Chapter 43: 43: Scattered Supplies
Born from patterns, the texture of the Black Armor was similar to metal, fused with the body of the Four-armed Corpse, and could be actively used. But when under attack, it would also emerge automatically.
Its defensive capability was extremely formidable; Su Han had already roughly tested it once, but hadn\'t yet reached its upper limit. Withstanding spears and cannons would definitely not be a problem, it could be called a humanoid tank.
Aside from its strong defense, the Black Armor was not considered equipment per se, but rather a skill formation inherent to the Four-armed Corpse. Being connected to the body, it worked in conjunction with the Self-Healing Skill.
If the Black Armor was damaged, it could slowly self-heal, and under full concentration, the speed of self-healing would be extremely fast.
Even if the Black Armor was broken due to a hit exceeding the limit, as long as some time was given to recuperate, the skill could still be used.
Iron Skin, Self-healing, Black Armor — two layers of defense with one layer of healing — the Four-armed Corpse\'s \'blood\' and \'defense\' could be said to be excessively high.
Su Han smiled and thought to himself, "Now I\'m much safer. But I also have some busy work to do. Whether it\'s the Self-healing, Black Armor, or Metal Control, if I could synchronize with them, their effects could be very powerful."
Having experienced the benefits of the Iron Skin skill, he naturally wanted more, but this was not something that could be rushed.
"Four-armed Corpse, let\'s go, time to head back..."
"Clang"
Just as they were about to leave, as the Four-armed Corpse turned around, it seemed to have hit something, and the noise was particularly prominent in the night.
Su Han looked down and saw a can of cola; the pull-tab cans had already scattered on the ground, with one here and one there, appearing quite new.
He had thought it was a \'part\' left from the car, but as he moved the Lamp Tree Crystals in his hand, preparing to turn around and leave.
Suddenly, on the road in the residential community that was illuminated by the light, there appeared to be more than just a few cans of cola; broken rice bags and grains, scattered canned food... Su Han sharply realized something was amiss: "Are these supermarket supplies?!"
The familiar packaging allowed him to recognize that these items were part of the same batch they had scavenged from the Yongli Supermarket. If nobody else had been to the Lihua Supermarket after them, it meant that something had happened to the people from building 4.
Su Han\'s expression turned grim as he immediately realized there might be other problems in the community.
\'If the situation is wrong, we\'ll have to escape early.\'
He controlled the Four-armed Corpse to trace along the trail of scattered items, becoming increasingly vigilant in his heart.
This action was indeed risky but necessary.
This was an internal community road leading towards building 3 and 4, only a few turns away from building 7. If something had indeed happened to building 4, then building 7 would not be spared.
Su Han cautiously traced the path, and under the faint yellow glow, he could already make out the imposing shadow of building 4.
The mist was thick, and the shadow of the building was indistinct, resembling a silent and lonely monster.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle"
At that moment, from within the fog, a whispering sound could be heard. Su Han became alert and shone the light from the Lamp Tree forward, only to discover several eerie figures hanging in mid-air.
\'What is that?!\'
Su Han was startled and immediately focused his gaze. Among the fog, appearing in mid-air like hanging fruit were, in fact, corpses.
Slimy black vines wrapped around their bodies, and the fine branches of the vines had penetrated the completely desiccated corpses, leaving them skin and bones.
The breeze stirred, and as the hanging corpses gently swayed, they produced a scraping noise, resembling a wind chime made of bodies.
Su Han was greatly alarmed, and he followed the vines upwards, eventually spotting a tall silhouette at the root of the vines.
It was a weirdly tall and massive treelike figure, approximately six or seven meters high, with a thick trunk and twisted branches that looked like aggressive limbs. The vines binding the corpses were extending from these contorted branches.
"Click, click"
The branches moved slightly, and the vines began to tighten. A semi-dried corpse was brought next to the trunk of the tree. Su Han\'s pupils narrowed as he recognized the body; the limp head hanging down was none other than He Fang.
He saw the trunk suddenly open a pair of crimson eyes, and a gaping mouth revealed itself, with squirming red flesh and jagged wooden teeth. The mouth swallowed He Fang\'s corpse whole, began to chew, and made a crunching noise.
Su Han felt an extreme sense of eeriness; this tree was a monster fused with both wood and flesh.
Not only He Fang\'s body, but around the Human-faced Tree, he had already seen overturned vehicles, scattered supplies, and realized that all the people from building 4, including a First-level Intermediate and more than ten First Order Inferiors, hadn\'t escaped.
