69: Pheromones? Captain, this poison is a bit unorthodox!

In the instant Jack's center of gravity faltered.

A dark shadow cut into the battlefield's blind spot like a ghost, pouncing straight toward the red-haired woman in the back, Scarlett!

The chainsaw roared, the sound waves exploding!

"In a team fight, take out the carry first; the tank is just a clumsy blockhead!"

Chen Du's eyes were cold and sharp, his chainsaw held high!

He showed no mercy for the fairer sex.

Chen Du's survival rule was simple: regardless of how attractive you are, as long as your name turns red, you're becoming a pile of minced meat!

The distance between the two closed rapidly!

But Scarlett suddenly looked up.

"Such a fierce Eastern brother, you're scaring me so much~~"

Her emerald eyes rippled, and deep within her pupils, a Mandala Flower seemed to bloom.

An invisible mental spike pierced straight toward Chen Du's brow!

"Kneel! Be my dog!"

However, in the next second, Scarlett's smile froze on her face.

As her gaze met his golden ringed pupils, a shuddering backlash surged back!

Scarlett's head buzzed, and she felt a sweet metallic taste in her throat.

"Ah..."

The cold serrated edges had already severed several strands of her red hair, the chill of death pressing against her throat!

"Fuck!"

Scarlett abandoned all poise, suddenly opening her red lips wide and exhaling sharply at Chen Du.

Whoosh... A burst of sickly sweet pink mist erupted!

The distance was too close!

Chen Du's momentum was too fierce; he slammed right into the pink marshmallow-like cloud, with no time to hold his breath!

"Oh no!"

His reactions were lightning-fast; instinctively assuming it was some kind of illusion, golden light exploded from his eyes!

Scarlett felt as if she had been hit by a high-voltage current, her terror hidden beneath her smile.

"Cough, cough!"

Although the intimidation took effect, Chen Du had also inhaled a large mouthful of the pink mist.

In an instant.

The world changed.

The dark red sky seemed to have been covered by a pink filter.

The smell of blood lingering at the tip of his nose vanished, replaced by a strange, sweet fragrance that made his heart race and his throat go dry.

If adrenaline had been flowing through his veins earlier, it was now molten lava!

His heart pounded like a war drum!

A primitive, savage impulse surged to the top of his head, threatening to burn his reason to ashes!

This feeling... was like downing an entire bottle of little blue pills at once!

The chainsaw in his hand faltered!

The killing blow shifted three inches off course!

Zzzzt—

The chainsaw sliced through the leather on Scarlett's shoulder, drawing a spray of blood, but failed to sever her neck.

"Ah! Jack! Save me!!"

Scarlett let out a miserable scream, clutching her shoulder as she rolled backward, her eyes filled with terror.

This madman couldn't be controlled!

"You dare touch my girl?!"

On the other side, Jack had already stabilized his balance.

Seeing Scarlett's shoulder stained with blood, this human-shaped brown bear went completely berserk!

"Roar—!!"

He completely ignored Xia Lai's harassment, clasped his fists together, and charged over!

He then slammed them down toward Chen Du's head!

Talent: [Explosive Heavy Punch]!

Terrifying explosive potential energy wrapped around his fists!

This one hit was enough to smash an armored vehicle into a pancake!

At this moment, Chen Du was in a bizarre state of dizziness, seeing double.

"Chen Du! Get out of the way!!"

Li Yaozhi's sharp cry pierced through the pink mist.

Body reacting faster than the brain.

Chen Du suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, using the clarity brought by the sharp pain to force his body to dive to the right!

Rumble—!!!

The earth wailed!

A deep pit three meters in diameter appeared where he had been standing!

Debris flew like bullets!

Though he avoided the core impact, the terrifying shockwave still slammed hard into Chen Du's back.

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out.

Chen Du was sent flying, rolling seven or eight times on the ground before stopping.

The Bone Chainsaw in his hand also completely shattered into bone shards, unable to withstand the force of such an impact.

"Damn... did this guy grow up eating power pills?"

Chen Du propped himself up, trying to stand, but found his limbs so weak he couldn't exert any strength.

In his field of vision, the red-haired woman was lying on Jack's back.

The silver box had been opened.

And the giant man was holding a metal device that looked like a jetpack.

"Retreat!"

Jack didn't linger to fight.

Chen Du's gaze from earlier had left him with lingering fears.

Besides, there was a curse-weaving Spirit Speaker and a crazy woman charging around with a shield nearby; staying to fight would be asking for trouble.

Pshhh—!

Blue flames erupted from the backpack.

The two took to the air, quickly putting distance between them.

"Cough, cough..."

In mid-air, Scarlett's face was pale.

Yet, looking down at Chen Du kneeling on the ground, she revealed a charming smile of revenge.

"Handsome Eastern boy, this is a big gift from big sister to you~"

Her voice drifted down with the wind, laden with malice.

