HAGLTP Chapter 23

Long Yang stared at Xiao Lu, a smile on his cultured face tinged with a hint of malice: “Mr. Xiao’s personality isn’t very likable; it seems you’ll need to make some adjustments in the future.”

Xiao Lu shifted from leaning against the wall to standing upright, the sarcasm on his face nearly overflowing: “Don’t take yourself too seriously; no one wants to win your favor with your worthless things.”

Huang Sansheng mustered his courage to chime in: “Yeah, you trash that can’t even sort garbage!”

“Ha.” Long Yang laughed instead, “It seems you’re not a good child who likes to listen to teachings; a direct lesson would suit you better.”

A vibration came, and a gate lowered at the entrance that Huang Sansheng had just opened, sealing off the path for the three of them.

The tightly sealed ground suddenly opened a large hole several meters wide, and a lift slowly rose, bringing a massive iron cage into the arena.

Inside the cage was a humanoid figure, tall and broad-shouldered, a male physique. He was shackled with thick, black chains, and a metal muzzle covered his mouth. The contours of his brows and eyes were resolute, with several burn scars, and even the star patterns on his body had a lava-like hue.

What was even more surprising was that this person was wearing the uniform of the Public Security Bureau, the highest-ranking black uniform, adorned with a sash and epaulettes, showcasing his identity and status.

“Let me introduce you; this is the Director of the Yao City Public Security Bureau—Chen Yu.” Long Yang explained with a sense of intimacy.

“He’s quite a formidable ability user; it took me a lot of effort to subdue him, and I lost quite a few subordinates in the process. However, the Director did not disappoint me; he successfully passed the experiment and became my strongest combat force.”

“Unfortunately, he isn’t as obedient as Alice and Izell.”

The heavy iron cage opened, and Chen Yu slowly raised his head, his crimson eyes locking onto Xiao Lu.

Hollow, ruthless, like a heartless killing machine.

Xiao Lu was no stranger to such a gaze; Alice and Izell he had seen before had similar eyes.

They could no longer be considered living beings; they were merely monsters caught between aberrants and zombies.

Long Yang’s tone rose: “Defeat him and prove your excellence to me. Or be defeated by him; don’t worry, I will take good care of you, making you stronger than Alice, Izell, or even him.”

“You’ve also brought me two new test subjects; I will ensure they are put to good use.”

Xiao Lu completely dismissed Long Yang’s words as public nonsense; his attention was focused on Chen Yu, observing this opponent who was clearly not easy to deal with.

As for Long Yang, he could deal with him after this job was done.

Chen Yu had also locked onto Xiao Lu, stepping out of the iron cage, moving his body.

Chen Yu exuded a feral, beast-like ferocity, different from Alice and the others; it was a more intense killing intent, sharp as a blade, even to the point of being uncontrollable.

Without warning, Chen Yu let out a roar that was inhuman, shaking the eardrums of those present.

In the next moment, he raised his hand, and scorching lava erupted, rushing towards Xiao Lu and the others.

“Damn!” The lava came unexpectedly; Huang Sansheng quickly pulled out the door panel he had just taken and enlarged it, bracing it in front of the three, barely blocking the lava.

A wave of heat surged, licking at the hard door panel, causing its temperature to soar.

Soon, the surface of the door panel began to melt.

Huang Sansheng could clearly feel his ability being rapidly consumed by the panel; it wouldn’t be long before it returned to its previous size, which wouldn’t be able to block the three of them.

He quickly raised his hand, continuing to channel his ability into the door panel.

Hot! Even with the thick metal door panel in between, the temperature on the inside had already risen to an unbearable level for an ordinary person. Almost instantly, the burning pain shot through Huang Sansheng’s nerves into his brain.

His brain kept urging him to let go.

But Huang Sansheng was unwilling to release it; right in front of him was the deadly high temperature. If he let go, their situation would only worsen.

He had to protect his teammates; he could sacrifice this hand if necessary, Huang Sansheng thought. Unknowingly, he had transformed from that timid little fatty into a brave warrior capable of standing on his own.

A hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him back with undeniable force.

“Lu Ge! I can still hold on!” Huang Sansheng hurriedly said.

“Trust me.” Xiao Lu’s response was simple.

After feeling Huang Sansheng’s resistance weaken beneath his palm, Xiao Lu gave Ye Qi a glance.

The door panel finally couldn’t hold up any longer, melting a large hole under the assault of the lava, and the scorching lava surged towards Xiao Lu and the others through the opening.

Three ice-blue barriers appeared in the path of the lava; the first barrier held for a moment before shattering, followed by the second and third, each not lasting long.

But that moment was enough.

Xiao Lu grabbed Huang Sansheng and retreated urgently, having already left the area of the lava attack, with Ye Qi closely following, just managing to avoid the surging heat wave.

Chen Yu’s gaze followed the three as they moved.

Scorching lava coalesced into balls, continuously firing at the three like cannonballs, each carrying a terrifying temperature capable of melting the ground; the effect of being hit by one was self-evident.

Xiao Lu dragged Huang Sansheng, dodging left and right, feeling as if he was dragging over two hundred pounds in training.

“Lu, Lu Ge… I…” Huang Sansheng gasped, running so hard that the flesh on his cheeks was shaking.

Xiao Lu didn’t look back: “If you don’t want to become Huang Sansheng mature, then run!!!”

Huang Sansheng shut his mouth, gritting his teeth to hold on, regretting why he had eaten so many chips and drank so much milk tea; the weight he had gained was just the water he had consumed while binge eating back then.

Ye Qi had good stamina, running alongside Xiao Lu, occasionally helping Huang Sansheng adjust his position, barely keeping him in the group.

