Hold the line!” Lin Xiao’s fierce shout echoed from the front of the blockade.
At the main corridor, Wang Qiang’s face was flushed crimson, his hands pressed flat against the icy concrete, his knuckles turning white from sheer exertion.
Before him, several thick earthen walls had surged from the ground in a staggered, zigzag pattern, forming a crude yet sturdy barrier that blunted the direct charge of the horde.
Under the relentless scratching and slamming of dozens of undead, however, clumps of soil were flaking off, and hairline cracks were steadily spreading across the surface.
“I’m… on it! These bastards hit like trucks!” Wang Qiang gritted his teeth, the veins on his temples bulging as he continuously poured his elemental energy into repairing the crumbling barricade.
The narrow gaps and top ridges of the earthen walls were where the fighting raged most fiercely.
Lin Xiao stood out as the vanguard.
His heavy blade, coated in a sharp metallic sheen, sliced through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter. Every diagonal cleave and straight thrust effortlessly shattered skulls and snapped spines.
Slash! Crack!
Severed, rotting heads flew into the air amidst sprays of foul, black blood, and headless corpses collapsed stiffly into the snow. Lin Xiao’s killing efficiency was staggering—nearly every swing claimed a life. He had carved out a temporary buffer zone directly in front of the barricade, though fresh zombies rushed in to fill the void just as quickly.
Beside him, Su Mubai fought with calm precision.
His shorter blade specialized in crippling joints and severing tendons. While his strikes lacked the raw explosive power of Lin Xiao’s, his steady, rhythmic defense was invaluable. Every calculated slash either severed a reaching arm or carved a deep, disabling gash into a neck, halting the zombies’ momentum and creating clean openings for his teammates.
“Three more flanking from the left, Brother Little Bai!” a young boy’s voice called out in alarm, though no person was visible.
A zombie attempting to squeeze through a breach on the left flank suddenly suffered a bone-deep laceration across its throat out of nowhere, foul blood spraying from the wound.
The creature roared, spinning around and clawing blindly at the empty air, hitting nothing.
A second strike followed immediately after, then a third—the blade driving repeatedly into the exact same notch until the head snapped backward under the strain, rolling onto the floor.
Little Yu’s small figure briefly materialized beside the fallen corpse, his face pale and his hands trembling around the dagger.
The short blade Chu Yang had given him was razor-sharp, but lacking the physical strength to decapitate a target in a single blow, the boy relied entirely on his stealth power to sneak close and strike the same weak point repeatedly.
Panting for breath, he reactivated his ability, vanishing into the shadows once more to hunt for his next target. Every few moments, a stray or injured zombie would collapse mysteriously after being quietly stabbed half a dozen times from behind.
Behind the defense line, the remaining survivors—despite their trembling legs and pale, terrified faces—refused to run.
Clutching whatever crude weapons they had scavenged—rusted iron pipes, heavy wrenches, and splintered table legs—they crowded behind the earthen walls. Squeezing their eyes shut in desperate fear, they swung, stabbed, and bludgeoned any zombie attempting to climb over the ramparts or force its way through the narrow gaps.
