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Bai Feng took the lead, sneaking close first to deliberately stir the giant rat before turning around to flee.
The giant rat charged, directly pursuing him.
Wen Lei, who had been lying in ambush on the flank, roared out, shouldering a giant shield and charging like a tank.
The giant rat immediately shifted direction, abandoning Bai Feng to chase Wen Lei.
From a distance, Zheng Tian fired a smoke bomb that pre-detonated, disrupting the giant rat’s vision.
The giant rat’s lunge towards Wen Lei slowed slightly.
Seeing the opportunity, Ren Zhong, wearing a First Level Exoskeleton, thrust out from a side angle.
With the assist of the exoskeleton armor’s force feedback, his strides were swift and large.
Flashes of his sparring sessions with AI robots rapidly crossed Ren Zhong’s mind.
His control over the "muscles" and "bones" added by the biological electricity deception had reached a level extremely close to his own body.
This was his first battle volunteered for.
It was also his first battle since stepping into this world, following extensive, grueling, and naturally gifted training.
Failure was not an option; only success was permissible.
He took a deep breath, twisted his waist, and swung his right hand from back to front.
The coordination between the exoskeleton and his body was seamless.
A throw with precision rivaling Major League Baseball’s ace pitchers!
Bang!
The bowling-ball-sized incendiary bomb sliced through the air, covering three meters in a flash, landing right beneath the long-tailed giant rat’s crystal-like tail.
With a violent collision, the incendiary bomb exploded with a thunderous crash.
Sticky combustible bitumen splattered out, transforming into the mouth of an abyssal serpent, viciously "biting" into the giant rat’s rear half from behind.
The delayed ignition embedded accurately in the rat’s anal area was triggered.
Blazing flames ignited at the rear of the giant rat, then with a whoosh spread forward like a wildfire.
Suddenly enveloped in flames, the giant rat let out a shrill squeal, teeming with both rage and fear, and turned directly to charge at Ren Zhong.
The others looked on, panic-stricken.
Zheng Tian, from afar, fired a second shot immediately, trying to divert the giant rat’s attention and cover for Ren Zhong.
But with a loud "ding," the bullet was unsurprisingly deflected.
Wen Lei wanted to assist, but the giant rat, after all, had an Energy Level Index of over 70 as a Second Level Ruined Beast, and rodents were known for their swift, short-range assaults.
He simply couldn’t catch up.
Though Bai Feng, at full speed, could keep pace with the giant rat, he couldn’t close the gap to save Ren Zhong.
However, Ren Zhong remained calm and composed.
After throwing the incendiary bomb, he had already drawn the war blade strapped to his back, gripping it with both hands through the exoskeleton gloves.
He sank his body low, arched his waist, and bent his knees.
His left foot placed following his right leg, toe touching the ground.
The right foot set in front, with his foot turned outward.
The 1.5-meter alloy battle blade pointed at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground.
His stance, tense as a coiled spring, resembled remarkably the opening style of duel-sword master Yu Chenghui, famed in the 20th century.
He fixed his eyes on the giant rat charging like a fiery bull, with a frenzy and tension blazing in his eyes.
In his mind, the 0.1-second delay of the First Level exoskeleton, the strength boost from his equipment, the weight and speed of the long-tailed giant rat, and its pouncing style, among other factors, amalgamated into a scene half a second ahead.
At this moment, he applied the rigorous thinking from his years of scientific work with a warrior’s instantaneous explosive pose.
Closer now.
Ren Zhong’s right foot suddenly exerted force, propelling his body forward like a stretched rubber band.
His left foot stepped forward.
Both hands swung the war blade stabbing diagonally downward.
He aimed not at the giant rat’s mouth but underneath its chin.
Simultaneously twisting his right and left arms, forcefully twisting his torso, the blade rotated upward in a fierce sweep.
The biceps pre-engaged, while the exoskeleton executed a flawless synergy, with output power instantly cranked up to 15.2 kilowatts!
The battle blade sliced fiercely from below upward!
The sword tip struck the giant rat’s chin directly.
Boom!