\'Retreat; this monster is not to be messed with.\'
Su Han immediately controlled the Four-armed Corpse to leave, as the Human-faced Tree was simply incomparable to the Spider Monster. The aura it emitted was also stronger than that of the current Four-armed Corpse.
However, Su Han had only retreated a few steps when that crimson gaze had already locked onto him through the fog.
In the nighttime mist, the light from the Lamp Tree Crystals was so dazzling, so attractive to the monsters\' gaze.
"Roar!"
A hoarse roar echoed throughout the neighborhood as the massive Human-faced Tree began to move. Its tree-like body meant it didn\'t move too quickly, its feet, like roots, slowly pulled free, and its twisting tree-branch hands swung towards Su Han and the Four-armed Corpse.
"Swoosh"
Vines shot out first, heading straight for the Four-armed Corpse and Su Han, their speed many times faster than the Human-faced Tree\'s movements.
The Four-armed Corpse and Su Han had not gotten far before the vines were already behind them.
\'Not good!\'
Su Han felt a gust of sinister wind on his back and out of the corner of his eye, he saw several pitch-black vines just half a meter away.
His expression tensed, and he made a split-second decision to turn back and raise his knife, swinging it down forcefully.
The blade flashed past, a splurch sound was heard, and several vines were severed, but surprisingly, under the bark was not wood but tough flesh.
The tips of the cut vines writhed incessantly, and dark red blood dripped all over the ground.
The vines attacking the Four-armed Corpse were more numerous and much thicker, with about ten or so in total.
The Four-armed Corpse gripped its Pu knives tightly, then turned and slashed just as ferociously and swiftly, severing most of the vines in an instant.
However, there were still too many vines, and three that slipped through the cracks attacked it, wrapping around the hand holding the Pu knives.
A tremendous force was transmitted instantly, and the Four-armed Corpse staggered nearly, as the strength of the Human-faced Tree was far greater than that of the Spider Monster.
It steadied itself, the Claw from under its ribs reaching out, slashing upward, severing the entangling vines, and breaking free from the restraint.
Su Han didn\'t hesitate, and after freeing themselves from the restraint, he immediately ordered the Four-armed Corpse to turn and flee. Both he and his Angel Envoy dashed back, trying to distance themselves from the pursuing Human-faced Tree.
"Rustle rustle rustle"
The rasping sound became clearer as the ground on both sides of the lawn bulged suddenly, and two sharp vines, like black spears, shot straight toward the back of the Four-armed Corpse.
These vines had been hidden beneath the ground, whether they had been lying in wait or had stealthily burrowed there. The sudden attack caught both the Four-armed Corpse and Su Han off guard.
"Clang!"
The fierce collision sent the massive Four-armed Corpse flying, tumbling forward for nearly seven or eight meters.
The terrifying strength was extreme. Considering that the Four-armed Corpse was now clad in Black Armor, wielding Pu knives, and standing three meters tall with a weight of at least a thousand pounds.
Such a fierce vine assault should have penetrated the Four-armed Corpse, but the Human-faced Tree miscalculated. The Black Armor on the Four-armed Corpse stopped the attack, the Scale Armor dented, but the flesh was unharmed, and all the force of impact turned into thrust that sent it flying.
The Human-faced Tree\'s strike didn\'t achieve its objective, but it successfully slowed down Su Han and the Four-armed Corpse. More vines surged out from the grass on both sides, like dancing snakes, covering the sky as they approached the pair.
The Human-faced Tree continued to move closer at a steady pace, not too fast or too slow, around twenty or thirty meters away from Su Han, but the vines were within striking distance.
A chill ran through Su Han\'s heart as he realized they were surrounded.
His heartbeat became more frantic, but his mind became more settled. Suddenly, a strong scent of gasoline gave him an idea as he caught a glimpse of the parking lot in his peripheral vision.
Scattered parts, gasoline everywhere, his gaze finally settled on a new energy car battery.
"Let\'s go all out."
He immediately turned and ran swiftly while commanding the Four-armed Corpse to rise and block the vines. Its large body swung the Pu knives, forming an impenetrable shield of blades, slashing away at the vines.
But it was like putting out a fire with a cup of water—the number of vines was evidently much greater, and they attacked from all directions intelligently, making it incredibly difficult to fend them off.
The arms were gradually scaled by the vines. Fortunately, it had four and cut the vines off quickly.
Meanwhile, as most of the vines were attracted to the Four-armed Corpse, Su Han cut his way through the few that remained, striding toward the edge of the parking lot.
He spun around, and his Pu knife shot out straight, piercing a new energy battery.
With a splurch, the battery was completely destroyed, a plume of blue smoke billowed out, followed by a burst of sparks.