“Alright, I’ll go first… Hmm?”
Su Yanran subconsciously replied, ready to continue her attack, but when she heard Cheng Xing’s answer, her apricot-shaped eyes widened in confusion.
“You mean you don’t need my help?”
Su Yanran asked in disbelief. She hadn't expected to be backstabbed and rejected in such a short span of a single day.
If she had a mirror on her right now, she would definitely take it out to look at herself.
Su Yanran was truly losing her confidence.
Facing Su Yanran’s repeated questions, Cheng Xing ignored her, instead staring intently at the Blood Mantis, afraid it would escape.
Seeing herself lose to a Disaster Beast, Su Yanran was furious, and immediately put away her longsword.
She wanted to see how this person would face an E-rank Disaster Beast.
This time, Cheng Xing didn't hold back. He raised his hand and unleashed Four Direction Slash.
Four streaks of blade light flashed, and four gruesome wounds instantly appeared on the Blood Mantis’s body.
“Hiss!”
The Blood Mantis wailed, its recently recovered health instantly cut by more than half, and the antennae on its head shot out wildly.
“Parry!”
This time, Cheng Xing didn't dodge or evade, silently chanting in his mind.
Cheng Xing’s Tang Blade moved at an almost imperceptible angle, parrying the attacks of the two antennae.
This wasn’t the end; he moved his body, dodged the forelimb’s attack, reversed his grip on the Tang Blade, and stabbed directly into the Blood Mantis’s forelimb joint.
Cheng Xing’s eyes narrowed. He exerted force with his left hand, pressing down, and the Blood Mantis’s forelimb was severed with a snap. One of the Blood Mantis’s major weapons was thus disarmed.
“It’s him?”
The battle unfolding almost instantaneously before her eyes was fully observed by Su Yanran.
She couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise.
Previously, hidden within Liu Gu’s team, she had seen a large number of Mad Rabbit corpses along the way. Without exception, those Mad Rabbits had all been killed by the same person using the same skill.
She hadn't expected to encounter him here.
At this moment, Su Yanran put away her disdain, and also noticed the combat traces extending all the way from behind.
Then, Cheng Xing’s initial battle with the Blood Mantis began to be reconstructed little by little, finally appearing as an image before Su Yanran’s eyes.
This was her S-rank talent—Insight.
“Such powerful combat talent, adapting to the Blood Mantis’s attack rhythm in a short time.”
“With this level of combat power, his talent should be no lower than S-rank.”
“Is this a genius from some family out for training?”
After seeing the entire sequence of events, Su Yanran couldn't help but murmur to herself.
But she quickly ruled out the possibility of Cheng Xing being from a prominent family.
No other reason than Cheng Xing was too poor.
He was wearing an E-rank set of armor, and his weapon was even more shabby, just an F-rank un-attributed weapon.
With his S-rank or higher talent, in which family would he not be treated like a family heirloom? Matters like early-stage leveling would be arranged in their own private leveling zones.
His age suggested he had just Awakened, and his equipment looked more like common items found in the L Town Disaster Area. Combining this information, Su Yanran arrived at an impossible conclusion.
“He Awakened with S-rank or higher Drop Rate Increase?!”
Under the effect of her Insight talent, Cheng Xing’s information was gradually analyzed and peeled back, like silk from a cocoon, and Su Yanran “saw everything” about him.
Especially when she stared at a certain part.
His legs were quite long.
Su Yanran subtly wiped away the saliva that felt like sand in her eyes. Thinking of this, she secretly made a decision.
The battle below was nearing its end.
After taking another Four Direction Slash, the Blood Mantis collapsed weakly.
At the same time, somewhere in the L Town Disaster Area, a five-person team was hidden in an abandoned villa.
All five were fully armed, covered in equipment, and each wore a mask.
The moment the Blood Mantis died, one of them suddenly opened his eyes.
“A Level 10 Blood Mantis was killed?”
......
“Killed Blood Mantis, Experience +500”
“Level Up, Lv9 → Lv10”
“Free Attribute Points +15”
“I leveled up just like that?”
Cheng Xing himself was startled. It wasn't until he saw the experience gain that he realized how high the experience from E-rank Disaster Beasts was.
He also understood why the gap between Level 9 and Level 10 was so large; just one level up granted him the same amount of Free Attribute Points as leveling up five times previously.
“Open panel.”
“Name: Cheng Xing”
“Level: 10 (35/10000)”
“Health: 400”
“Attributes: Strength 27, Agility 35, Constitution 20, Spirit 20, Free Attribute Points 15”
“Talents: SSS-rank Drop Rate Increase, F-rank Sprint”
“Skills: B-rank Four Direction Slash Lv.1, E-rank Parry Lv.1”
However, seeing the experience required for leveling up after Level 10, Cheng Xing felt that the experience was no longer enough.
