Ruminas backed away, her grip on the rope tightening. She took a deep breath, her eyes focused on the chaos monster. It stood there, tentacles twitching, alert to any movement.
"Now then… let's begin."
Ruminas yanked the string!
Crack!
One of the first pillars collapsed, taking with it a mass of wood and metal from damaged houses. The deafening sound echoed throughout the area.
The monster reacted immediately. It swung its tentacles in the direction of the sound, but at the same time—
Boom!
A second pillar also collapsed in a chain reaction. The entire ruined corner now shook, the sounds of collision echoed, creating chaos just as Ruminas had expected.
The chaos monster began to become confused. It waved its tentacles wildly, continuously attacking the place where the noise came from, but the more it attacked, the more debris fell, making the situation even more chaotic.
"Here is your chance!"
Ruminas immediately took action.
The surrounding places were still collapsing so much that the monster was distracted. Even when Ruminas had gotten within five meters, it still hadn't detected it.
And it was only when the collapse stopped that the monster realized its enemy was right in front of it. The tentacles couldn't retract in time so it opened its mouth and shot out corrosive liquid.
However, Ruminas easily dodged it and the knife landed in place.
"Slash!"
Ruminas activated the effect of her slash skill to penetrate its thick outer skin and strike straight inside.
Swish!
The blade stabbed straight into the monster's chest!
The monster roared, its entire body convulsing violently. Its tentacles swung wildly, smashing into everything around it. Ruminas quickly jumped back, avoiding its reflexive attacks.
She sneered, watching the monster slowly fall.
It wasn't quite dead yet, but it was already weakened to the point of being just a normal animal, so Ruminas jumped in and delivered the finishing blow.
"Finally done!"
She sat on it and breathed heavily.
[Receive: 50 EXP, 1 low-grade chaos bone]
"Oh, this one is 2.5 times stronger than that one? But fighting it is too tiring… It's best to limit it and find some parasites."
Ruminas rested in place for a while, then she made a long cut on the monster's body to collect the black blood. If it hadn't increased her stats just now, she wouldn't have been able to defeat this monster so easily.
"Should we go back and hunt the rest of them or go to the rendezvous point?"
Ruminas thought for a moment then looked up at her head but was surprised to see another number besides the arrow: "469m".
"Is this the distance to the meeting point? It's 469m, when will we get here…?" Ruminas suddenly felt that this journey was not easy at all.
"Well, let's go. There will be monsters along the way, but if we get further away from this gathering point, it will be difficult to return.
So Ruminas decided to wait until morning before setting off. She also took the opportunity to find a secluded place to sleep since she had been fighting almost all night anyway.
"Just going out for a day and killing five monsters in a row is already a success," Ruminas said.
…
It's morning.
Ruminas woke up and the first thing she did was to look around again, after confirming that nothing had changed she then started to relax and eat breakfast.
"We also need to replenish food. The water already has black blood, so we can get it by killing monsters, but their meat is inedible. It's best to find a large supermarket, then you'll have a better chance."
So Ruminas had already decided on his next target.
Go find the supermarket.
She began to rely on her memories of the surrounding area to deduce her current location.
"I remember, there's a shopping mall about 200m away but the problem is that it's in the opposite direction of the meeting point. If we go there, we'll be 669m away from the meeting point."
"Should I…?"
Ruminas was again in a dilemma.
"Let's go to the mall first. There's no guarantee that our food will last until the assembly point, and the chances of finding another food source are low, but if we go to the mall, the odds are much higher."
"I hope so…"
Ruminas was also a bit uncertain but for the sake of her life she had to go.
"200m isn't too far, but if the path is complicated and there are many monsters, it will still take at least three days. I have to calculate the remaining food as well."
She then carefully moved through the ruined buildings, listening for distant sounds in case monsters appeared. Along the way, she heard a few small growling sounds, but fortunately, she did not encounter anything serious.
Even though she had defeated the monster, Ruminas did not dare to walk around proudly and could only dodge around everywhere. She only dared to attack when she happened to spot a monster walking alone.
Boom.
Ruminas has just assassinated another parasite.
[Receive: 20 EXP, 1 monster skin]
"Good, whichever one you get, the better."
About 50 meters after setting off, Ruminas stopped in front of a ruined area. A large road that once led into the main street was now blocked by overturned cars, collapsed buildings, and all sorts of debris. There was also a large hole that directly cut across the road.