"That is my talent toxin—Queen's Pheromones."

"Once poisoned, if you don't harmonize your Yin and Yang within half an hour... your blood vessels will explode like fireworks, bang~"

"I wish you 'happiness'! Hahaha..."

The arrogant laughter gradually faded into the night as the two figures disappeared.

Only that wisp of pink toxic mist lingered in the air for a long time.

"Bastards! Don't run! Have the guts to fight one-on-one!!"

Xia Lai, exasperated, picked up a stone and threw it, but she didn't even hit their exhaust fumes.

"Chen Du! Are you okay?!"

Li Yaozhi hurriedly ran toward Chen Du.

Chen Du's state was very wrong right now.

He was half-kneeling on the ground, his hands clawing into the cracks of the hard rock,

unaware even as his fingernails broke and bled, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

His entire skin was flushed a bizarre crimson, and large beads of sweat dripped from his chin.

They evaporated almost as soon as they hit the rocks.

"Huff... huff..."

He breathed heavily, not saying a word.

"Chen Du?"

Li Yaozhi reached out, somewhat afraid, wanting to support him.

Suddenly!

Chen Du snapped his head up!

His eyes were now bloodshot.

The golden ringed pupils were dilated, switching frantically between gold and pink, radiating the light of a beast ready to devour someone.

That kind of look.

Thirsty, manic, devoid of reason.

Like a lone wolf that had starved for three days and nights, suddenly seeing a piece of fresh, juicy meat.

Li Yaozhi's whole body stiffened, a chill rising rapidly from the soles of her feet.

Is... is he going to eat me?

Xia Lai, however, was quite perceptive; she silently retreated five meters back, clutching her shield.

Though she looked worried, there was actually a hint of... gossip-hungry excitement hidden in her eyes?

Just as the atmosphere reached its breaking point.

Chen Du's mouth forced out a smile that looked worse than crying:

"Study Committee Member... Xia Lai..."

"That red-haired woman's words... you both heard them..."

He gasped for air, his gaze laboriously scanning the two women.

Finally, it landed on Li Yaozhi's long, mud-stained, beautiful legs.

"To keep the Captain from exploding into fireworks... how about one of you shows some team spirit and makes do?"

"Right now... I'm not very picky..."

Li Yaozhi: "..."

Xia Lai: "..."

"Chen Du!"

Li Yaozhi's fear turned into shameful indignation as she roared through gritted teeth, "How can you be such a hooligan at a time like this! Just go die!!"

Her scolding was fierce, but her stiff body relaxed slightly.

If he could still make such a terrible joke.

It seemed this bastard's... brain hadn't burned out yet.

A few minutes later.

Chen Du was covered in white steam, his throat feeling as if a red-hot iron was stuck in it.

He was now a walking human furnace, his skin glowing red, even his blood vessels throbbing wildly.

"Hot... exploding... I'm going to explode..."

"Hold on! Chen Du, you bastard, you're not allowed to die!"

Li Yaozhi felt like she was carrying a volcano that could erupt at any moment.

The scorching body heat was conducted through her already soaked clothes, making her heart tremble from the heat.

"Xia Lai! Hurry up and think of something! The half-hour that red-haired woman mentioned... there's only twenty minutes left!" Li Yaozhi shouted with a sob in her voice.

"He's getting hotter and hotter!"

Xia Lai was supporting Chen Du's other side, tired as a husky. "Think of what? Sister, I'm a Mechanic, I fix cars! I don't know how to cultivate immortality! This belongs to the realm of biology!"

She glanced at Chen Du's scratching and clawing state, swallowed hard, and offered a highly constructive suggestion:

"If all else fails... should we give him some physical cooling? Or..."

"Ahem, cut off the 'tools of the crime'? Solve it once and for all?"

"Shut up! How can you joke at a time like this!"

Li Yaozhi was so angry she wanted to bite someone; this teammate was purely here to mess with her head.

If even she lost her cool, Chen Du really would explode into fireworks.

"Divination... right, divination!"

She fumbled around her body and finally felt the coin in her skirt pocket.

"Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, life and death are impermanent..."

Li Yaozhi stared fixedly at the coin.

"Guide me... to find the antidote! To find the person who can save his life!"

Hum—!

The coin spun wildly on the bone-powder-covered ground.

A few seconds later.

The coin suddenly bounced up and then rolled eerily toward the left.

"Over there!"

Wild joy burst from Li Yaozhi's eyes. "It must be Ye Qiu! Or some other healing-type survivor!"

"For real? There's a doctor in this middle-of-nowhere wilderness?"

Although Xia Lai was skeptical, she didn't dare slow her pace.

The two of them supported the already semi-conscious Chen Du as they hurried forward.

At this point, he was mumbling, "I'll just rub against you!"

"Hang in there, Captain!"