CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54 GRAY GAS_1

At this moment, Lu Yuan was in a peculiar state.

With Lv3 [Absolute Focus] active, his Martial Arts Instinct had been honed to its current peak.

His mind was as tranquil as a lake frozen solid in winter.

Yet, upon this icy lake, a fervent flame blazed.

That flame was the throbbing in his muscles from the temporary surge in strength, an intense destructive urge that demanded release. It was the humiliation and fury from being pinned down by the rat man earlier. It was the profound disgust and nausea from the rat man’s overpowering stench.

BOOM!

Lu Yuan ruthlessly slammed the rat man, whose neck he’d caught, to the ground like a helpless chick.

Before the rat man could react, Lu Yuan’s other hand had already grabbed its tail.

He then swung it around like a toy and hurled it away.

BAM!

The impacted cement wall instantly ruptured. Chunks of concrete flew everywhere, striking the nearby garbage and producing a series of sharp CRACKS and CLATTERS.

ROAR!

Despite being thrown and slammed by Lu Yuan, and having its tail grabbed, the rat man still fought fiercely.

Its long, thin body arched forward, performing a sit-up in mid-air as it lashed out with two sharp claws in retaliation.

Lu Yuan strategically released his grip.

The rat man was flung away.

It slammed into the wall. However, its feet and tail pushed off the surface with force, propelling it toward Lu Yuan at an even faster speed.

Lu Yuan, expressionless, had already raised his right leg high, almost over his head, by the time the rat man touched the wall.

Then, coiling his power...

He brutally stomped downwards.

Like a great axe chopping straight down.

It just so happened to connect with the rat man that had just lunged at him.

As if he had planned it all along.

BANG!

This kick was extremely powerful.

The rat man, struck squarely, plummeted instantly.

Like a baseball struck at high speed.

After his strength attribute reached 13 points, Lu Yuan’s power had surged massively.

Based on previous estimations, his fist strength had now reached over 300 kilograms, possibly even approaching 400.

The explosive power of his legs had naturally seen a significant increase. When this kick landed on the rat man’s back, the unmistakable sound of breaking bones could be heard.

Lu Yuan, however, showed no mercy. Instead, he stomped down harder, cruelly crushing the rat man’s body several times.

A series of sickening CRUNCHES echoed out.

SQUEAK—

At this moment, a gigantic black shadow rushed over, but before it could get close, Lu Yuan casually kicked it away.

It was the "protective" giant rat.

Lu Yuan reached down, dragged up the rat man that was lying on the ground, and then slammed it around wildly a dozen or so times.

Only when he felt the rat man in his grasp was barely struggling did he toss it to the ground like trash.

He then began to look around.

He pushed aside the litter, waste products, and empty beer bottles scattered all over the ground. Finally, Lu Yuan found his phone, its screen still lit, inside a few knotted plastic bags.

Then, using the light from his phone, he continued to search for the rebar he had forcefully thrown earlier, or some other sharp weapon.

He planned to deliver the final blow to the rat man.

As he was searching, he suddenly heard a "PANT... PANT..." sound from behind him.

Lu Yuan spun around abruptly.

He was shocked to find the rat man, moments ago motionless on the ground, somehow back on its feet.

It stood about five or six meters away from him.

It was slightly hunched over, its sunken chest heaving up and down like a vigorously pumped bellows.

Its posture was terribly awkward, with signs of fractures visible in many places—all Lu Yuan’s handiwork.

The rat man stared fixedly at Lu Yuan with its bloodshot, almost crimson eyes. Even the darkness couldn’t hide the deep, venomous resentment emanating from them.

It can still stand after all that?

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

He gauged that the rat man’s constitution was definitely above 12 points; otherwise, it wouldn’t possess such resilient vitality.

Then I’ll just have to take you down again.

Lu Yuan’s gaze turned cold once more.

He slowly placed his cellphone on the ground, took a shallow breath, stretched his fingers, then clenched them into fists.

And just then.

The rat man in front of him suddenly started spouting odd syllables from its mouth.

"Ah..ka..lu..mi@#￥..."

These sounds were similar to ones the rat man had made before, like some ancient language, or perhaps a Spell.

Under the light from his phone’s flashlight lying beside his foot, Lu Yuan clearly saw—

A large amount of grayish-white mist was slowly emanating from the rat man.

This Gray Gas formed a column, which the rat man quickly inhaled through its mouth and nose.

Following that...

CRACK!

The dent Lu Yuan had kicked into its chest suddenly bulged outwards.

CRACK! CRACK!

In the blink of an eye, all the broken bones in the rat man’s chest and abdomen reconnected. Its muscles bulged as if suddenly inflated with air.

Its entire frame seemed to swell slightly.

A brutal, malevolent aura swept through the narrow alley like an invisible storm.

Lu Yuan stared wide-eyed at the changes overtaking the rat man, his heart pounding like a drum.

What is this?

A mutation?

But why in this way?!

The scene unfolding before him was far beyond Lu Yuan’s comprehension, like a perfectly good science fiction film suddenly careening into fantasy.

That eerie Gray Gas, no matter how he looked at it, seemed like some kind of supernatural power!

Reality afforded Lu Yuan no more time to ponder.

ROAR!

The mutated rat man’s eyes were blood-red as it emitted a deep, husky roar from its mouth.

Its transformed body, now nearly two meters tall, exuded a crushing pressure in the narrow alley.

THUD! THUD!

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but take two steps back.

Just as he retreated, a muffled THUMP echoed as the transformed rat man launched itself from the ground.

Its wild, savage body shot towards Lu Yuan like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

The six or seven-meter distance between them was covered almost instantly.

Lu Yuan’s pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible, giant hand.

A cold, familiar sensation slithered into his heart like a venomous snake.

It was a sensation he had experienced countless times in the Consciousness Space.

When facing an enraged Lin Zhiquin, or when Qin Feng attacked...

That feeling of utter desperation and helplessness, as if drowning...

The sensation of impending death!

AH!

On the brink of death, Lu Yuan erupted. His face contorted ferociously as he let out a low roar, like a cornered beast.

He threw a fierce punch at the raging rat man, now right in front of him.

On his punching arm, veins bulged one by one. The streamlined muscles tensed to their absolute limit, resembling twisted steel cables.

In that instant, a switch seemed to flip in his mind.

Countless images flashed rapidly before his eyes.

SCREECH—

In his daze, Lu Yuan heard a crane’s cry, clearer, sharper, and more resonant than before.

He even thought he saw the faint image of a white crane dancing before his eyes.

Flash of Insight!

Crane Cry Punch!

BANG!