Chapter 91: 81: Humiliation
Roar~
Like a tiger's roar resounding next to one's ears, it was accompanied by gusts of strong wind sweeping through.
Tao Yu, who could only practice his Breathing Technique while driving, started to train relentlessly in the Myriad Streams Five Forms on the Gobi desert beside the highway at night.
The vigorous energy inside his body, with the enhancement of Qi-Blood from the second Deification of the Breathing Technique, also received better improvement and transfer, complementing each other.
Every pass through the forms induced a tingling sensation throughout the body, making it addictive and hard to stop.
Even to prevent his strength from tearing apart his clothes, and since it was already dark, Tao Yu simply practiced shirtless under the starlight, wearing only a pair of sports pants.
The strength belt and the Inner Scales Armor, along with other equipment, were stuffed onto Cao Shaolin, who had been summoned for guard duty.
"Hoo~"
Slowly exhaling a breath of warm air, Tao Yu felt like every pore in his body was breathing in and out, with white sweat steaming off him continuously.
"Who knows who created Myriad Streams Five Forms, it's indeed profound. It's possible that it came from a skill passed down from some world fragment in the old Development Zone."
Now Tao Yu's Myriad Streams Five Forms had undergone Deification and he had his own unique understanding of it.
With every practice, and with every bit of improvement, he experienced a novel and different sensation.
He checked the skill levels.
Subtly, each of the Five Forms had officially reached level 3, and even [Five Forms as One] had been lifted to level 2, clearly augmenting the Qi-Blood-induced vigor significantly.
"The [Fist Intention] talent truly adds an excellent boost to this kind of training; otherwise, even continuous investment of Yuan Force wouldn't have achieved such speed."
Now, the bodily enhancements that came with Tao Yu's [Five Forms as One] hadn't been fully assimilated yet, and together with the second Deification of the foundation Breathing Technique, he had truly entered another period of rapid physical quality advancement!
"However, the human physique is ultimately lacking somehow. Right now, my absolute strength is comparable to that of Little Black."
Tao Yu had already stacked up quite a few abilities that increased his upper limits, but even so, without digesting his potential, he was only barely equal to a typical Alien.
Succeeding in suppressing Little Black was mainly due to the mental shock mingled with [Fist Intention].
When he grabbed Little Black's tail and was dragged around, it actually reflected his inferior strength, and now, to rapidly go from being inferior to equal in such a short time was terrifying.
Even now, if he didn't use Deified skills and relied solely on his physical condition to face Little Black's type of combat weapon head-on, he would indeed lose in a physical clash.
All the sophisticated techniques would be useless because the creature would simply come at him with its claws, mouth, and tail all at once, impossible to defend against.
But if he really wanted to kill it, it would just be a matter of one strike, to use a second would mean he had slipped up.
"Alien implantation and mechanical augmentation sure are shortcuts..."
Tao Yu thought again about the deceased Jesse and the now missing Wino.
After taking drugs, Wino used to lift an Alien by its tail and swing it around like a meteor hammer.
That was just a rookie who had just entered the Abyss, and even his awakened talent was rather ordinary.
But relying on Alien implants and a massive initial investment of Yuan Force, he had formed such strong combat power in a short span of time.
This made Tao Yu involuntarily turn his eyes to Cao Shaolin who was by his side.
"I wonder if this guy could be modified..."
Tao Yu himself was definitely not interested in mechanical augments and Alien transformations, but a zombie wouldn't mind.
However, it's a pity...
It's too expensive...
"I don't have enough Yuan Force for myself. Next time, if I come across some extra materials that are hard to deal with, I could give it a try."
Tao Yu thought of the self-destructing Jesse, the Lizard Scales full of poison, and the one from the Alien nest that self-destructed.
Tsk, finding a way to control self-detonation is pressing; they really are a bunch of bomb maniacs.
His breathing gradually steadied, and Tao Yu also felt a recovery of physical strength.
"The lung and organ enhancement from the second Deification of the Breathing Technique is truly a comprehensive strength boost; the recovery speed of my physical stamina is much faster."
While wiping the sweat from his body with the white towel taken from Cao Shaolin, Tao Yu was also quite satisfied with the robust feeling of his body at the moment.
Physical strength was recovering in between breaths; since all his Deified skills were major energy consumers, this was undoubtedly a compensation.
"Looking at the Breathing Technique, all aspects of it seem mundane, but that hexagonal bucket strengthening method really does bring small surprises from time to time."
Under the night's starlight, Tao Yu's sweaty silhouette and the streamline of well-proportioned muscles seemed to reflect the starlight, looking quite stylish.
Hum Hum~
However, just then, a vague rumbling sound came their way.
