The enhancement in his mind made Chu Xiu frown.
After reaching Mortal Tier Level 2, not only did the experience required for the next level double, but the difficulty of gaining experience also increased significantly.
He estimated that even if this was a solo kill without Wang Long’s assistance, he would only get sixty or seventy experience points at most.
"Take it slow."
Chu Xiu thought, waving his hand, and the corpse on the ground started to refine, finally merging into the Bone Armor.
[Refining Complete! Professional Experience +18, Enhancement Progress +2]
Next, Chu Xiu did not immediately change locations but used this room as a trap to continue luring nearby Corpse Demons.
In this way, the group was busy for nearly an afternoon, killing three Corpse Demons in a row without any danger.
But whether it was their luck running out or extra drop rates reward for the first kill, these four Corpse Demons did not drop anything.
This clearly showed Wang Long and Li Shan’s disappointment in their expressions.
Chu Xiu didn’t care, while happily continuing to upgrade his Bone Armor, successfully advancing it further to a +5 level, improving the defense to the next stage, along with the evolution of the [Energy Absorption] trait.
This made Wang Long and Li Shan hesitant to speak. It was clear they wanted to say that these corpses should be distributed too, and not always given to Chu Xiu for free, but they didn’t dare.
And when the fifth Corpse Demon was killed, Li Shan suddenly exclaimed with joy, "I leveled up!"
"You leveled up?"
Wang Long looked at Li Shan in disbelief, his face as ugly as if he had eaten a fly.
Chu Xiu was also a bit surprised but quickly understood.
Li Shan’s Profession is [Poacher], which is similar to [Thief] or [Assassin], where hiding can earn experience points.
Using himself as bait to lure Corpse Demons should be a good way to earn experience.
On the other hand, Wang Long, a [Barbarian Race], requires frontal combat, but he always attacks from behind and knocks them out, so the experience he gains might not be as high as Li Shan’s.
Of course, there’s also the most important point, which was Li Shan’s [Hold Breath] Talent, allowing him to retreat near a Corpse Demon safely at first, surely giving him abundant experience, so it’s not surprising he leveled up before Wang Long.
"Congratulations." Chu Xiu said with a forced smile.
"Haha," Li Shan laughed twice. He was delighted, checking his changes.
Chu Xiu glanced at him too.
He could vaguely sense that after leveling up, Li Shan’s constitution probably wasn’t worse than Wang Long’s, quite possibly awakening foundational skills.
"Did you get any skills?" Chu Xiu asked.
"Yeah," Li Shan didn’t hide it, "Two awakened. One is a material gathering [Skinning], and the other is remote attack [Initial Precise Strike]. Too bad there isn’t a crossbow, and this skill can’t be used."
"Not bad." Chu Xiu praised.
Actually, he had the ability to craft a set of crossbows for Li Shan, but he certainly wouldn’t be so kind.
Raising his hand, the Corpse Demon’s corpse merged into the Bone Armor.
[Professional Experience +17, Enhancement Progress +1]
The leveled-up Li Shan was full of fighting spirit, wanting to continue gaining points, but Chu Xiu glanced at the sky, licked his dry lips, and said: "It’s getting late, better hurry to the rooftop to see if there’s a water source. You wouldn’t want to drink Corpse Demon’s blood, right?"
Upon hearing Chu Xiu mention that thick, foul-smelling, black liquid, everyone’s faces changed collectively, shaking their heads repeatedly.
Moreover, they were indeed very thirsty, especially the non-upgraded Yun Lu and Wang Long.
As they carefully avoided the monsters and moved towards the rooftop, they simultaneously searched for suitable food.
Upon reaching the twenty-second floor, they killed a mutated rat about the length of a forearm, which should be edible. At this point, Chu Xiu wasn’t interested and didn’t absorb it.
Having climbed for nearly fifteen minutes, when Yun Lu was gasping and exhausted, they finally reached the thirtieth floor, just two floors away from the top.
It must be said that climbing stairs in a state of dehydration felt torturous, even for Chu Xiu.
Just as everyone was about to push through, ascending three more floors to the rooftop, Chu Xiu suddenly paused, sharply looking toward a corner.
There, close against the wall, was a large doll with a childlike physique.
The doll wore a child’s formal outfit, cheeks painted bright red, and an unnatural, strange smile on its face.
"What’s wrong, Brother Chu?" Li Shan asked.
Chu Xiu deeply glanced at the doll, turning away: "Nothing, just feel like I’m being watched."
Li Shan joked, "Brother Chu, you’re too tense."
Chu Xiu nodded, just about to move on, but that feeling of being watched returned.
This time, without hesitation, he raised his long spear, aiming it at the doll!
"Wait!"
Just as the Bone Spear was about to pierce the doll, a sharp voice emerged from within the doll.
Chu Xiu’s hand froze slightly, and the three people behind him turned around shocked.
Just now...did the doll speak?
Wasn’t this a post-apocalyptic instance? Does a post-apocalyptic instance also have supernatural occurrences?
The trio’s faces simultaneously showed fear, except for Chu Xiu, who remained calm, thinking internally, and equipped the Bone Armor from the item slot, stepping forward to grab the doll, inspecting it carefully.
"I said wait a moment!"
Another voice came, but this time, it wasn’t from the doll; it was from upstairs.
Chu Xiu turned back, seeing a ponytail girl angrily walking down from the corner of the stairs, tanned skin, wearing only a black vest, revealing two muscular arms, white worker gloves on her hands, and holding a hammer in her right.
She wore gray work pants below, with long legs and a tall body, over 1.75 meters.
Her features were striking; she could be seen as a beauty with cold temperament—if not for the scar.
On her face was a scary scar starting from the center of her forehead, stretching along the left nose to the corner of her mouth like a worm, making her gaze more fierce.
Chu Xiu couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.
But the girl seemed accustomed, only crossing her arms, scrutinizing Chu Xiu’s terrifying armor, mouthing a slightly annoyed "tch."
"Another rich kid." she said.
"What rich kid?" Chu Xiu asked, stepping forward to voluntarily hand over the doll.
He noticed the girl didn’t seem to have hostile intentions and was likely a Trial Taker inclined towards teamwork, so he proactively showed goodwill.
Sure enough, after taking the doll, the girl looked much better, saying: "Nothing, just referring to the rich second-generation in our team."
Then, she glanced at the four with chapped lips, flipping her wrist to reveal a bottle of mineral water.
"Drink up, it’s water we just filtered."
She said, tossing the bottle to Yun Lu.
Yun Lu, pleasantly surprised, carefully took a sip first, then his eyes lit up, swallowing another big mouthful, reluctant to part with it, licking his lips before passing it to Chu Xiu.
Chu Xiu took the bottle, after looking at it didn’t drink, casually handed it to Li Shan beside him, and asked: "Is there water on the rooftop?"
His action fell into the girl’s eyes, causing her dissatisfaction with a "tch," but she still replied: "There’s quite a lot of accumulated water in the tank, we’ve set up a filtration system, enough for the next six days’ use. If you’re unsure, don’t drink it."
Chu Xiu gently smiled, not caring about the girl’s sarcasm, asking further: "How many of you are there?"
"Seven."
"That many?"
"Yeah, the Trial Takers in this building should all be here."
Speaking, the girl raised her eyebrows: "Want to go up and see?"