"What should I do? If I go around, it will take another 100m…"
Ruminas stopped, she approached the hole and looked down but couldn't see the bottom so falling down there would be the end of her life.
Knowing that it was impossible, Ruminas stubbornly tried to find another way instead of taking a detour. She started looking at the terrain to see if there was any other way. Finally, she found a path that led straight through the hole in front of her.
"It's a bit dangerous…"
It was a path created by collapsed buildings but the path was very narrow and difficult to walk on, if you encountered a monster in the middle of stopping, you would definitely fall.
"Should I take the risk…?"
She bit her lip, weighing the pros and cons. Finally, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath.
"Can't keep avoiding forever"
Ruminas decided to go through this path.
She carefully stepped onto the slanted section of the collapsed building, her eyes scanning the area for any footholds. Every step had to be precise, or else one small mistake could send her tumbling into the pit.
Creak…
A piece of concrete beneath Ruminas's feet made a dangerous sound. She stopped immediately, keeping her balance, not daring to move. A feeling of nervousness rose up, sweat running down her spine. After a while, when she realized that the surface beneath her feet was still stable, she continued moving.
Thirty minutes passed but Ruminas had only gone a third of the way as there were parts that were almost impassable and she had to climb higher to find her way.
Although dangerous, these things have tempered her character a lot, now she has completely calmed down, each step is accompanied by certainty.
"Almost there…"
After another ten minutes, she was already more than halfway there. But at this moment—
Boom!
A shocking sound rang out from behind. Ruminas turned her head in surprise, a monster had just fallen from above, smashing into the rubble. It was a low-level chaos monster, but it seemed smaller than the one she had faced before.
"Damned…!"
"Why now!"
"First, calm down. It can't hear if we don't do anything."
The monster raised its head, its tentacles waving in the air as if searching for prey. It had no eyes, but Ruminas knew that if she made a sound, it would immediately pounce.
She immediately controlled her breathing, kept her body still, trying not to make any sound. But unfortunately, the monster was still slowly crawling towards her, bit by bit.
Its going up here made the road sway a bit because of its weight.
"You fat bastard!"
Ruminas silently cursed the current situation. If she fought now, the ground beneath her feet might collapse at any moment. But if she did nothing, this monster would discover her and attack first.
She looked back at the road ahead, silently calculating her next steps in case of emergency.
"Well, just run fast and you'll probably make it."
After preparing everything, Ruminas gently picked up a small piece of rock near her feet, being careful not to make any noise. Then, with a decisive movement, she threw the rock towards the ruined building next to her.
Click!
The sound immediately attracted the monster's attention. It immediately turned its head, its tentacles swinging in that direction, smashing the rubble that Ruminas had just aimed at.
"Now!"
She did not miss the opportunity. As soon as the monster lost focus, she moved quickly, with pre-calculation, each step she took was on point and she avoided the dangerous parts.
But at this moment—
Crack!
A piece of concrete under her feet suddenly shattered!
Ruminas' body lost balance, she was hanging in the air, her whole body fell towards the deep pit below.
"No! If you fall, you're dead!"
In the moment of death, Ruminas reached out and grabbed a metal beam protruding from the ruined building. She hung in mid-air, feeling cold sweat running down her back.
The monster behind noticed the noise. It turned its head, tentacles sweeping through the air, searching for a target.
"Damn it…!" Ruminas gritted her teeth. If she kept swinging like this, the monster would find her sooner or later.
She glanced around quickly, searching for an escape route.
And then—
She saw a thick cable strung between two buildings, just a few meters away. If she could grab onto it, she might have a chance to escape.
But how to reach it?
Ruminas took a deep breath, focusing all her strength into her hands. She knew she only had one chance.
"Must succeed…!"
She pulled herself together, using her body's momentum, then swung her legs forward to slowly gain momentum. She repeated this action several times until her body started rotating on the bar.
And then, Ruminas let go of her hand, pulling her entire body forward.
At that moment, the monster discovered her! It screeched, its tentacles rushing forward at terrifying speed!
But-
Whoosh!
Ruminas leaned forward, grabbing the cable with both hands just as the monster tentacle swept through the space she had just been standing in!
Hanging from the cable, she quickly swung forward, away from the monster that was roaring in anger.
"Escaped…!"
Her heart was still pounding, but a slight smile appeared on Ruminas' lips. She quickly grabbed the cable and climbed up, running as fast as she could forward, successfully passing through this giant hole.
"As expected, when you play recklessly, something bad will happen." Ruminas let out another sigh of relief and continued walking forward.