After their brief conversation ended, Gu Fangyi began constructing a temporary shooting bastion for himself using broken bricks.
This place could be used for practice, observation, and shooting.
This was something the two of them had already agreed upon: Gu Fangyi was responsible for scouting, alerting, and sniping, while Lu Luo took care of exploration, gathering, and killing.
Lu Luo went downstairs. Qi Xinzhu came over, originally intending to ask what had just happened.
But seeing the gloomy expression on Lu Luo’s face, she wisely chose not to ask.
In silence, Lu Luo hung the half-corpse of a meat rat with steel wire between the first and second floors, then said to Qi Xinzhu, "This counts as a simple lure trap. If an Exotic Species comes to eat the corpse while I’m away, kill it. But don’t destroy the Exotic Species corpse. Bring the body upstairs, put it aside, and wait for me to return."
"While you’re away? You’re leaving now?"
"Just going to the building opposite," Lu Luo pointed to the building across the street.
Qi Xinzhu didn’t quite understand Lu Luo’s purpose; they already had a temporary stronghold!
"Are you going alone?"
"Mhm, don’t ask so many questions. Just take care of your own business."
"Alright, be careful."
[Such a beautiful woman, her eyes full of thoughts only of you, and her figure perfectly meets your standards. There’s a saying, ’Three flats are not as good as one round,’ and she’s quite round. Aren’t you going to consider it at all?]
What’s this ’three flats are not as good as one round’? Lu Luo, being a pure person, couldn’t understand it at all. Scram!
As for his own safety, Lu Luo wasn’t too concerned. His strength was already formidable; roughly rounding up to a Second Tier was no joke.
This place was just the outermost area beyond the wall. Even if there were Exotic Species, they were likely just weak First Tier ones; Second Tier Exotic Species were rare.
All this information had been mentioned in the Outer Wall Exploration Manual. To encounter a large number of higher-tier Exotic Species, one needed to venture deeper.
However, Lu Luo’s goal was to quickly harvest energy and enhance his strength. He didn’t need to hunt higher-tier Exotic Species. Stealthy growth, where quantity ensured sufficiency, was the true path.
Lu Luo stepped out the door and glanced at the darkening sky, getting the feeling that it would rain again soon.
Unidentified plants in the green belt entangled his feet, but he cut them away with his knife.
After a brief inspection, he determined they weren’t Exotic Species, so Lu Luo had no intention of devouring them.
If one were to point out what else differed between the area outside the wall and inside, aside from the Exotic Species, it would be the refreshing air here.
The air had a sweet taste, and every breath made him feel very comfortable.
Whenever he stayed here, he experienced an unusually serene sense of comfort.
[Your feeling is accurate. The sweetness in the air you breathe comes from a high concentration of Dark Spirit Particles. Feeling comfortable here indicates that the concentration of Dark Spirit Particles is excessively high, which can induce a sense of comfort in those with mental issues. Moreover, staying here long-term might lead to severe mental distortion and possible Humanoid Species mutations.]
Damn it! Just when Lu Luo’s mood was improving, Observer had spoiled it again. What did it mean that only those with mental issues would feel comfortable here? Was that a hint?
Lu Luo crossed the retro street, which evoked a sense of times past. He passed several vehicles already decomposed by plants and arrived in front of the building opposite, which lacked any prominent signage.
Before he could go in, several people with large bags and haphazard gear appeared at the exit of the outcasts’ jungle.
Scavengers, wild men! That was Lu Luo’s first reaction. They saw Lu Luo, and Lu Luo saw them.
"There sure are a lot of people around!"
Lu Luo suspected the path he had cleared was to blame for the increased traffic; he had made it overly wide for Gu Fangyi’s convenience. It must be that someone had discovered this pathway, which was why people kept showing up one after another.
"We’re just passing by, nothing else," one of the Scavengers said.
However, Lu Luo didn’t believe a single punctuation mark of what they said.
Outside the wall, there were no rules to speak of, and anyone could be a lethal threat. This was a message Ludie had repeatedly drilled into Lu Luo, which he took to heart.
