Chapter 42 Part 1

“Zhu Ming, are you alright?!” Wenren Tu shouted.

Zhu Ming’s face was grim. “I pulled a muscle in my back!” If she hadn’t reacted so quickly just now, her neck probably would have snapped on impact.

The Stone Giant’s eyes, two inlaid blood-red gemstones, glowed with a bloodthirsty, ferocious light. It stepped towards Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan, the nearby ground trembling faintly with its movements.

Wenren Tu scrambled to roll away. A direct hit would turn her into meat paste, at best.

As the Stone Giant moved, Zhu Ming’s arm was instantly scraped raw. She had to flatten herself completely against the round, bald stone head. The movement made her involuntarily suck in a cold breath. Poor back.

“Blade!” Wenren Tu tossed her long blade to Yun Zouchuan. “Get behind it!”

“Right.” Yun Zouchuan bit down on her braid and, seizing the moment the Giant lifted its foot, dashed between its legs to the rear. She drew the blade in a reverse grip and struck at the Giant’s ankle.

Clang!

Only a white scratch mark was left, not even stone dust.

The Stone Giant’s defense was too high. Even Yun Zouchuan’s full-force strike couldn’t injure it in the slightest.

It seemed she couldn’t use dispersed electricity to paralyze its body. A single, lethal strike was necessary.

This thought flashed through Wenren Tu’s mind. The next second, she brought her hands together and slowly drew them apart. A thick, arm-sized bolt of purple thunder materialized.

With each dungeon she cleared, her power grew stronger. She hadn’t expended any energy in this dungeon yet. Now, gathering her maximum strength, even stone could be blasted apart.

Electric light surged, coiling and flowing around the woman. Her short hair and clothes repelled each other, puffing up, involuntarily drawn to the thunderstorm cradled between her palms.

During this process, Wenren Tu couldn’t move. She watched helplessly as the Stone Giant’s fist came crashing down towards her. She didn’t budge. The moment before the fist connected, a Protective Talisman silently shattered.

The Stone Giant’s fist paused for a split second.

Wenren Tu lunged forward like a ghost, stepping onto the Stone Giant’s knee and leaping. Surging thunder roared as it struck the Stone Giant’s lower abdomen. Amidst the muffled explosion, Wenren Tu turned her head to shield herself from the flying stone shrapnel, falling backward from the recoil.

Yun Zouchuan rushed forward and caught her, pulling Wenren Tu back.

Bzzzt… bzzt…

The last traces of lightning died out in the black smoke. Wenren Tu waved the smoke away, coughing twice. “Where’s Zhu Ming?”

Yun Zouchuan said, “She should still be up there.”

Just as the two were about to search the Stone Giant’s remains for the unlucky one, they heard—or rather, felt—a rush of compressed air descending. Yun Zouchuan’s expression changed. She grabbed Wenren Tu and hastily retreated, narrowly dodging the Stone Giant’s stomping foot.

“It’s still not dead?!” Wenren Tu was shocked.

The black smoke ahead gradually dispersed, the pinkish-purple light illuminating their vision again. There was indeed a charred, pockmarked crater on the Giant’s torso, with several deep cracks radiating outwards. Yet, before their very eyes, the crater was slowly smoothing over and regenerating.

If the blow had landed on the knee, it might have severed a leg, but launching that strike meant Wenren Tu couldn’t muster a second attack of that magnitude in a short time. She had aimed for a one-hit kill.

One miscalculation, and the situation drastically changed. Regret was useless now.

Wenren Tu’s ability had limited effect on the Stone Giant. Yun Zouchuan’s ability was equally ineffective. She could only fight with brute force, but the Giant’s defense was terrifyingly high, preventing any meaningful damage.

“Zhu Ming, think of something!” Wenren Tu shouted up at Zhu Ming on the Giant’s head.

Zhu Ming was lying weakly, every movement the Giant made jolting her aching back. She couldn’t help but retort, “Your ability didn’t work, what can I do?”

Fortunately, while the Stone Giant had strong attacks and high defense, it wasn’t very agile. Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan focused purely on dodging and fleeing, and for the moment, neither side could gain the upper hand.

Wenren Tu looked up. “Its eyes are made of different material! Attack its eyes!”

Zhu Ming frowned. “I’ll try.”

If she hadn’t pulled a muscle, this request wouldn’t be a problem. But now, her movement was restricted, and she had to cling to the Giant’s round, bald head to avoid falling off. It wasn’t so easy.

Seeing her struggling, Yun Zouchuan jumped back a few steps, then hurled her long blade like a spear directly at the Giant’s eye. She was skilled at throwing sports, her aim precise. The blade spun through the air, whistling, and collided with the Giant’s eye.

Clang—

Clatter, clatter.

Wenren Tu flicked her wrist, a silver chain shooting out to retrieve her fallen blade.

But the red gemstone was completely unscathed, seemingly even harder than the stone body itself. For a moment, the three felt an immense sense of difficulty.

Frowning, Zhu Ming unstrapped the longbow from her back. The bow was heavy and long. Using such a curved tool for the first time felt quite awkward.

She gripped Zhuque by one of its tips and used the other tip to reach down towards the Stone Giant’s eye.