After running for a while.

“Lu, Lu Ge… we can’t just keep running like this… this guy… how do we fight him like a fire-breathing dragon? I don’t have a fridge in my pocket.” Huang Sansheng gasped, asking.

Xiao Lu had actually been observing Chen Yu and had come to his own conclusion: “His lava is very powerful; we can’t confront him head-on, but he does have weaknesses.”

“If we keep running like this, the probability of him hitting us from a distance is actually very low. Why doesn’t he just come over and unleash a big move?”

“I guess his mobility isn’t great; a big move like that can’t be casually unleashed.”

“Wait a moment; you guys keep running; I’ll go up and test him.”

With that, Xiao Lu’s fingertips glowed and he dashed towards Chen Yu.

His movement almost attracted most of the firepower; Xiao Lu weaved through the net of lava balls, dodging attacks while looking for an opportunity to strike.

Finally, the moment came when Chen Yu’s attack paused, the star patterns on his right hand noticeably dimmed; he lowered his previously used right hand and prepared to raise his left hand.

Good opportunity!

Xiao Lu seized the gap, a beam of light flashed, striking directly at Chen Yu’s brow. This hit landed squarely, causing Chen Yu to lean back.

Before Xiao Lu and the others could feel joy, another lava attack surged in.

Chen Yu shook his head, reaching up to touch the new bloodstain on his brow, and a frenzied killing intent surged in his hollow eyes.

“Damn! Is this guy a tank? He took a hit from Lu Ge and is still fine?!” Huang Sansheng was shocked.

It should be known that Lu Ge could take down zombies with a single headshot, regardless of whether they were human or beast, and now he had only broken a bit of skin?!

Xiao Lu quickly dodged the lava that was rushing towards him.

He understood what was happening; it was the deepest part of the night, and they were underground. With these two factors combined, his ability was almost at its lowest point.

Unfortunately, Chen Yu had been modified by Long Yang; although he sacrificed mobility, his physical strength far surpassed that of Alice and Izell, resulting in this effect.

“Ivan.” Xiao Lu called out in his mind.

“Ivan, at your service!” Ivan replied cheerfully.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Sorry…”

“How long until dawn?”

“Beep, checking—23 minutes.” The little assistant Ivan said.

23 minutes; it seemed they needed to hold on a bit longer.

·

Long Yang looked down at Xiao Lu and the others, a deep smile in his eyes.

He extended his index finger, chasing after Xiao Lu’s back, eagerly watching the little figure escape from his fingertip, like a mischievous child playing with a toy.

“I know your secret; you’re waiting for dawn, aren’t you?” Long Yang squinted, his voice low enough for only himself to hear.

“It’s okay; I’m very patient. I’ll wait with you. When dawn comes, you must give me a performance that satisfies me.”

“Otherwise, I will be angry. If I get angry, I will punish you severely… Hehe…”

Suddenly, a small red light on the table lit up, flashing urgently, and Long Yang’s gaze shifted away from Xiao Lu, his brows furrowing.

“Where did this little mouse come from, sneaking into my potion room!”

He turned to the aberrant in the corner and ordered: “Go, take care of it.”

The aberrant nodded and quietly exited the room.

·

Xiao Lu and the others were still evading Chen Yu, all three of them sustaining varying degrees of injury.

Huang Sansheng was panting heavily, feeling like a freshly baked sweet potato, the biggest and fullest in the oven, exuding an aura of “come eat me.”

As a seasoned homebody, he felt like he had exhausted all his lifetime of exercise at this moment.

Chen Yu’s firepower remained fierce; supported by his survival instinct, Huang Sansheng almost relied on sheer will to reach into his pocket, throwing whatever he found at the opponent.

“Let you… bully… huff… the fatty!” He didn’t forget to mimic Lu Ge’s tone, throwing out a weak threat.

A white object flew through the air, gradually enlarging as it sped towards Chen Yu.

A strange fermented smell filled the air, becoming even more pronounced in the hot atmosphere.

Xiao Lu, who was waiting for an opportunity, frowned, sensing something was off: “Ah Huang, what did you throw?”

“Ah?” Huang Sansheng, half out of breath from the long run, took a moment to respond.

But it didn’t matter; Xiao Lu watched as a giant sock fell from the sky, landing squarely on Chen Yu’s head.

A strange steam rose from the sock, intertwining with the smell in the air, mixing the life-and-death battlefield with a disheveled boy’s dorm room.

Perhaps due to the bizarre nature of this attack, Chen Yu’s assault showed a slight pause.

In a way, this could be considered an effective attack.

Though it was a bit of a mental pollution and blurred the lines between friend and foe.

“Ah, that’s the sock I wore last week; oh no… I was planning to wear it for a few more days!” Huang Sansheng gasped, feeling heartbroken.

Xiao Lu: “…”

Ye Qi: “…”

Xiao Lu struggled to say: “…This move is pretty good; don’t do it again next time.”

Huang Sansheng, a man of terrifying breath!

At this moment, Chen Yu yanked the giant sock off his head, his crimson eyes finally locking onto Huang Sansheng.

Huang Sansheng felt a lump in his throat, cold sweat breaking out; no way, big brother, is your hatred that easy to draw?

If he had known, he would have encouraged everyone to not change their socks together.

Chen Yu let out another roar, his killing intent surging.

Seeing the situation was dire, Xiao Lu and Ye Qi quickly led their fragile tank away from the spot.

Chen Yu raised both hands, and lava surged towards the three.

This time, the lava was filled with rage, more turbulent than before, determined to completely engulf the three.

“Beep—”

“Ivan, reminder: dawn is coming!”