CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 43: DEADLY 26 HOURS (PART 2)

"Twenty hours!"

In the studio, two new commentators were staring at the live broadcast in disbelief.

Since a little after 5 a.m., Yan Luo had been on the run. The fragmented rest times accumulated to less than an hour. Even when resting, he’d rely on other means to move forward, equivalent to non-stop running.

Yan Luo’s endurance, physical strength, and willpower shocked everyone.

No one had ever imagined that an ordinary person could sprint nearly a thousand kilometers in a day. Even with exoskeleton assistance, his joints and muscles should have given way.

Not to mention that Yan Luo didn’t just run but also jumped around along the way.

People suspected that Yan Luo’s body might have undergone some modifications. After all, as an ordinary person, surviving in the Abyss was extremely difficult. It wouldn’t be shameful to modify one’s body.

The only concern was whether Yan Luo might become cyber-psychotic.

In the live footage, Yan Luo continued to run.

However, compared to several hours earlier, he was visibly much weaker now.

The prolonged running had caused Yan Luo to almost lose feeling in his feet and knees. There was only a little sensation left in his thighs and calves, but it was minimal.

Even with his body strengthened to this extent, prolonged running was unsustainable. This realization made Yan Luo aware—he wasn’t strong enough, and he needed to continue enhancing himself!

Yan Luo resolved to rest up as soon as he returned to Crimson No.2, then enter the Abyss to consume a large number of Demons. Regardless of their blood or flesh, they would be resources for him to grow stronger.

But that’s for the future; he needed to focus on the present task.

Yan Luo and the giant buffalo had already reached the coastal mountains. As predicted by some smart people, he intended to use the power of the sea against the giant buffalo.

The predecessor of the buffalo, the American bison, was an excellent swimmer, and even after mutation, it could still swim.

Yan Luo had crossed several rivers before, and the giant buffalo managed to keep up each time.

Its extremely high body density didn’t hinder its swimming, but it didn’t help either.

Yan Luo had observed this many times before; the giant buffalo could swim but not quickly. Affected by external forces, it might drown.

Initially, Yan Luo wanted to use the ocean against the giant buffalo. Recent observations were to determine what would be enough to kill the beast.

Time passed, and Yan Luo charged across the coastal mountains with the giant buffalo.

Four hours flew by, and they were close to the coast.

Yan Luo could hear the sound of waves and the seawater crashing against the cliff walls.

The time had reached the twenty-fifth hour since Yan Luo formally encountered the giant buffalo. After running day and night, he felt very fatigued.

In the Abyss, he could consume Demons to gain Magic Power, using the digestion of Magic Power to stimulate bodily functions and thus wouldn’t feel tired. But now, on Blue Star, he had nothing to gain Magic Power from.

Yan Luo had to eat hastily while running. Without the exoskeleton’s self-contained waste system, his bladder would have given in long ago.

In comparison to Yan Luo, the city-breaking level mutant creature was in good condition, at most slightly fatigued from the 25-hour chase.

The giant buffalo also ate while chasing Yan Luo. They encountered no other mutant creatures along the way, so it could only gnaw on the flora it met.

For a behemoth ten meters tall, even trees seemed like mere grass, and its digestive system could digest rocks; it could survive on eating earth if necessary, let alone trees.

The giant buffalo remained in good condition, but fortunately, Yan Luo’s destination was near.

As they neared the coast, Yan Luo didn’t rush straight there.

His goal was to kill the beast behind him, not merely escape its pursuit.

If he only wanted to escape, he had many chances to elude the giant buffalo’s chase along the way.

Yan Luo knew he was being targeted by the sponsors of the Hunter Skill Competition. The ability of that beast to track him was undoubtedly their doing.

The Hunter’s Guild didn’t assist because they’re of the same ilk as the sponsors, seeing his life as merely a game; his survival was insignificant.

This attitude showed that Yan Luo’s performance in the Hunter Skill Competition had already yielded the results the Hunter’s Guild higher-ups desired, so they discarded him like trash.

Fortunately, Yan Luo had anticipated this situation before joining the Hunter Skill Competition.

Yan Luo didn’t expect help from the Hunter’s Guild. He planned to kill the beast behind him and win first place, acquiring the A-rated exoskeleton from the Hunter’s Guild higher-ups.

With that exoskeleton, he could enhance himself more efficiently.

Currently, had he no strength to confront the Hunter’s Guild higher-ups, he planned to grow stronger and settle the score later.

The Yan Family always avenged enmity and repaid kindness. Even if those folks were Hunter’s Guild higher-ups, to Yan Luo, they were the same as the Purple Fox Squad—enemies, none more noble than the others.

Reining in his stray thoughts, Yan Luo ran along the coastline, with the giant buffalo in pursuit.

Seeing the target up close, the buffalo let out an excited roar, its voice even causing ripples on the nearby ocean.

Its roar nearly tripped Yan Luo, but he suppressed it with mechanical thought control, forcing his legs to follow their usual rhythm.

Yan Luo’s vision and sensory modules scanned the coastline, searching for the burial ground he had prepared for the giant buffalo.

After half an hour of frantic running along the coastline, Yan Luo finally found a suitable spot to kill the giant buffalo.

If possible, Yan Luo would have selected a few backup locations, but his legs were utterly numb, teetering on the verge of collapse.

Yan Luo knew he couldn’t continue running and had to risk using this spot.

Yan Luo abruptly veered off course, turning suddenly.

The buffalo noticed and, sparked with inspiration, didn’t follow Yan Luo’s turn. Instead, it angled itself, trying to reach a certain point before Yan Luo to devour the damn little thing.

Seeing this, Yan Luo quickly stopped, fleeing in the opposite direction.

Like before, the buffalo followed immediately.

"Wow, it seems Yan Luo has no way out!"

"No, now he looks as if he’s found a way to kill or lose that city-breaking level mutant creature. Even as he turns and runs, his steps are as resolute as ever."

"So his panic is just an act?"

"Hold on, let me think... damn, this whole thing is part of his plan. He’s orchestrated everything!"

"Why do you say that?"

"At first, the giant buffalo only charged straightforwardly. But under Yan Luo’s deliberate guidance, it started using its brain. Didn’t Yan Luo repeatedly get trapped and almost killed by the buffalo? From that point on, he guided the buffalo, making it believe that using its brain could threaten Yan Luo! Even its current actions result from that guy’s intentional leading!"

As the two commentators fiercely debated in the studio, Yan Luo was about to be caught by the buffalo.

With Yan Luo just a short distance away, the buffalo eagerly quickened its pace, charging heartily forward without noticing the sudden brightening ahead.

Almost simultaneously, Yan Luo and the buffalo burst out of the forest, leaping off a cliff.

Yan Luo drew his shotgun, firing a few rounds ahead, causing the recoil to spin his body to face the cliff. He then discarded the shotgun, pulling out his long knife and plunging it into the cliff wall before him.

Meanwhile, the giant buffalo plummeted downward toward the ocean under gravity’s pull.

Boom!

The sea at the cliff’s edge erupted, forming a massive pit.