Just as the two were about to flee, the Red Armored Scorpion's tail stinger extended towards them. The reddish-black tip of the stinger indicated a potent fire poison.
This fire poison was hundreds of times stronger than the poison on the Red Armored Scorpion's shell. If injured, Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai would have absolutely no chance of survival.
"What are you looking at, Red Armored Scorpion? Your opponent is me now!"
Chu Qi fired a few more shots, creating a window for Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai to escape.
The Red Armored Scorpion glanced at the two fleeing figures, seemingly annoyed. However, Chu Qi's continuous firing was incredibly irritating, so it turned its head, deciding to deal with this bothersome female human first.
"Hiss~ Hiss~ Hiss!"
The Red Armored Scorpion rapidly vibrated its tail stinger and spread its pincers, a standard attack posture.
Chu Qi gave a wry smile. She had only been talking tough earlier. While she was indeed from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, the Red Armored Scorpion's control was not in her hands.
Watching the rapidly advancing Red Armored Scorpion, Chu Qi tightened her grip on her mercenary combat knife. Although her choice seemed foolish, she wouldn't give up now.
She was a true Transcendent.
The tail stinger grazed Chu Qi's cheek. After twisting her slender body to continuously dodge two rounds of the Red Armored Scorpion's attacks, she slashed her knife at the joint of its front leg.
The joint was the weakest spot she could find on the Red Armored Scorpion. This strike was imbued with Dark Energy, her full-force attack.
However, the Red Armored Scorpion was not a brainless monster like a Ghoul. Although it was an armored animal species, its combat intelligence far surpassed that of Ghouls.
Sensing the danger of Chu Qi's strike, the Red Armored Scorpion made a defensive move in advance, raising its leg armor to block.
"Clang!"
The powerful, heavy strike carved a notch into the Red Armored Scorpion's front leg, but it failed to inflict further damage.
Chu Qi, her old strength spent and new strength not yet generated, could only retreat. This retreat led her into a dead end, leaving her no chance to escape.
She gathered her resolve, preparing to face the Red Armored Scorpion's next attack, when she suddenly felt a chill at her neck.
"I'm here!"
Yuan Jingkong, the Ghost-type who had been wandering this floor, finally made his move, using Flesh Bind, and at the most critical moment.
"Oh no!"
Chu Qi's body suddenly stiffened, giving the Red Armored Scorpion an opportunity. Its massive red pincer clamped onto Chu Qi, lifting her up.
The Red Armored Scorpion's mouthparts, filled with sharp teeth, were right before her eyes. Chu Qi was about to die in the mouth of this elite second-tier Xenomorph.
"To think that I, who always scoffed at the friendships among classmates and friends, would do something so foolish. This seems too stupid."
She bit her lip, just as she was about to end her own life, a voice appeared behind the Red Armored Scorpion.
"Is it really that stupid? If you insist on saying that, wouldn't it make me seem stupid too?"
Chu Qi's previously dim eyes suddenly brightened. She also had her own dreams; she didn't want to die, she still had many things she hadn't done, and she was unwilling to give up.
At this moment, this voice was like a ray of light in Chu Qi's heart, the light of dawn.
"Lu Luo!"
Lu Luo had already leaped high, bringing the black gleam of the Grudge Blade, and slashed down on the Red Armored Scorpion's steel pincer.
"Phantom Pain!"
"Crack!" The Red Armored Scorpion's arm caved in. The effect of Phantom Pain caused its mental state to become somewhat chaotic, and the impact also caused it pain, making it release Chu Qi from its pincer.
"Wow, she saved you like a hero, and you saved her like a hero. If there weren't vast forests outside waiting for you to explore, I'd even suggest you two get together."
"Thanks, Lu Luo."
"No, no, no, this is called karma."
Lu Luo wasn't just being polite. If it weren't for Chu Qi's appearance, he wouldn't have been able to kill the two Ghouls so smoothly, drive away Yuan Jingkong, and synthesize the Grudge Blade.
And with the Grudge Blade, he gained the ability to take on greater challenges, such as the Red Armored Scorpion before him. If he could kill the Red Armored Scorpion, his earnings would increase several times over.
Sow a cause, reap an effect! Lu Luo wasn't superstitious, but karma wasn't superstition; it was cause and effect.
