Chapter 88: You Can Really Take a Hit! Keep Going!
And he also told Xia Shang about his recent experience.
"A monster with giant eyeballs?" Xia Shang seemed to have some impression of this guy. If he remembered correctly, this guy's desire was actually voyeurism, and his strong voyeuristic desire drove him to become a monster.
Afterward, Xia Shang followed Cha Hyun-soo to Uncle Han Du-sik's Room. Cha Hyun-soo then discovered that Han Du-sik was actually disabled; he was paralyzed from the waist down and could only move with a wheelchair.
"My name is Han Du-sik, what about you?"
"Xia Shang, Cha Hyun-soo."
Later, Han Du-sik wanted to help Cha Hyun-soo with weapon modification.
According to him, he was a well-known technician in the Cheonggyecheon area, claiming that as long as he was given a design blueprint, he could even assemble a tank.
So, he showed off his skill in front of the two. He installed a power generation device on a steel pipe. By pressing a switch, the current would travel along the steel pipe to the fruit knife at the top.
And to prevent the user from being harmed, he thoughtfully wrapped a layer of tape around the bottom of the steel pipe.
Although the device was simple, it was quite practical, and the entire assembly process only took a little over ten minutes.
"Can I kill them with this?" Cha Hyun-soo asked with some anticipation.
"No, you can't kill them. You can't kill them with just this. If you encounter them, you must run, and run for your life. No, it's best if you don't let them discover you at all." Han Du-sik handed the electric gun in his hand to Cha Hyun-soo, then stared at Xia Shang and said, "I don't think you need a weapon, right?"
"Why?" Xia Shang asked curiously with a smile.
Han Du-sik didn't answer him but nodded to Cha Hyun-soo: "Remember, you must be careful and cautious. Those monsters are more terrifying than you imagine."
"Can I borrow that cannon?" Cha Hyun-soo's gaze fell on the cannon behind Han Du-sik.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Han Du-sik shook his head, made a gesture of shooting with his hand, and pointed to his chin, "No, that one doesn't last long. It can only fire two or three shots. I already fired one just now. If that guy from before had broken in, I would have fired another shot and saved the last one for myself."
After Cha Hyun-soo left, Han Du-sik looked at Xia Shang again.
He reached out and picked up a service medal from the side, placing it in front of Xia Shang. The service medal showed a photo of Uncle when he was young with a tank. Judging by the military uniform he was wearing, he should have been a lieutenant.
"I've been on the battlefield before and can sense things others can't. Of course, you can also understand it as being good at reading people. That young man just now looked a bit simple-minded, but he has a very good heart. I believe he has great potential. As for you..." Han Du-sik frowned tightly: "I can't see through you, but I can feel that you are very dangerous, just like the feeling those monsters give me."
"Excuse me, I have something to attend to. I'll be leaving first." Based on the signals coming from the surroundings, Xia Shang knew his prey had finally arrived.
On the other side.
Not long after Cha Hyun-soo left, he smelled a rotten odor in the elevator area. Following the smell, Cha Hyun-soo found a foam box containing rotten fish on the ground. Just as he was enduring the stench and preparing to leave, he unexpectedly ran into a monster with half a head.
It was clinging to the elevator door, its arms mostly recovered, though faint burn marks were still visible.
Seeing that the monster was about to discover him, Cha Hyun-soo squatted in the corner of the elevator area, not daring to make any sound. Only after the monster's figure disappeared did he cautiously peek out. It was this action that made a very small sound.
The Giant Ear Monster immediately extended its arm and grabbed towards Cha Hyun-soo.
While Cha Hyun-soo was struggling with the Giant Ear Monster, Xia Shang, who had left Han Du-sik's Room, successfully found his target.
The huge Muscular Monster in front of him, constantly muttering "protein," had an enormous physique, as if its entire body was piled up with muscle. When it appeared at the stairwell, it almost occupied the entire space. "Protein, protein! Lift weights!"
It seemed that before being infected, the Muscular Monster was likely bone-thin, and its greatest desire was to become stronger through fitness.
The Muscular Monster didn't expect anyone to dare block its path, so it threw a punch at Xia Shang's head. Its attack speed wasn't fast, but the oppressive feeling it gave off was extremely strong. If an ordinary human were hit by this punch, they would probably be instantly turned into mangled flesh.
"Analyze!" While summoning the Panel, Xia Shang moved his position. However, the space inside the stairwell was too narrow. Even by turning sideways, he was still grazed by the terrifying fist.
Boom! The Muscular Monster smashed through the wall with a punch, burying Xia Shang along with the debris.
Bang bang bang bang!!!
The Muscular Monster didn't stop there, its arms like steel pillars continuously smashing down on Xia Shang.
Xia Shang had no choice but to cross his arms in front of him, protecting his most important head.