She had no arrows and wasn’t skilled at archery. From this angle, aiming was even harder. But the bow’s curve was precisely what allowed her to reach down far enough to touch the Giant’s eye.

What she wanted was to channel her Supernatural Ability through Zhuque itself.

However, Zhu Ming’s expression suddenly changed. She realized this bow was actively drawing upon her ability. Once she started using it, controlling the flow was difficult; Zhu Ming had to concentrate even harder.

But just as the condensed heat focused on a single point, it suddenly vanished. Zhu Ming hastily stopped feeding her ability into it.

Zhuque drew her energy, but ultimately converted it into an attack to discharge. What absorbed the attack’s energy was the Stone Giant’s eye!

Gripping Zhuque, Zhu Ming called down to Wenren Tu, “It’s absorbing the energy I release! You two, run!”

Since any attack seemed useless against the Stone Giant now, staying here would only mean Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan would eventually tire, slow down, and be crushed.

“Got it, Boss.” Yun Zouchuan always had great trust in Zhu Ming. She turned and fled without hesitation, disappearing quickly.

Wenren Tu lagged a step behind. She couldn’t abandon Zhu Ming. “What about you?”

Zhu Ming steadied herself, her face ashen. “It only attacks things in its line of sight. It has no ears. I’m relatively safe for now. Don’t worry about me.”

Wenren Tu insisted, “No. You can’t get down by yourself.”

“Given enough time, I’ll slowly recover.”

While the two argued, Yun Zouchuan, who had run ahead first, suddenly came sprinting back. “Dead end behind us! Left is a dead end, right is the entrance door!”

There was no time for leisurely puzzle-solving. The only option was to risk dashing under the Stone Giant’s legs and trying to get past. Otherwise, they’d be cornered.

But—after several exchanges, the Stone Giant’s behavioral patterns were becoming more complex and unpredictable. It no longer attacked blindly, even learning to wait. Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan no longer dared approach it easily.

“A-Zou, later we pretend we’re going through the gap between its legs. When it slams its legs together to crush us, we veer around the sides.”

Having had prey slip between its legs once, the Stone Giant learned to clamp them shut to crush such attempts. Wenren Tu had nearly been caught earlier.

“Understood!”

The two charged towards the gap between the Giant’s legs, feigning an attempt to pass through. Bam! The Stone Giant slammed its legs together with even more agility and force than before. A-Tu and A-Zou simultaneously kicked off its knees, using the force to propel themselves towards the gaps on either side— Craaackle!

The Stone Giant lowered its body. Two thick, massive stone arms suddenly dropped, firmly blocking the gaps between its body and the stone walls.

Wenren Tu lashed out with her silver chain, using the recoil to jump backward, narrowly avoiding a direct collision. Yun Zouchuan, meanwhile, seized the chance to step onto the stone arm and leap upward, only to see the Giant’s palm, as wide as a round table, open up. Together with the upper arm, it swept towards them with tremendous force!

Yun Zouchuan was too close and mid-air, with nowhere to dodge. The massive stone palm squarely swatted her backward. She flew like a soft, heavy sandbag, thwack hitting the ground and skidding far, only stopping when she collided with the wall.

Wenren Tu clumsily dodged the Giant’s follow-up attack and rushed to A-Zou.

“A-Zou!” Zhu Ming was horrified and furious, nearly leaping up from her spot. But the shout pulled at her injured back again, making jumping impossible.

That girl with the glossy black braid was usually so hardworking and capable, never complaining of pain or fatigue. Strong and sturdy, she seemed like someone you never had to worry about or fuss over. A 6.66 RMB red packet was enough to earn her a genuinely happy smile.

But now, lying face down, braid undone, from such a height she looked so terribly small, fragile, and pitiful. Ultimately, she was just flesh and blood, capable of injury and death.

Wenren Tu’s heart nearly stopped. Fortunately, Yun Zouchuan quickly lifted her head and said calmly, “I’m fine. Don’t forget my ability.”

Zhu Ming realized she’d been so tense she’d forgotten to breathe. She gasped for air.

Wenren Tu helped A-Zou up, cold sweat dripping down her forehead. Watching the Stone Giant slowly approach, she felt like they were done for. Suddenly, the Giant’s strength, speed, and intelligence had all jumped a level. It was already tough, now it was impossible.

Yun Zouchuan knelt on the ground, wrapping her arms around herself. Her lips moved rapidly as she silently chanted. Her scrapes and bruises began healing at an astonishing speed. When she opened her eyes again, her injuries were gone, but her spirit was visibly drained. By then, the Stone Giant was already upon them.

Wenren Tu gave a dry laugh. “Zhu Ming, I want my urn to be black jade. Design it high-end and classy for me.”

Zhu Ming replied heartlessly, “Die here and there won’t even be a body. What urn? I’ll buy you a memorial tablet and call it a day. Saves resources and eco-friendly.”

After crouching up there for so long, Zhu Ming felt much better. She tried moving experimentally—still awkward—but with some pain tolerance, she could probably climb down off the Stone Giant.

Wenren Tu and Yun Zouchuan could keep dodging, but they were being forced into the dead-end corners on the left and right. They’d be cornered soon. Better if she went down now and drew the Giant away. Together, the three of them could surely find a way to shake it off.