I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

"Captive breeding".

There is no metaphor.

The flames of sandworm oil were still burning on the copper surface, their pale white light illuminating the passage ahead.

Three "face dogs" (a name made up randomly) lingered at the edge of the firelight, their degenerated eyes narrowed to slits, too afraid to approach due to the intense light.

But the two large ghouls did not move.

They stood in the shadows barely touched by the firelight, their gray-red bodies half-hidden in the darkness.

They didn't rush up immediately.

Instead, he looked at everyone with a mocking expression.

One of them even had its head down and nostrils flaring, as if it were sniffing the face of a dog.

The other, larger one, had its forelimbs pressed against something in the corner of the passage.

Lu Yuan squinted and looked over by the firelight.

A human-shaped silhouette was huddled in the corner.

It's not a noodle dog.

He is someone who has not yet been completely alienated.

The torso has begun to elongate, and the spine bulges out of the skin, but the joints of the limbs have not yet fully folded back.

The mouth was only half open.

The person was still convulsing.

The giant ghoul pressed its forelimbs against the man's body, and a layer of grayish-red slime seeped from its palm, slowly smearing onto the man's back.

Feeding.

Or, to put it another way, catalysis.

[Current Status of Bronze City: +1, 5/50]

Lu Yuan stared at the giant ghoul's movements and understood what was going on; it was truly intelligent.

The giant ghouls on the ground are not like this.

Those that rushed up from the collapse, even if they were larger, only had one pattern of behavior. They fought almost entirely on instinct, without any cooperation or strategy.

It roars when burned by copper dust, crawls on its forelimbs when its legs are broken by bullets, and paves the way with its body when it hits a barricade.

It's purely instinct.

But these two are different.

They use secretions from their palms to catalyze the growth of another species.

The masked dog will linger by your side as a sentry.

They are both large ghouls.

The ones on the ground are like wild beasts.

The people in the pipeline network are like shepherds.

What's the difference?

Is it the environment of the pipeline network? Is it the influence of a deeper source of pollution? Or is it some kind of evolution resulting from long-term consumption of contaminated human products?

Lu Yuan didn't know.

But he wanted to know.

really want.

If we can figure out where this intelligence comes from, we can deduce the nature of the pollution source, and even what is happening in that underground "intermediate layer".

Most importantly, my own taboo studies constantly encourage me to seek out and understand this kind of thing.

The answer lies in simply comparing it to the giant ghouls on the ground.

"Take him away, alive."

The moment this thought took shape, Lu Yuan had already made his decision.

Kill the dog.

The giant ghoul destroyed its limbs and mouth.

Drag it back.

the study.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

The thought sank into the chest.

The timing is there, dormant in the chest.

Touched.

Click.

A very faint click of a mechanism.

[Time synchronization acceleration (enabled)]

[Sanity Consumption: -1...-1...]

The world has changed.

The flames of sandworm oil froze in mid-air, every flickering outline clearly visible.

The splashes of water in the puddles hovered at ankle height.

Beside him, Bohr turned his head slightly, his lips parted slightly, but not a single word had yet to escape his throat.

Lu Yuan stretched out his right hand and gripped the hilt of the bronze sword at Bo'er's waist.

draw out.

The sound of the bronze blade leaving its sheath was drawn out into a long, drawn-out hum.

Bor's body swayed slightly as the sword was pulled away.

Lu Yuan gripped his sword and walked forward.

The steps were steady, and the spacing was even.

But in this slowed-down world, every step he takes covers a distance far exceeding the limits of normal people.

At the edge of the area illuminated by the firelight, three masked dogs were frantically scratching at the copper surface because they were out of control due to the intense light.

As Lu Yuan approached, the closest one finally reacted.

Its pupils are contracting, very slowly.

The muscles in his limbs were tensing, and he had just started to turn around, with his front paws less than a centimeter off the ground.

too slow.

The bronze sword cuts in from the left, finds the connection between the cervical vertebrae and the skull, and pulls it along the angle.

Click.

The dog's head was tilted to one side, its body still in the posture of trying to turn around, its front paws hanging in the air, before it collapsed into the puddles.

The second one.

Its mouth was open, and a strand of saliva was being pulled out between its teeth.

