BXBX NOVEL Chapter 61: 54 Harvest
After the finishing blow, Tao Yu remembered how Joseph had self-destructed last time, so she waited on the spot for a moment before going over with gloved hands to search the body.
'Highly toxic, with a chance of penetrating the skin.'
Tao Yu's Deification Auxiliary Ability proved its worth again— who would have thought that that Lizardman's corpse would turn into a deadly toxin after death?
Had toxic glands burst and entered the body?
No wonder her style was different from Wino's, who favored broad and forceful swings. She must have chosen to be dexterous, utilizing toxins to kill in one hit.
Very tough to deal with!
Moreover, Tao Yu hadn't forgotten that when Wino was once besieged by Aliens, she had used some kind of potion, losing her sanity in exchange for a surge in power, and even after being parasitized by an Alien and being cut open, she had stubbornly survived.
Tao Yu continually probed, using various pieces of information to stimulate, and based on her Deification Crane Stance and Warlord's Sidearm's combined Spirit Perception, she would confirm and only launch a stealth attack when she sensed the highest emotional fluctuation from her adversary.
"I'm glad I played that safe, otherwise I really could have had trouble not knowing about this toxic intelligence."
Tao Yu was quite satisfied with her own caution. What if the adversary could release a wide-area toxic fog or something of the sort?
No matter what ace she had up her sleeve, the safest option was to subdue her right in the bag.
If the information regarding 'Child of Destiny' couldn't distract her opponent, Tao Yu was even prepared to make some risqué remarks.
And if she couldn't find the right opportunity for a long time, she might indeed have to risk herself to find a chance.
Thinking of her opponent's sharp teeth, Tao Yu couldn't help shivering inwardly. Luckily, there were no ifs...
After searching the body with gloves on, Tao Yu indeed found several good items.
Last time, that beast Joseph hadn't dropped anything when he self-destructed, but this time several items turned out to be quite useful to Tao Yu!
One was a dagger shaped like a fang, with some patterns wrapped around the handle. Although she didn't detect any poison, Tao Yu still washed it with the water from several dead men.
Colossal Lizard's Fang: A dagger made from a giant lizard's tooth, possessing the properties of causing bleeding, Armor-Piercing, and paralysis. It can absorb nine hundred Yuan Force.
A body armor that could only protect the chest and abdomen, with fine scales on the armor.
Inner Scale Armor: Possesses strong defensive and anti-penetration abilities, able to distribute damage evenly, weaker against blunt weapons, can absorb four hundred Yuan Force.
Although this Inner Scale Armor seemed cheaper than the dagger, its actual price might be even higher!
Being lightweight, with a defensive mode highly resistant to bullets, Tao Yu really loved it and didn't mind at all that someone else had used it.
Even if it seemed to be designed for a woman, Tao Yu didn't care, since it was worn inside. Practicality was all that mattered!
After washing it with water, she quickly began changing into it, which caused Jack, standing by her side, to stare wide-eyed, his mouth agape in an 'O' shape.
What kind of fetish is this?
So you are the real pervert, after all!
"What are you looking at? Shallow!"
Tao Yu's Sensitive Spirit Perception was kind of annoyed by Jack's gaze, and she glared back fiercely at him.
Stuck in conventional views, they know nothing of practicality above all else.
Muttering to herself, Tao Yu sped up the dressing process, eager to cover the Inner Scales Armor.
Besides that, she also found a pair of knee pads and wrist guards, similar to the elastic leather type of sports knee protectors with average defensive capabilities, absorbing only about one to two hundred Yuan Force, but they could enhance explosiveness and Endurance somewhat and reduce the risk of muscle sprains.
Good value for the price, excellent cost-effectiveness.
"These suit me, following a similar path I've taken. Each one is exceedingly fitting."
Although the items contained not much Yuan Force individually, like the Blood Orchid which absorbed less than a hundred, their utility was laid out plainly, truly allowing Tao Yu to trade her shotgun for a cannon!
"Although they're loot from a body, they're small and can be hidden; considering the profit, it's worth the risk."
Tao Yu didn't bother with unnecessary worries.
The company has its rules, the Abyss has its own laws. Even if the equipment she found in the Abyss did end up exposed, it would be hard for others to use it as an excuse to openly do anything to her.
At least, that's how it appears on the surface.
Apart from the several useful pieces of equipment, Tao Yu also found seven potions and stored them in the backpack at her waist.