“You leveled up?”
Su Yanran had approached Cheng Xing at some point, her apricot-shaped eyes full of curiosity as she sized him up.
And under the gaze of this unfamiliar girl, Cheng Xing inexplicably felt as if he had been seen through.
“What is this?”
As if sensing Cheng Xing’s discomfort, Su Yanran very timely changed the subject.
She stared intently at a light green orb that the Blood Mantis had dropped, and then a system feedback appeared.
“Huh? This is a talent?! Talents can be dropped too? Is this also the effect of Drop Rate Increase?”
Su Yanran was startled by the information from the orb in front of her. She had never heard of talents being dropped.
However, what responded to her were only four dazzling streaks of blade light!
“Clang!”
With the sound of blades clashing, Cheng Xing’s always effective Four Direction Slash was now completely blocked by the person in front of him, even causing a stinging pain in his tiger’s mouth from the recoil.
“Her attributes are even higher than mine?”
Cheng Xing frowned slightly, his eyes filled with killing intent.
He then quickly allocated his Free Attribute Points and charged at Su Yanran again, every move aiming for a fatal blow.
However, even after allocating the points, every one of Cheng Xing’s moves seemed to be predicted in advance. Su Yanran always dodged them with minimal movement, and occasionally a slight lift of her sword was enough to block his attacks.
In a matter of seconds, the two had exchanged dozens of blows, and the blade of his Tang Blade was full of nicks.
“High-grade weapon?”
Cheng Xing’s expression was solemn. He hadn’t expected to be unable to do anything to her, and her weapon seemed to be no ordinary one.
Seeing this, Su Yanran finally breathed a sigh of relief. Evidently, dealing with Cheng Xing’s offensive was not as easy as it looked.
She glanced at the dropped talent and realized her actions had been too abrupt, and she was very aware of how significant an impact this matter could have.
“I apologize for my abruptness.”
“Please calm down. I won’t reveal what I just saw.”
Su Yanran voluntarily put away her weapon and then began to explain.
But the killing intent in Cheng Xing’s eyes did not diminish in the slightest. In this world, blindly trusting others was no different from suicide.
He carefully scrutinized the other party, pondering how to eliminate her.
“What do you want me to do to trust you?”
Su Yanran retreated repeatedly. She knew that the person in front of her wouldn’t believe her just for that sentence, so she spoke with great sincerity.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xing’s eyes narrowed slightly. He could feel the other party’s sincerity; in their recent exchange, the other party had been entirely on the defensive, and it seemed he couldn't keep her here now.
Thinking of this, the killing intent in his eyes dissipated somewhat.
“Who are you? Why do you know my talent? What are you doing here?”
Cheng Xing pondered for a moment and ultimately gave her a chance.
“My name is Su Yanran, a junior scout, affiliated with the Awakener Management Bureau of Hua Nan Base.”
Awakener Management Bureau? Hearing this unfamiliar term, Cheng Xing couldn't help but frown slightly.
“I guessed your talent. My talent is S-rank Insight, which allows me to perceive subtle information and deduce processes.”
At this point, Su Yanran displayed her panel information to Cheng Xing without hesitation.
“Name: Su Yanran”
“Level: 9 (935/1000)”
“Health: 400”
“Attributes: Strength 28, Agility 33, Constitution 20, Spirit 35, Free Attribute Points 0”
“Talent: S-rank Insight. Talent Effect: Perceives information and deduces processes.”
“Skill: B-rank Cold Light Sword Encirclement Lv.1”
When Cheng Xing saw Su Yanran’s luxurious panel, he also realized that this girl in front of him was not simple.
Her Level 9 attributes were higher than his Level 10, meaning her equipment far surpassed his own. Combined with her B-rank skill, all this information indicated her powerful background.
Most importantly, he couldn't kill her.
Friends who frequently transmigrate know that people with powerful backgrounds like her definitely have hidden life-saving trump cards.
“I’m here because of a mission from the Bureau, to investigate the recent high death rate of new Awakeners in L Town.”
Su Yanran answered Cheng Xing’s questions like a seasoned professional, full of sincerity. But fearing it wasn’t enough, she gritted her silver teeth and continued:
“Since I discovered your secret, I’ll tell you my secret.”
Su Yanran looked around to ensure no one was present, then moved closer and whispered her secret to Cheng Xing.
After speaking, Su Yanran’s cool, pretty face was flushed crimson.
Leaving only a bewildered Cheng Xing.
“What kind of secret is that?”