He flicked the bronze sword with his backhand.

The blade cuts in from the lower jaw and slides along the throat to the back of the neck.

The saliva strand broke.

The third one was close to the base of the wall.

The hind leg has already straightened, and about one-fifth of the launching motion has been completed.

Lu Yuan moved nimbly, his bronze sword slashing straight down, striking the dog's cervical spine, sending it flying back against the wall.

After that, the next target is the Great Ghoul.

The smaller one finally managed to lift its head.

It saw Lu Yuan.

Something flashed in his degenerated eyes.

It is vigilance.

An instinctive judgment of threat that only intelligent beings can develop.

Its forelimbs are rising, its mouth is opening, and its three layers of teeth are separating.

But all these movements seemed to be performed underwater.

slow.

too slow.

Lu Yuan had already moved close to its side.

The bronze sword was gripped differently, with both hands on the hilt and the tip pointing downwards.

The needle was inserted into the right forelimb elbow joint.

The stratum corneum shattered like pottery shards under the force of acceleration, and the copper blade pierced through the junction of tendons and bones, then dragged horizontally.

The entire forelimb was severed at the elbow.

The great ghoul's roar finally managed to squeeze out its first syllable.

Lu Yuan had already moved to the other side.

Left forelimb.

Same position, same angle.

The copper blade was embedded; with a forceful twist, the bone broke.

The giant ghoul, having lost the support of its two forelimbs, leaned forward.

hind legs.

One cut to the left posterior knee joint.

One cut to the right posterior knee joint.

All four limbs are completely useless.

The giant ghoul lay sprawled in the puddles, its mouth finally fully open, its three layers of teeth closing towards Lu Yuan.

The bronze sword was aimed at the chin, pierced, and stirred.

The jawbone was shattered, and three layers of teeth, along with half of the chin, fell into the puddles, splattering black blood and unidentified liquid.

Then comes the bigger one.

Its reaction was slightly faster, and its forepaws slammed down.

In the accelerated field of vision, the huge gray-red claw slowly descended.

Lu Yuan turned to the side, his claws scraping his shoulder before slamming into the bronze surface, causing the water to explode.

Lu Yuan walked in, keeping close to the inside of his forelimbs.

The armpit of the giant ghoul, where the stratum corneum is thinnest.

The bronze sword pierced through and pulled, completely destroying both of the ghoul's forelimbs.

The hind limbs were no longer being cut at the joints, and by this time the edge of the bronze sword was already curled.

With the spine of the sword, the only part that was still straight, he slammed it hard into the left hind leg knee.

Click.

Joint dislocation.

Treat the right hind limb in the same way.

The giant ghoul slowly collapsed to the ground.

But with its mouth wide open, it still stubbornly lunged at Lu Yuan.

The bronze sword pierced his jaw and shredded him.

Half of his chin fell off.

Black blood splattered.

Time synchronization is off.

[Sanity Consumption: -12... 89/120]

The world has returned to normal speed.

All the sounds rushed back at once.

The splashing sound of water hitting the ground, the muffled groan of the giant ghoul, and the faint echo of dripping water from the distant passage.

And there were several people breathing rapidly behind me.

Bohr stood still.

His hand was still resting on his waist, where the sword sheath was.

But it's empty there.

It took his brain about two seconds to process what had just happened.

In a second, he realized the sword at his waist was gone.

See the scene before you clearly in a second.

Including the one Lu Yuan shot and killed earlier, all four masked dogs fell to the ground with huge wounds on their necks, and black blood spread across the bronze surface.

Two large ghouls, their limbs severed and jaws shattered, lay in the puddles, their grayish-red torsos still twitching.

Lu Yuan stood in the middle, holding his bronze sword.

It's bent beyond recognition now.

Bohr opened his mouth.

The veteran, missing his little finger, froze in mid-air, his hand gripping the dagger.

The young night watchman's pupils dilated.

Beren pushed his cane and squinted.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Lu Yuan lowered his head and glanced at his right hand, which was holding the sword.

My hands are shaking.

It's not because of fear.

It's because of power.

Within seconds, Lu Yuan slashed through the strange object before him.