Six of them seemed to be specifically for her implanted Alien mutations and were highly toxic to ordinary people.
Tao Yu directly absorbed all the Yuan Force from these six potions, together amounting to around two thousand.
While absorbing the potions, Tao Yu also noticed that high-quality items like these took longer to absorb Yuan Force.
"If I come across some relics or such things in the future, maybe I'll even suffer a backlash while absorbing them," he mused.
After draining the potions that were of no use to himself, Tao Yu did some thinking.
Then, he looked at the only one left, similar to Qi Replenishing Pill, but presumably more effective—a Stamina Potion.
[Stamina Recovery Potion]: Slightly poisonous, may cause bleeding, greatly restores stamina, stimulates nerves, and to some extent, recovers mental strength.
There were only three of these milky Stamina Recovery Potions, and Tao Yu directly pocketed them, discarding the drained potion residues.
"Come, give me a hand, and let's burn them."
Although it was getting dark, Tao Yu had no intention of leaving right away; instead, he went back to the pickup truck and brought out a small barrel of gasoline. Combined with some discarded tires, he piled up the bodies and sprinkled the gasoline to ignite them.
Jack had by now recovered from the shock of Tao Yu changing into women's Inner Scales Armor.
"Will this bring trouble?"
As a former member of a CIA task force, Jack, although willing to help civilians and generally upright, was not averse to covering tracks, including disposing of bodies.
"If they find out it was me, definitely, the energy and influence of Inner City people are quite substantial."
"It's us."
Jack smiled and corrected Tao Yu's words, taking the initiative to start the fire.
"I can't imagine being pinned down by that fanged hag."
Jack shivered, and the scar on his large nose quivered.
Tao Yu kept silent for a moment but did not correct him.
It seemed that the female Lizardman hadn't taken a liking to him...
Maybe because he was too ugly...
...
"It's all about sudden wealth..."
Feeling the nearly 7,000 points of Yuan Force reserves and considering his new set of equipment that was an improvement over the old, Tao Yu couldn't help but reflect.
Even if he hadn't come to the barren Zombie World and had ventured in the prairies and rainforests hunting instead.
Not to mention the risk of being surrounded by Aliens leading to more loss than gain if not hunting went smoothly, tirelessly day and night, it wouldn't have been this quick.
And that's considering the Skills from the newly developed Development Zone could still sell at high prices, and he still had to commute between the Abyss and the real world to turn in assignments.
Yet here, a Lizardman's explosion of Gold Coins was a windfall, let alone when calculating the value of Cao Shaolin's [Warlord's Sidearm]earlier.
Currently, the [Warlord's Sidearm]remained the most valuable piece of equipment Tao Yu possessed.
[Armor-Piercing][Precision]—these two functions were quite ordinary, but that stackable Spirit Perception seemed very effective even against more powerful opponents.
Just like the Deification of the Crane Stance, which Tao Yu considered to be the most practical and potential-rich of the five stances.
"We're here, let's stop. Let's make do with resting in the car for the night to recuperate and gather strength."
Driving with the headlights against the night, Jack stopped the car.
Already there were some roadblocks up ahead, with barbed wire beside them.
The place looked very run down.
With his eyesight, Tao Yu could see several places where the barbed wire had been intentionally cut and damaged.
"Good, have the zombies around the perimeter already been cleared out?"
"Some people wanted to take the perimeter equipment and military vehicles, attracted some zombies, and now most of the zombies in this base are concentrated in the center, denser than the school we visited before. It's a challenge," Jack explained.
Having been around this area for some time, Jack was familiar with the local situation. Although the last time he had escorted goods here was before the outbreak of the biohazard, he still learned a lot through interactions with other survivors.
"Actually, the best way to handle places like this is indeed to arrange for some people to draw the zombies away."
"But with these creatures, if you drive too fast, they stop following. You can only keep up a similar speed and continuously make noise. Once surrounded, it's sure death. Everyone who has attempted it has died, and gradually no one comes anymore."
There had also been an explosion at the armory, and even with someone risking their life to create an opportunity to enter, success wasn't guaranteed, so naturally, attempts diminished over time.
Given the current ratio of survivors and supplies, it wasn't necessary to take such risks.
"Then let's rest for the night, have something to eat, and I'll teach you some Stance Skills in the meantime."
With the substantial physical foundation Jack had from absorbing Yuan Force, similar to Tao Yu's initial learning phase, and his own strong combat Skill base, he would naturally progress quickly...