He did not let down his guard but instead slowly retreated, allowing the stairwell to hide his figure.
Then he set up a few wire traps at the stairwell entrance as a warning.
When Lu Luo reached the second floor, he noticed that those people had moved on, which allowed him to relax a little.
Seeing Gu Fangyi still on alert with his weapon across the way, Lu Luo gestured for him to pause, then began to explore the dilapidated building.
After some investigation, Lu Luo confirmed it was an apartment building, similar to the supermarket across the street; the first floor had been completely emptied out.
Upon reaching the second room on the second floor, Lu Luo finally saw some items that had been left behind.
This was a decently decorated studio apartment. Besides some basic furniture, Lu Luo also noticed an old-fashioned computer with a bulky CRT monitor. It was one of those ancient desktops from around the year 2000.
[This must be the earliest form of personal intelligent computing terminal, an antique relic. Too bad it’s completely useless now.]
Opening the wardrobe, he found several pieces of women’s and children’s clothing, but nothing belonging to a man. It seemed a single mother had lived here.
The room was thick with dust; whenever Lu Luo touched anything, layers of it puffed up.
"What a nostalgic place!"
As Lu Luo was rummaging through things, a series of sounds emerged. They resembled the strange noises insects make—somewhat muffled and not very loud.
[Unknown creatures approaching, number uncertain. Stay alert.]
Lu Luo had just turned around when he found a palm-sized, cockroach-like insect on the dressing table.
"Is this thing an Exotic Species? Can it be devoured?"
Although he hated cockroaches, he was very concerned about whether there was any benefit for him and if he could obtain any energy. If there was energy, even giant cockroaches weren’t out of the question.
[Unknown species. It has undergone mutation but has not reached First Tier Exotic Species level. It may or may not possess Life Energy.]
Lu Luo picked up a plank of wood and swung it at the cockroach.
It wasn’t clear if the wood had rotted too severely over time or if the cockroach’s shell was just too hard. Lu Luo’s swing failed to squash the cockroach into a pulp. Although the impact had killed it, the wooden board in his hand also broke.
"The hardness of this shell is remarkable! Uh, what’s that smell?"
Lu Luo detected a pungent odor emanating from the dead cockroach, giving him an ominous feeling.
[Unknown pheromone detected. Based on the current situation, it is likely a signal to summon companions.]
The sounds grew in number. Lu Luo drew his Wraith Blade, ready for combat.
[A large number of unknown creatures detected. The room is too narrow. Please evacuate immediately.]
Lu Luo smashed through the door on the other side and lunged out, rolling several times before jumping onto the street.
Following him were countless giant cockroaches.
As Lu Luo shouted, Gu Fangyi, standing on the third floor of the supermarket, began firing.
With Hawk Eye active, his accuracy in picking off cockroaches was almost 100%.
Yet, even though Gu Fangyi was very efficient at picking them off and Lu Luo was agile, the relentless stream of insects gradually covered Lu Luo’s body.
[You have been attacked by an unknown insect species. After Constitution damage reduction and Toughness damage reduction, final Toughness damage -1.]
[You have sustained a minor bite wound. You are immune to the insect’s toxic damage.]
[You are immune to the bite wound. You are immune to the insect’s toxic damage.]
[You have sustained a minor bite wound. You are immune to the insect’s toxic damage.]
"Attacks of this level can still breach my defenses!"
Lu Luo could feel the pain from the insects biting him. Although he was immune to their continuous, minor toxic damage, the large cockroaches’ mandibles were still too strong; their attacks were powerful enough to pierce his skin and cause actual injury.
Qi Xinzhu, hearing the commotion, was already at the second-floor window. Seeing Lu Luo swarmed by insects, she panicked.
The sight of so many giant cockroaches assaulted Qi Xinzhu’s visual senses and mental defenses; a woman’s fear and repulsion towards such insects are things men can often find difficult to comprehend.
However, she didn’t hesitate for long, muttering to herself, "Holy Light is with me, Li Ming will give me courage. Go on, Qi Xinzhu, it’s just bugs! Where is your courage as a Believer of Light?!"