Sloth

"Sorry, we're late."

The Blood Kite on the ground began to shake violently, then suddenly pulled itself out of the ground and flew back with a swoosh.

It landed firmly in Ning Yu's hand.

She retracted the Blood Kite, swung it down, and held it diagonally at her side as she walked towards Wu Di.

Her peripheral vision, however, had already locked onto the zombie with the black eye circles.

[Detected: Sloth (Mid-tier)]

[Location: Approximately 74 meters at 9 o'clock direction, vertical height difference less than 1 meter]

Intel: Symbolizes the evil of escaping reality, wasting life, and lack of responsibility. Its attacks will cause opponents to become weak and paralyzed. Its lethality is lower in a drowsy state, but it will summon invisible Hands of Diligence upon being awakened.

[Weakness: ??? (Can be viewed upon upgrading skill to High-tier)]

Wow, another Mid-tier mutated zombie.

Ning Yu looked at the thick black eye circles in the center of its face, those wide, staring eyes, which made it look like a person who died from staying up all night at an internet cafe due to internet addiction.

Earlier, in her rush to save Wu Di's life, she had thrown the Blood Kite, cutting through those invisible arms along the way. They must have been the 'Hands of Diligence' mentioned in the intel.

Since the Hands of Diligence had already been summoned, it seemed the Sloth was now in its 'awakened' state.

The Sloth had noticed Ning Yu. It retracted all its Hands of Diligence, which circled around it a few times.

The severed Hands of Diligence, with faint outlines, began to regenerate.

[Ding! Mission: Proximity Progress Updated!]

[Mission Objective: Both Ji Mengyao and Wu Di have been found alive, triggering the hidden phase of the mission]

[Objective: Kill Sloth 0/1 before Wu Di dies]

[Basic Reward: Random Attribute Points *5, Points *20000]

[Hidden Phase Reward: Mid-tier Skill Upgrade Book *1]

A notification rang in Ning Yu's mind, informing her of the mission progress update. She had thought finding them would complete the mission and was ready to claim her 5 attribute points and 20000 points.

But it turned out there was a hidden phase, dragging the mission out further.

This meant if they had arrived to find Wu Di and Ji Mengyao already dead, the mission might have been completed immediately.

However, the hidden reward was a Mid-tier Skill Upgrade Book, which she could use to upgrade her [Scout (Mid-tier)] to High-tier.

This would allow her to view the weaknesses of these Mid-tier mutated zombies.

Ji Mengyao had noticed the situation and rushed to Wu Di's side without even greeting Ning Yu.

She crouched down to check on Wu Di.

"Wu Di, Wu Di, how are you?"

She helped Wu Di up from the sunken floor pit, noticing blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

His armor was completely shattered, with not a single intact piece.

His breath was faint, and he was on the brink of death.

No... They had to take Wu Di back to the base immediately, or else...

Seeing Wu Di's condition, Ji Mengyao's heart raced with anxiety.

He had already taken a heavy blow from the Sloth's Hands of Diligence earlier.

Now, after being struck by all the Hands of Diligence again, if not for his armor, he might have been killed instantly.

But...

She looked up at Ning Yu, who was confronting the Sloth. Ning Yu's reliable figure stood in front, making it impossible for her to abandon her companions and flee with Wu Di alone.

What should she do...?

This situation left Ji Mengyao in a state of panic.

The large chandelier on the ceiling swayed, and a familiar figure jumped down from it, almost losing balance before steadying herself.

"Mengyao, we're here! Don't worry!"

Shen Yiyue, carrying a sniper rifle, quickly arrived beside Ji Mengyao, who was supporting Wu Di.

Ji Mengyao wasn't sure what Shen Yiyue was doing, but she saw her gently place her hand on Wu Di.

"Wow, he's pretty badly injured..."

Shen Yiyue began using her new ability to heal Wu Di. Given the severity of his injuries, it felt like her brain had momentarily crashed.

The bloodstains on Wu Di's body and face suddenly began to disappear, and his body started convulsing as if undergoing some kind of reorganization.

After nearly 20 seconds, Shen Yiyue was so exhausted that she plopped down on the ground, barely able to support the weight of her sniper rifle.

She let the rifle drop to the ground and wiped the dense sweat from her forehead, her lips turning pale.

Pulling someone back from the jaws of death took a huge toll on her.

Ji Mengyao had been regretting her decision. If she had to choose between Wu Di dying or losing all his emotions, she would have chosen the latter.

But just now, she hadn't let him use his ability and nearly got him killed.

If Wu Di had died here, she would have lived the rest of her life with an unbearable guilt.

Now, Shen Yiyue had miraculously healed Wu Di's severe injuries!

She looked at Shen Yiyue in disbelief, who was gasping for breath, wondering when she had gained such a powerful ability.

She clearly remembered Shen Yiyue's ability was to ensure her hot weapons always hit their target?

But that question no longer mattered. Wu Di was clearly out of immediate danger, even though he hadn't woken up yet.

Ning Yu dodged the Hands of Diligence's attacks, unleashing a series of continuous and dense strikes with the Blood Kite, cutting through all the invisible arms again.

She didn't rush to approach the Sloth but took advantage of the moment when the Sloth was regenerating its hands to retreat to Ji Mengyao and Shen Yiyue's side.

Ji Mengyao was suffering from hallucinations, barely able to support Wu Di, while Shen Yiyue was weakened from overusing her ability.

"Take Mengyao and hide over there. I'll put Wu Di with you."

The Hands of Diligence were too close to them, and Ning Yu couldn't fight while also taking care of them, so she wanted them to retreat from the battlefield.

She took Wu Di's body from Ji Mengyao, and the weight was negligible for Ning Yu.

Shen Yiyue helped Ji Mengyao up and moved towards the spot Ning Yu pointed out, to take temporary refuge.

However, Ning Yu had a small personal motive for helping Wu Di.

[Your Friendship Level: Friendly]

[Detected Origin: Protection]

[Detected Replicable Origin Ability: Strength Conversion]

[Copy?]

As she was about to set Wu Di down, Ning Yu immediately chose to copy.

She hadn't had the chance to touch Wu Di and replicate his ability. After all, being a girl, she needed a suitable excuse to touch a man's body.

Now, she had the perfect opportunity.

[Ding! Acquired Origin Ability: Strength Conversion]

[Passive Effect: Stamina +4, Spirit -2. Can be toggled on and off.]

[Active Effect: Temporarily gain Stamina +10 for 10 minutes. However, the passive effect will be unavailable for three days after use.]