Tao Yu tossed the towel back onto Cao Shaolin's face and ate beef from a can while drinking a sports beverage. He grabbed his clothes and looked toward the source of the sound.
Several beams of light came from the direction of Las Vegas, and Tao Yu's night vision clearly saw the situation ahead.
It was a group of bikers.
All riding heavy motorcycles, many of which had anti-zombie modifications with a lot of metal spikes welded on. Although they were two-wheelers, as long as the riders were skilled, clashing with zombies wouldn't be a problem, provided there weren't too many...
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"Huh, a survivor?"
After swallowing the beef in his mouth, Tao Yu began to methodically don his equipment before pulling on his clothes.
By the time he had finished and returned to the side of the truck, the motorcycle gang was already close to the two vehicles.
Little Black had already jumped beneath the shadow of the tanker, utilizing its Alien instinct to lurk, while Judy and Jesse in the cab had nervously taken out the handguns Tao Yu had given them for self-defense.
Witnessing the roaring approach of the bikes and hearing the occasional strange cries, the two of them were reminded of some unpleasant memories.
The two large vehicles stood one behind the other on the roadside, and although they didn't have their lights on, their intact appearance and standard parking still caught the attention of the motorcycle gang.
Someone shone a flashlight towards the cab and spotted the two women inside.
"Oh snap, boss, there are women."
"Goods in two vehicles? There should be people in the front one too, right?"
"Are they making deliveries after receiving a radio message?"
"..."
The chaotic conversation filled with heavy accents continued as the flickering lights of the bikes added to the confusion.
Tao Yu, now fully clothed, stepped out from behind the truck.
"Oh? Radio? Did your radio also receive a message?"
Judging by the accent, they must be native survivors who used to live in Las Vegas.
Tao Yu had already confirmed two Jing-Guan, but according to his 'Corpse Refinement' knowledge, forming that kind of dead zone would require twenty-four similar sites.
Therefore, the zombie density in many areas of Las Vegas was likely even lower than in Henderson, it's just that many people outside of Las Vegas were wary of the zombies within the city and dared not enter rashly.
This group of guys might be living quite comfortably.
However, Tao Yu suddenly speaking up gave the bike gang a scare, and immediately someone was ready to draw a gun on him.
But just as they were lifting their weapons,
Bang~
Tao Yu fired first, knocking the opponent's gun away.
The sound of the gunshot spurred more members of the gang to think about firing back.
But without exception, with Tao Yu prepared in advance and reacting much faster than them, those who were attempting to draw their guns didn't pose any threat whatsoever.
If it weren't for the fact that each person represented a hundred Yuan Force, and the motorcycles beneath them, as well as their weapons, could probably sell for a good price, Tao Yu would have chosen to shoot them in the head.
Bang bang bang~
The continuous gunfire was quite leisurely; Tao Yu even had time to reload his magazine in between shots.
The enhancements to his shooting ability from [Bullet Time], combined with [One Proof Forever Proof] ensuring he wasn't bothered by any unfamiliarity, made his Basic Shooting - Modified, despite practicing very little, reach level 3.
Now, Tao Yu casually reloading, along with the pained cries of those who attempted to retaliate and got their hands shot, instantly quelled any thoughts of resistance.
Tao Yu was quite accurate with shooting, but knocking guns away and injuring hands wasn't something he could guarantee uniformity in. Those who were shot in the hands just had to accept their bad luck.
He wasn't about to waste his mental energy correcting the trajectory for these little Karamis.
"I don't really like it when people point guns at me."
Tao Yu methodically finished reloading, even taking the time to refill an empty magazine round by round, all the while wearing a smile on his face.
However, the rhythmic sound of bullets being pressed into the magazine made the bikers break out in a cold sweat.
"Understood, we, we were in the wrong just now."
It seemed to be the head of the biker gang, a burly man wearing a denim jacket with metal studs, who was nodding like a pecking chicken.
What is this!
Just like in the movies, this is so exaggerated!
We have over a dozen people here!
"Boss, boss! It's us! Save us!"
After Tao Yu had directly suppressed the entire scene, a somewhat familiar voice called out, taking Tao Yu by surprise.
After all, with over a dozen motorcycles, Tao Yu hadn't inspected each one. Now he noticed that attached behind the last three bikes were large dog cages, with actual people locked inside.
The West City Trio...
Tao Yu was a bit bewildered when he saw them.
What the heck? Caught again? What's going on? Why didn't they run?
But it quickly dawned on Tao Yu that these three had only just recently arrived, then set off the same day attempting to make some money at the gathering spot. And now, not even five days had passed, not enough time to go back to reality.
Man, this was even worse—locked in dog cages.
Truly a disgrace for Pioneers...
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