328: How come several people still died from the fall?

Lu Jianchuan stepped through the hole in the wall smashed open by the Dinosaur Person, entering what appeared to be an originally hidden or abandoned area inside the building.

Remnants of broken metal fences and heavy door locks lined both sides of the passage. The floor was strewn with snapped iron chains and dried stains of unknown composition, while the air was thick with a strange odor—a mix of beastly musk and disinfectant. Clearly, this had once been a place used for confinement.

He quickly tracked the sounds of destruction and fresh marks ahead, soon arriving before another wall that had been violently breached.

Charging inside, he found a more spacious area resembling a temporary containment or observation zone, now in a state of utter ruin. More than one wall had been smashed through, creating holes leading to different parts of the building's interior.

The special Dinosaur Person with the shattered crystal clusters was hunkered in a corner. It was stuffing several scattered pink raw ore crystals—seemingly experimental reserves—into its mouth, chewing and swallowing greedily. The remaining crystal clusters on its body glowed faintly as it attempted to accelerate its recovery.

Around it, several slightly smaller, ordinary Dinosaur Persons without crystals were panic-stricken, trying to flee through the newly smashed holes in the walls—one of which, glaringly, led directly to the building's exterior.

Lu Jianchuan's arrival caused all the Dinosaur Persons to freeze. The crystal Dinosaur Person immediately stopped eating and turned to face Lu Jianchuan, dropping into a combat stance with a threatening low growl, seemingly trying to buy time for its kin to escape.

Lu Jianchuan's gaze swept the scene, his eyes narrowing particularly when he saw the hole leading outside. He didn't attack immediately; instead, he raised a finger to point in that direction, his voice carrying through the armor with a near-calm warning: "Hey, big guy, look closely. This is a high-rise."

Hearing this, the crystal Dinosaur Person, which had been about to charge, paused visibly. A flicker of confusion seemed to cross its scale-covered face. It hesitantly turned its head to look out through the hole.

Outside the high-rise, the night was deep. Below was a drop of dozens of meters, the streets looking like toy models.

A few impatient little Dinosaur Persons had already jumped out of the hole just moments ago and were long gone from sight. However, aided by the city lights and its excellent night vision, it could clearly see the sidewalk and green belts below.

Several bodies of its kin lay there, having just fallen and no longer moving. Only one or two exceptionally lucky ones had landed on low sheds or piles of soft goods and were now limping away in a panic.

"..."

The crystal Dinosaur Person stared at the tragic scene below, frozen in place. The low growl in its throat turned into a faint, almost bewildered hiss.

It didn't seem to fully grasp the inevitable connection between "high-rise" and "falling to one's death," but the death of its companions before its eyes plunged it into silence and a certain cognitive shock.

Observing its reaction, Lu Jianchuan understood: 'It has a certain degree of intelligence, knows to rescue its kind, and even knows how to use the environment to create escape routes... but it clearly lacks basic concepts of modern architectural structures and height. Its thinking is still very direct.'

The brief daze and shock didn't last long. The desire for freedom, or some deeper drive, caused the crystal Dinosaur Person to quickly lock its hostile gaze back onto Lu Jianchuan. A turbid roar erupted from its throat, and the remaining crystal clusters on its body glowed faintly. However, the newly swallowed raw crystals clearly needed time to be digested and converted; it couldn't immediately generate effective protection or weapons.

The battle resumed.

Without the protection of those troublesome crystals, the power gap between the Dinosaur Person and Lu Jianchuan became even more apparent.

Lu Jianchuan's steps were steady and swift. Facing the Dinosaur Person's furious, whistling giant claws, he simply tilted his body slightly and raised his left arm. The armor collided with the sharp claws, sending sparks flying as he firmly parried the blow.

Almost simultaneously with the block, his right fist launched like a heavy cannon, slamming hard into the Dinosaur Person's defenseless cheek!

"Bang!"

The dull thud was accompanied by the faint sound of cracking scales. The Dinosaur Person's head snapped to the side, its massive body swaying. It tried to counter with a tail sweep, but Lu Jianchuan had already closed in, driving a heavy elbow strike into its solar plexus. The blow knocked the wind out of it, sending it staggering back.

Lu Jianchuan's assault was relentless, like a precision combat machine. Dodging, blocking, and countering—every movement was concise and efficient, channeling power accurately into the Dinosaur Person's joints, vitals, and head.

Every hit elicited a pained grunt from the Dinosaur Person. Its boasted strength and defense appeared clumsy and powerless against Lu Jianchuan's overwhelming technique and armor-enhanced might.

The tiny new crystal buds that had just begun to poke out from beneath the Dinosaur Person's skin didn't have time to grow before being shattered by the continuous heavy blows or simply failing to develop. The process of digestion and conversion was completely interrupted by such high-intensity, fast-paced strikes.

Finally, after Lu Jianchuan landed a fierce upward hook to its jaw, the crystal Dinosaur Person's massive frame tottered. The feral light in its eyes faded, and it let out a weak wail before collapsing like a falling mountain, losing consciousness completely. Only a few faint glimmers of crystal flickered weakly under its skin before winking out.

(Gala, it's not like this in a fight! Why did you just knock me out? You should have waited for me to eat the crystals, let me digest them, let me grow the crystals back, and then fight me. You're supposed to keep fighting me, breaking my crystals, and finally knock me out at a crucial turning point in the battle. Gala, it's not like this in a fight.)

Footsteps approached from the other side of the passage. Wei Ziqing reappeared, carrying Xu Yan, who was tightly bound with specialized restraints and gagged. Xu Yan's face was ashen, his eyes filled with resentment and hatred, yet he no longer had the strength to struggle.

"Brother Lu," Wei Ziqing said, dropping the man onto the floor with a hint of regret in his tone. "I caught this one, but Chen Changqing got away. This guy..." He nudged Xu Yan with the toe of his boot. "At the critical moment, Chen Changqing pushed him from behind and tripped him up, which is how I caught him. That old fox took the chance to crawl into a ventilation duct and vanished."

Lu Jianchuan glanced at the unconscious Dinosaur Person and the captured Xu Yan, then nodded. "Capturing a core technical staff member is already a significant gain. Chen Changqing can run, but he can't hide forever. His company and the secrets here have been exposed. Once the warrant is out, he won't be able to hide for long. Besides, in his hurried escape, he might not have had time to destroy all the evidence."

He surveyed the ruined laboratory and containment area with a cold gaze. "The matters here must be settled thoroughly. Contact GUPA and the police. What needs to be sealed should be sealed; those who need containment should be contained; and those who need medical attention... should receive it." He glanced at the holes and the potential casualties outside.

"Let's go," Lu Jianchuan signaled to Wei Ziqing. "We'll head out first and report the situation here in detail. Let the professionals handle the subsequent cleanup and manhunt. Tonight, we've caught at least one fugitive."