Armor: After finding the Demon-Sealing Box, I won't eat beef.

when--

Lin Zhen, now fully armored, raised his hand to block the Taotie's downward slash.

The moment the wrist guards collided, a blinding burst of light erupted.

Although I could feel the obvious strain on my body, it was much easier than the last battle.

Last time, when he was surrounded by the four ferocious beasts, he could only dodge.

Occasionally, when they manage to find an opening to counterattack, their attacks feel like nothing more than a tickle to the opponent.

After a month of continuous accumulation and growth of light and dark energy within his body, he can now withstand a full-force strike from the Taotie with just one hand.

Lin Zhen suddenly exerted his strength and flung away the giant cleaver in Taotie's hand.

He clenched his left hand, and all the energy flowing through his body converged on his fist.

Purple flames surged and billowed up from the surface of his fist.

Bang~

The heavy punch landed squarely on the thick breastplate of the Taotie, which was stacked layer upon layer.

The Taotie's massive body involuntarily staggered back two steps, but quickly regained its footing.

"Aww~"

Qiongqi brandished its pair of sickle-shaped hooks and claws, while its wings flapped incessantly, stirring up the surrounding air currents and swirling up yellow sand.

Meanwhile, Chaos and Taotie simultaneously attacked from both sides.

An attack from three sides was launched simultaneously.

Lin Zhen leaped out of the encirclement of the three people by pushing off with his feet.

All three attacks missed their mark and crashed onto the wasteland, sending up a shower of rubble.

"roar……"

Taotie quickly adjusted its position and caught up.

He raised his hand and slashed down with his sword again.

Lin Zhen barely dodged to the side, but the attacks of the remaining three ferocious beasts pressed down on him in layers.

The four ferocious beasts in Hell Mode are all equipped with extremely high autonomous combat intelligence.

Add to that its already absurd offensive and defensive attributes.

Ordinary armor, if used against them, will only lead to utter defeat if the wearer is even slightly distracted or careless.

Lin Zhen is currently fighting off four ferocious beasts attacking simultaneously, and he dares not relax for even a moment.

So far, he has not been able to develop his own weapon.

When facing close-combat, aggressive opponents like Taotie and Taowu, most of the time you can only rely on your movement skills to dodge and maneuver.

Inside the virtual battle room.

Lin Zhen pushed his physical speed to the limit, becoming even faster than when he last entered training.

Even with a significant speed increase.

The four ferocious beasts were still able to keep up with his movement rhythm and continue to output damage at a steady pace.

This shows just how terrifying their reaction speed is.

Lin Zhen wasn't without any trump cards either. Having fought four ferocious beasts here for many years, he had accumulated a wealth of practical experience in fighting multiple opponents at once.

He knew all the tricks to dealing with large-scale battles.

In a one-on-one fight, his strength would easily surpass any one of the four ferocious beasts.

However, the advantage is not overwhelming; the gap is not significant.

Before they can develop their own unique finishing moves, there's really no good way to break through their almost invincible defenses.

The physical defenses of the four ferocious beasts are truly terrifying.

Aside from the legendary ultimate armor, they can practically do whatever they want in this world.

Moreover, Lin Zhen was setting up the system.

Each ferocious beast was equipped with top-tier autonomous learning intelligence.

This means that Lin Zhen is constantly getting stronger and figuring out his fighting style in battles.

The ferocious beast will also dismantle his moves in real time and adjust his tactics accordingly.

Both parties are growing in tandem.

Unless Lin Zhen completes his full evolution and possesses the power to contend with the Black Demon Beast.

Only then can one force overcome all methods.

Ignore all tactical maneuvering and crush them directly.

As for why the virtual opponents in the Hell difficulty mode were chosen to be the Four Ancient Beasts.

The reason is also very simple.

He is currently able to collect complete data.

Their only rivals are those at the pinnacle of their abilities.

He had never seen the Emperor Armor in person, so naturally there was no combat data available for him to record.

Needless to say, the Black Beast would never be summoned by the five Shadow Guardians unless they were at their wits' end.

The fight continued to escalate.

Across the wasteland, only afterimages of the two sides moving at high speed remained, their movements too fast for the naked eye to perceive.

All that remained in my ears was the continuous, deafening crashing sound that made my eardrums ache.

The ground beneath our feet was constantly being pounded into deep and shallow craters, and yellow dust and sand were flying everywhere.

Three hours passed in total.

The moment Lin Zhen exited the virtual combat mode, he was almost completely exhausted.

Aches and stings emanated from every part of my body.

This neural-connected helmet will synchronously transmit the haptic sensations from all virtual battlefields.

Any injuries sustained inside.

The pain will be transmitted back to the body exactly as it was felt.

Even more stringent are the special rules of Hell Mode, where you will be defeated and die in the illusion.

The physical body in reality will also perish along with it.

Although the illusion in normal mode is extremely realistic, the human brain's underlying consciousness can still distinguish the boundary between virtual and reality.

In Hard Mode, the subconscious mind can still vaguely distinguish between the real and the unreal in the illusion, and dying in battle will only bring excruciating pain and extreme fear.

There is a high probability that they will faint on the spot, leaving severe post-traumatic stress disorder, such as long-term insomnia, mental anxiety, and frequent confusion between reality and hallucination, but it will not directly endanger their lives.

