Chapter Nineteen: The Great Crisis

This was an Elite Chirping Cat, level six! It was a rank higher than the Elite Walking Zombie that Zhao Nan had once painstakingly defeated. Moreover, it was nighttime now, which meant the monsters' strength was amplified.

As the Elite Chirping Cat lunged at him, Zhao Nan felt a jolt of electricity course through his body. Instinctively, he twisted, narrowly evading the beast's attack.

The Elite Chirping Cat landed on the ground, spun around with lightning speed, arched its back, and its fur bristled straight up. It bared its teeth at Zhao Nan, hissing fiercely.

"Kitty, calm down!"

Finina called out urgently.

But the Elite Chirping Cat gave no sign of hearing her. Its jaws parted, and a white mist began to gather in its mouth. Chirping Cats belonged to the magical beast category, their attribute was frost, granting them control over ice. Ordinary Chirping Cats could only launch a two-finger wide ice arrow, but as an elite, it was capable of much more.

A chilling stream of frost shot out rapidly, coating the ground with a layer of ice. Alarmed, Zhao Nan quickly rolled to the side. He had barely regained his balance when a cry rang out.

Finina's feet had been frozen solid, rendering her completely immobile. The Elite Chirping Cat's eyes burned red as it sprang toward her.

"Kitty!"

"Damn it, it's gone berserk at this moment!"

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Nan pointed his staff at the Elite Chirping Cat's head and fired another fireball.

Bang!

-17

The attack obviously did little damage to the elite beast, but Zhao Nan only needed to distract it momentarily. The Elite's head reeled from the impact, its body halting as it shook its head furiously atop the grass.

Zhao Nan darted to Finina's side. Seeing her legs frozen and bruised, he furrowed his brow and yanked up her robe. Beneath it, her long legs had turned a bluish purple.

"What are you doing!" Finina exclaimed, startled.

"Quiet!" Zhao Nan barked, uncorking a healing potion and forcing it into her mouth. "It's frost poison, causing ongoing damage. Damn it, I should have equipped you with some armor!"

Meow—

The Elite Cat launched its second attack, white chill rushing at them with terrifying speed. Zhao Nan's pupils dilated; he scooped Finina up and leapt forward. Scanning around, he saw the safe zone was still two or three hundred meters away.

"Put me down, or you'll die too," Finina sighed suddenly.

"Shut up! Are you dead yet?" Zhao Nan growled fiercely. "If you're still alive, don't give up. You're not alone—if you die, what about Boss Hadeon? Won't he grieve?"

"But carrying me, you can't get far... Watch out!"

Thud, thud, thud!

Three enormous ice arrows struck the ground ahead of Zhao Nan. Cold sweat broke out; he narrowly escaped being hit. The Elite Chirping Cat flashed into a dark blur, leaping overhead with its claws extended, gleaming dangerously.

Sss, sss!

-100! -110! -105!

His health bar instantly dropped by a third.

What now!

"Just save yourself," Finina said.

"You shut up, damn woman!" Zhao Nan glared at her.

At that moment, ordinary Chirping Cats began closing in from all sides. Entering a monster zone was always most dangerous when this happened—not only did the elite attack, but regular monsters harassed as well.

Zhao Nan quickly opened his character panel, fingers flying across the interface. His bag contained only a few small healing potions.

"Finina, can you use your skills right now?" he asked urgently.

"My legs can't move, it's very difficult," Finina shook her head.

"As long as you can move at all, it'll do!" Zhao Nan unleashed another fireball, briefly holding off the elite, then hoisted Finina onto his back. "If you don't want to die, show me what you've got!"

Meanwhile, Zhao Nan sighed, opened his character panel, and scrolled down to the attribute status. At the bottom were the free attribute points.

From level zero to five, Zhao Nan had saved all his free points, planning to research the best allocation. But now, with his life at stake, there was no point holding back.

"Allocate—all to agility!"

Ding, ding, ding, ding!

Ten consecutive prompts sounded as Zhao Nan invested ten points into agility. His base agility now reached sixteen—a level only attainable by a rogue with ten base points, leveling up to six and allocating all free points to agility.

Once the points were set, a cool energy surged through him, invigorating Zhao Nan. He felt instantly sharper, his body moving with newfound coordination, and—most crucially—his speed nearly doubled.

Finina, meanwhile, drew her sword and thrust forward with all her strength. Though she was only level zero, her base attributes were maxed, and she possessed two mastery skills. Her attacks rivaled Zhao Nan's fireballs in power.

With his doubled speed, Zhao Nan could barely dodge the Elite Chirping Cat's attacks, sometimes even managing to evade entirely. Thanks to Finina's abilities, the two carved a path forward, sprinting desperately for escape.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Behind them, the Chirping Cats multiplied, spitting ice arrows that turned Zhao Nan's back into a virtual pincushion.

"We're almost at the safe zone!" Finina cried.

Meow—

A shadow flashed ahead; the Elite Chirping Cat had somehow gotten in front of them, and lunged swiftly.

"Slash!"

Ding—

Finina met it with her sword. Steel clashed with claw, and the force sent both of them flying, dropping them into the midst of the Chirping Cat horde.

Now separated, Finina lay helpless—her legs frozen, sword knocked from her hand. She was surrounded by monsters, claws outstretched and red eyes glowing.

Meow—

At that moment, the Elite Chirping Cat pounced from above. Finina trembled, closed her eyes in despair.

"Get down!" Zhao Nan's voice rang out. Finina instinctively ducked, and a dazzling light shot forth—a staff radiating white light was thrown above her.

Boom!

-99!

The staff exploded violently, the blast propelling Finina away. The elite beast crashed to the ground, braced on all fours, standing up amid swirling dust. With night cloaking the scene, nothing could be seen clearly.

Just then, a shadow darted out, fleeing at full speed.

Meow—

Under the elite's command, dozens of Chirping Cats charged after.

Zhao Nan gave a bitter laugh. Unable to see the route clearly, he was running in the opposite direction from the safe zone.

"Enough... you could have escaped alone. Put me down, you still have a chance."

Zhao Nan shook his head. Perhaps leaving this woman behind truly was the best choice. But having come this far, could he abandon her halfway?

Absolutely not!

Suddenly, his body plummeted downward—it was a fissure hidden in the grass, bottomless and pitch black, with not a hint of light.