Timing can accelerate reaction and movement, but it cannot increase the muscle's limit out of thin air. Before, it was just pulling the trigger, but the protection provided by timing can still play a role.

But now, with each strike of the copper blade against the stratum corneum, the recoil from a dozen or so strikes has left my hand feeling weak.

My palms are burning with pain right now.

A cut appeared on the skin between the thumb and forefinger, and blood seeped out, mixing with the black blood on the hilt of the bronze sword.

My finger joints are stiff and sore; when I clench my fist, my knuckles crack.

"Her physical condition is still too poor."

Lu Yuan thought to himself silently.

The bottleneck in timekeeping is not reason, but the body.

No matter how fast you go, if you can't cut it, you can't cut it.

The stratum corneum of these targets today is relatively thin. If it were the big guy that only showed its claws back then, I might not have been able to do anything to it.

"Either change your weapon, or improve your physique..."

He handed the bronze sword to Bor.

"Your sword."

Bohr took it instinctively and glanced down at it.

The blade edge was twisted into a pretzel shape, and the originally straight sword body was even more crooked.

He raised his head, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

Lu Yuan had already turned around.

"rope."

He looked at the veteran who was missing his little finger, while simultaneously moving the stiff fingers of his right hand.

"Tie these two things up and take them away."

"Take...take away?" The young night watchman's voice trembled slightly.

"Living a useful life."

Lu Yuan didn't explain further.

He crouched down and glanced at the smaller of the large ghouls.

The muscle tissue at the severed limb was still wriggling, with grayish-red fibers interspersed with a grayish-green filamentous substance.

It's the same color as what's being poured into the copper pipe.

"really."

After the dissection, the answer became clear.

The veteran took two rolls of hemp rope out of his backpack.

Bohr and the veteran threaded the rope through the stump of the giant ghoul's severed limb, wrapped it around the torso several times, and tied a knot.

The giant ghoul was still struggling, but without forelimbs or hindlimbs, it could only twist its torso, splashing water everywhere.

It can no longer bite anyone; its shattered jaw can only produce muffled hissing sounds.

"Can you walk?" Lu Yuan asked, glancing at him.

Bol tried dragging it.

It's quite heavy, but it's not a problem.

"no problem."

Just then.

[Environmental Sensing: A large number of pollution sources have been detected... rapidly approaching... immediate evacuation recommended...]

It means "a large amount".

The commotion just now alerted something deeper inside the pipeline.

Lu Yuan's expression changed.

"Retreat! Retreat the same way! Now!"

Bohr didn't ask why.

"Retreat! Quickly!"

The six people turned and ran.

The flames of sandworm oil were still burning on the ground, briefly sealing off the area behind them.

But that fire won't burn for more than a few minutes.

Bohr and the veteran each dragged a large ghoul, their bodies slid across the bronze surface with a hissing sound, leaving two black streaks of blood behind them.

It took me at least half an hour to get here, but now I have to run it in a few minutes.

Lu Yuan's right hand hung at his side, and the shock from running caused the crack in his tiger's mouth to sting in waves.

Behind them, in the darkness in the distance, a sound was chasing them.

More and more, getting closer and closer, converging from all directions of the pipeline network.

The entire pipeline network was alerted.

Pass through the "living wall" area.

The people inside the wall were all activated by the huge commotion and went berserk.

The gray-white arms on both sides of the wall stretched out, each one waving wildly, and dense creaking sounds came from the cracks in the bricks, as if the bodies fixed in the wall were desperately trying to break free.

A hand grabbed the hem of the young night watchman's clothes.

The young man lost his balance and was suddenly pulled against the wall.

Lu Yuan reacted quickly, firing his revolver. The enchanted fire effect blew his arm off at the wrist.

The severed hand was still clutching the hem of his clothes, his knuckles cracking.

The young man tore off his severed hand and continued running, still shaken.

"Don't stop—"

As the dragging ghouls passed through the living wall area, those grayish-white arms also grabbed at them.

Several fingers were embedded in the stratum corneum, but unfortunately, the strength of the hand was not enough. The strength of the hemp rope and the weight of the giant ghoul itself directly tore those fingers off from the crack in the brick.

Grayish-white severed fingers lay scattered in the puddles.