Hell mode is a completely different standard, with a level of realism that is enough to completely cloud the human brain's underlying cognition.

Once the brain determines that it is dead, the physical body will simultaneously lose its vitality.

……

Two days later.

City D.

The main north-south thoroughfare.

A Genesis Coupe was driving smoothly on the wide road.

The driver was Bei Miao.

A young girl named Xiaoxi was sitting in the passenger seat.

She is the child that Bei Miao cherishes as her own younger sister.

The two are not related by blood; Bei Miao has been an orphan since childhood.

She was later adopted by a family, and Xiaoxi was the daughter born to her adoptive parents.

"elder brother."

Xiao Xi, with her seatbelt fastened, turned her head and whispered to the driver's seat.

"What's wrong?"

Bei Miao glanced at the young woman in the passenger seat, but kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel.

She's missing a small front tooth, which makes her slur her speech, but she still looks exceptionally cute and adorable.

"Brother, could you give me ten yuan before I get to school?"

Upon hearing this, Bei Miao immediately put on a stern face and began to lecture: "Thinking about buying candy again?"

Look at your teeth; they've been gnawed apart by cavities.

If you keep eating sweets every day, you'll end up as an old woman with no teeth left.

"No way, I'm still young. Adults always say that lost teeth can grow back."

Xiao Xi disagreed with her brother's statement at all and puffed out her cheeks to refute him.

Bei Miao gently shook her head:

"No, my parents specifically told me before I left that I'm not allowed to buy you any more candy or snacks."

"But Mom and Dad aren't in the car right now."

Xiao Xi immediately used her tried-and-true method of acting cute, staring at Bei Miao with her round eyes.

Bei Miao always doted on this younger sister, and couldn't resist such persistent pleading, so she immediately gave in.

"Okay, okay, I'll buy it for you."

But candy is absolutely out of the question; you can choose any other snack you like.

"what……"

When Xiaoxi heard that she couldn't buy candy, her little mouth immediately pouted, and her face was full of reluctance.

Bei Miao said in a deep voice, "Don't push your luck. This is already my biggest concession."

If Mom and Dad find out I secretly bought you snacks...

Don't expect me to give you a ride to school on my way from now on.

"All right."

Xiao Xi could only reluctantly agree.

Bei Miao was just about to give a few more words of advice.

A strange, oppressive sense of foreboding suddenly gripped my heart, my chest felt tight, and even breathing became difficult.

"Brother, there seems to be something in the middle of the road ahead."

Xiao Xi suddenly pointed to the lane ahead.

Despite her small stature, her view through the windshield wasn't obstructed much.

A small black dot appeared in the center of the lane.

They were stuck in the far right lane where they were driving.

Bei Miao's face instantly darkened, and he instinctively gripped the steering wheel tightly: "Brother saw it."

As the car slowly approached, the outline of the black dot became clearer.

What appeared to be road debris was clearly a black, superhuman beast covered in thick, hard armor.

"Xiao Xi, hold onto something that can be secured!"

Bei Miao spoke solemnly, offering his instructions.

At this moment, Xiao Xi also saw the hideous monster's appearance clearly.

Startled, he quickly gripped the armrests and seatbelt tightly.

Bei Miao lightly pressed the accelerator to accelerate, while simultaneously turning the steering wheel slightly, intending to bypass the mutant beast from the side lane.

If the car were traveling at excessive speed and collided head-on, the younger sister in the passenger seat would definitely be seriously injured.

But this mutant beast was clearly waiting for him here on purpose.

As soon as the Coupe changed lanes, the monster immediately lunged at the front of the car.

"Be careful!"

Bei Miao was shocked. He spoke up to warn her while using his right hand to shield Xiao Xi in front of the passenger seat.

A deafening roar erupted.

The enormous impact slammed into the front of the car, and the Genesis Coupe was like hitting a thick concrete wall, with the front shell instantly being squeezed, collapsed, and deformed.

The entire vehicle slid out of control towards the roadside green belt and protective forest, crashing into it.

The violent impact left Bei Miao dizzy and disoriented, with his vision blurring in waves.

Not long after.

The passenger-side door was forcibly torn open, and someone reached out to take Xiaoxi away.

Bei Miao's heart skipped a beat, realizing that something terrible was about to happen.

But at this moment, he was so dizzy that even opening his eyes completely was extremely difficult.

"You...you...who...are...people..."

"Don't... don't touch her."

"Stop... your hand..."

Bei Miao slumped halfway down the steering wheel, struggling to turn his head towards the passenger seat.

With great effort, I opened my eyes a crack and could barely make out two figures.

A massive, powerful monster covered in hard armor.

There was also one wearing a face mask.

A sleazy man with an explosive, non-mainstream hairstyle.

The man reached out and dragged the unconscious Xiaoxi out of the deformed carriage.

He turned his head and let out a few cold laughs at Bei Miao, who was slumped in the driver's seat.

"Let's go!"

The masked, lewd man hoisted Xiao Xi onto his shoulder, then turned and quickly left the scene with the alien beast beside him.

"No... Don't go... Don't go..."

"Give me back Xiaoxi..."

Bei Miao instinctively reached out to stop him, but he couldn't muster any strength at all; it was all in vain.

I managed to stay conscious for a few short minutes.

His last shred of consciousness vanished completely, and he slumped heavily onto the steering wheel, falling into a deep coma.