Soon, Xia Shang seized a gap in the Muscular Monster's attack. His arms transformed into blades, slashing forward fiercely! Hiss! The blades cut through the Muscular Monster's arm, getting stuck on its hard bone. Where it was cut, blood continuously gushed out. Splat! Splat!!! Countless blades frantically sliced at the Muscular Monster's arms, causing immense damage to the Muscular Monster for a moment.
The Muscular Monster roared in pain, crossing its arms and using all its strength to pull out all the blades.
And it flung Xia Shang against the wall beside them. Bang! The wall collapsed where Xia Shang hit it.
The extremely terrifying strength left Xia Shang somewhat disheveled and battered.
But compared to the Muscular Monster, his slight dishevelment was nothing, because the moment his blades cut into the Muscular Monster's arms, they grew wildly like thorns. In just a few breaths, they covered both of the Muscular Monster's arms.
If the Muscular Monster hadn't reacted in time, the blade thorns might have already extended into its body.
Once the thorns spread into its body, Xia Shang was confident he could instantly cut it into a pile of mangled flesh.
Unfortunately, the Muscular Monster seemed to have low intelligence, but its combat awareness was quite good. No wonder it could eat all the monsters outside the Apartment and eventually grow into a Muscle Titan.
"I will kill you." The Muscular Monster raised its bloody arms, its internal bone even visible. As the rank, foul-smelling blood dripped continuously, its injuries actually began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. This Self-Healing Ability was simply beyond Xia Shang's imagination.
The Hunger Monster and Giant Ear Monster he encountered before couldn't compare to this at all.
[Analyze complete]
[Talent Skill: Gluttony Enhancement]
[Fusion Condition: Kill the Complete Form Muscular Monster]
[After Fusion, the Player will develop a desire to constantly become stronger through eating. As the monsters the Player devours become stronger, the Player's strength and Self-Healing Ability will also gradually increase. At the same time, the Player's body will undergo mutation. When the Player's sanity cannot overcome the desire to become stronger, the Player will completely mutate into a monster. Furthermore, this Talent possesses extremely strong growth potential... Friendly Reminder, during this process, the Player's desire will also gradually increase, but when the Player shatters their desire, this Talent will no longer possess growth potential.]
Xia Shang quickly scanned the Panel and found that the Muscular Monster's desire was far stronger than the previous Hunger Monster, especially for him. The extremely direct feedback of being able to devour monsters to become stronger made it difficult not to become addicted.
Even he didn't have absolute certainty that he could restrain the desire to become stronger in his heart.
If he fused, there was a high chance he would become addicted. A trace of solemnity flashed in Xia Shang's eyes. Facing such a tempting ability, he had to treat it cautiously. Although the ability was good, once it surpassed the limit of his will, it could make him completely sink into it, eventually becoming a monster driven by desire.
"Kill the Complete Form Muscular Monster..."
Xia Shang guessed that the Muscle Titan form of the Muscular Monster in the source material was likely not the Complete Form, but an Evolution form. So, by killing the Muscular Monster in front of him, he could successfully fuse Gluttony Enhancement!
How should he choose!
Xia Shang's subsequent actions provided the answer.
He saw several extremely sharp tentacles drill out from his back, instantly shooting into the walls on both sides of the stairwell and lifting Xia Shang into the air. Like a spider, he looked at the Muscular Monster whose injuries were about to heal, a sinister smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Rip! Xia Shang tore off his tattered clothes, exposing his muscular upper body to the air.
He saw cracks appearing on his arms, shoulders, abdomen, and even his face. Soon, eyeballs appeared in the center of the cracks. They stared intently at the Muscular Monster, and then blue light flickered in the depths of their pupils.
"I'd like to see just how strong your Self-Healing Ability is!"
Xia Shang slowly raised his right hand, turning his palm towards the Muscular Monster.
The Muscular Monster seemed to sense danger. It forcefully plunged its arm into the wall beside it, digging out a large chunk of concrete. With a boom, it threw it towards Xia Shang like a cannonball. The concrete block, accompanied by whistling wind, weighed at least several hundred kilograms, essentially a huge and irregular stone ball.
"I thought your head was filled with muscle, but you actually know how to use tools." Xia Shang's other arm left streaks of afterimages in the air. The blades he generated were strong enough to cut steel, so they could easily slice through the concrete block in front of him.
When the concrete block was less than ten centimeters away from Xia Shang.
It instantly disintegrated into debris, scattering onto the stairs.
At the same time, an extremely brilliant blue Heat Vision burst forth from Xia Shang's palm, instantly and accurately hitting the Muscular Monster's brow. The intense pain caused the Muscular Monster to raise its arms to block the Heat Vision. Hiss! The fact proved that flesh and blood were quite fragile in front of Heat Vision.
In just a few breaths, large charred holes were burned through the Muscular Monster's arms.
"You can really take a hit! Keep going!" The other eyeballs on Xia Shang's body surface also gradually turned slightly blue, as if ready to unleash their power.
(end of chapter)