"Hey, hey, can you two stop with the mutual flattery? Do you really think Gu-ge and I don't exist?"
Opposite the Red Armored Scorpion, Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai also appeared simultaneously. In this battle, not a single person chose to flee, though Zhou Kai was mostly just tagging along.
Chu Qi looked at the already battered Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai opposite her, feeling a little uneasy. She had just lectured Gu Fangyi, wasn't this a slap in her face?
Forget it, forget it. I'll forgive you two for saving me.
"Thank you two as well."
Lu Luo couldn't be bothered with Chu Qi's inner thoughts; his eyes were entirely focused on the Red Armored Scorpion before him.
"This guy is much tougher than I imagined."
"Being tough is a given. This guy is an elite second-tier animal species, suspected to be a mutated form of the Blue Armored Scorpion. Its individual size is larger than the Blue Armored Scorpion, and its toxicity is also stronger.
Regarding elite-tier Xenomorph, you can essentially understand them as mutated forms or standouts among Xenomorph of the same tier. You don't even have Dark Energy, so you probably can't break its defense."
After reading the Observer's prompt, Chu Qi quickly informed him of the Red Armored Scorpion's specific details, hoping it could provide some help for his upcoming battle.
"Red Armored Scorpion, after all is said and done, isn't it just a giant scorpion? With such a large body, I wonder if its tail stinger can be used to brew wine."
"Integrator provides a feasible plan for Red Armored Scorpion wine: Red Armored Scorpion's tail stinger + Black Wolf Spider poison + Silver Centipede saliva = unknown attribute potion."
"Holy crap, there really is one!"
Lu Luo's eyes lit up, but now was clearly not the time to consider brewing wine. For now, he still needed to find a way to kill the Red Armored Scorpion, otherwise it would all be for nothing.
"Chu Qi, throw your gun to Gu Fangyi."
"Huh? Okay, Gu Fangyi, catch!"
Chu Qi threw her sidearm to Gu Fangyi across from her. At this moment, Gu Fangyi was holding the small bottle that Lu Luo had previously requested from Chu Qi to hold the Dark Spirit Stones.
This wasn't given for free. Gu Fangyi still remembered what Lu Luo had just told him.
"Old Gu, I'll lend you these 2 grams of Dark Spirit Stones for now, but you'll have to return them later. How about this, since we're classmates, I won't rip you off. Just return 3 for 2 borrowed.
Don't bother with formalities with me, just take it, and let's go save people."
Gu Fangyi looked at the Dark Spirit Stones in his hand, radiating a faint glow, and couldn't help but complain.
"He clearly asked me to help save people, and then he tells me 'borrow 2, return 3, don't be polite'? This guy, is he the legendary business genius? I'm really seeing ghosts!"
He didn't even know that even these 2 grams of Dark Spirit Stones were obtained by Lu Luo from Chu Qi; Lu Luo himself only contributed his words.
However, this approach had a nicer name: business leverage.
Although Gu Fangyi complained verbally, his hands didn't stop moving. The Dark Energy restored to him by the Dark Spirit Stone was slowly injected into Chu Qi's pistol.
"Eagle Eye."
Gu Fangyi aimed at the Red Armored Scorpion's tail stinger, which was the Red Armored Scorpion's most dangerous weapon, and also the most difficult to hit.
With the attachment of Dark Energy, the firearm in his hand was far more powerful than it was in Chu Qi's hand, even several times stronger. Coupled with Eagle Eye's lock-on, Gu Fangyi intended to shoot off the Red Armored Scorpion's tail stinger.
Given the Red Armored Scorpion's formidable defense, and the fact that its tail stinger was the essence of its entire carapace, one shot would not be enough.
Therefore, Gu Fangyi needed to hit it multiple times consecutively, and each hit had to be at the exact same spot.
This sounded somewhat impossible, but Gu Fangyi knew he had to do it. If he couldn't, Lu Luo's danger would increase severalfold.
They were all too weak. Even Lu Luo, who had the strongest physique, couldn't withstand the potent venom of the Red Armored Scorpion's tail stinger.
Gu Fangyi could confirm this from the burning pain emanating from his own wound.
"I need to hurry and finish this before the fire poison makes me lose consciousness."