Chapter 15: You Can Always Trust Locke
Chapter 15: You Can Always Trust Luo Ke
Buzz—
The bone blade sliced through the air, ringing out with the sharp clang of metal.
Luo Ke moved deftly atop the rocky terrain, striking down enemies while keeping a vigilant eye on the convoy snaking through the valley below.
With an endless stream of evolution points delivered right to his doorstep, Luo Ke refused to miss any chance to grow stronger.
Slaying was one thing, but devouring was just as crucial.
“System, devour!”
To Luo Ke’s surprise, after undergoing an evolution, his method of devouring had changed.
No longer did a dozen claws primitively crawl out of his mouth. Instead, they now burst forth abruptly from his abdomen, glowing faintly as they disintegrated the corpses of the serpent hounds into shimmering particles before pulling them back.
+8, +8, +10, +9, +8, +11
In no time, his evolution points increased by a total of 54.
Evolution Points [55/300]
If Luo Ke weren’t pressed for time, he would have devoured the remaining four or five corpses without hesitation.
At first glance, he had only slain about ten beasts, but each had its core shattered—a feat requiring immense judgment and explosive power, especially considering he had fought back repeatedly amid overwhelming attacks. The difficulty was immense.
But the real reason was that Luo Ke wasn’t one to linger on the battlefield. Once Mark and the others secured the medicine, there would be ample time for him to develop.
“He’s incredible,” Erika murmured adorably.
“What exactly is that guy?” Jeff asked, still shaken as he watched the figure darting across the mountain.
“Don’t get distracted. Whatever he is, he’s our ally now,” Mark said firmly.
Gradually, fewer serpent hounds pursued them, their tendrils glowing and swaying around their necks as they watched Luo Ke’s retreat.
Luo Ke knew they were signaling the ground howlers in the next area to prepare for an ambush. As a Type 2 Pan-genetic Devourer, ground howlers were far more formidable than the Type 1 serpent hounds.
“Watch out for ranged attacks,” he warned over the comms, “especially the airborne target, Mox City!”
“Ranged attacks? What’s that?” Mox City’s eyebrows twitched.
Bang—
A thunderous blast echoed from the nearby mountain, heavy and resonant.
A red beam streaked straight into the air, trailing fiery embers. Thanks to Luo Ke’s early warning, Mox City reacted just in time, performing a full 360-degree roll to dodge the energy pulse.
“It’s a ground howler!”
“Get back in the vehicle immediately!”
“Accelerate—Mox City, watch yourself.”
Mark responded calmly, issuing orders with steady composure.
More ground howlers emerged from shadowy crevices, their crimson vocal sacs shining brilliantly. As they rubbed their small hands beneath their bellies, the sacs emitted a frog-like trill before they opened their massive jaws, unleashing powerful energy pulses.
Like falling meteors, the blasts hammered the armored vehicles relentlessly, making this stretch of the journey especially perilous.
With no other option, Erika and the others activated their gravity suits inside the vehicles. The transport’s hatch opened, unleashing heavy firepower to suppress the attackers.
“You take the wheel,” Feixue told Donny before jumping into her own gravity suit, armed with a sniper rifle.
A large ground howler hid in a canyon crevice, its gaze dark and sinister as it prepared to strike Feixue, the precise sniper.
Just as it aimed to kill the human, a sudden gust of fierce wind blew overhead.
Bang!
The ground howler quickly raised its head and unleashed its energy pulse vertically into the sky.
Luo Ke remained unflustered. With a powerful downward slash of his bone blade, the energy pulse exploded three meters away, flames spreading wide.
With a whoosh!
He leapt from the fiery blast, landing squarely on the howler’s head. Grasping its horns, he swung downward and circled to the front, thrusting his bone blade forward.
The charging vocal sac instantly burst like a balloon, deflating immediately.
“Pop your red balls!”
The bone blade drove deep into its body, shattering its core.
“Roar—” The howler howled defiantly as it collapsed.
Before it dissolved, Luo Ke hurriedly devoured the corpse.
+15
Evolution Points [70/300]
At that moment, the system displayed a message: “Data updated. Evaluated evolution points from devoured monsters: Spine Maggot 1–2, Serpent Hound 8–12, Ground Howler 15–18.”
He hadn’t yet acquired any new abilities from these Pan-genetic Devourers. The trigger rate seemed low. He wondered if the mini-boss Mucus Beast might surprise him.
High above, Mox City’s glider was hit in the wing and forced to land on the transport. He shouted to Luo Ke, “Hurry! There’s a broken bridge and a cliff ahead!”
The convoy was about to cross a broken bridge, the dark abyss below sending chills down their spines.
“Coming!”
Luo Ke took a deep breath, planted his feet firmly, and tensed his leg muscles until they bulged like twin cannons. Dust billowed as he launched himself into the air.
With a single catapult, he soared nearly twenty meters, diving down from the mountain.
“Holy crap!?” Mox City dove flat without hesitation as Luo Ke hurtled toward him.
Bang!
Luo Ke flew over Mox City’s head and crashed precisely into the transport, denting the vehicle’s wall. Curling into a ball, he brushed off the dust. Several scratches immediately stopped bleeding and began healing.
Mark twitched in the driver’s seat but refrained from questioning the situation, considering the circumstances.
“Hey? How did your arm turn back to normal?” Erika curiously tugged at Luo Ke’s right hand.
“Has your body really been modified?” Jeff, now like a human scanner, wanted to strip Luo Ke down and examine him piece by piece.
Though they all chatted excitedly, there was no hint of doubt or exclusion in their eyes. Clearly, they had accepted Luo Ke as one of their own.
What’s wrong with teammates having some peculiar powers!
After all, their captain was a freak who could punch through steel and heal overnight!
“Floor it, smash through!” Mark growled.
“Buckle up, we’re taking off!” Mark shouted.
The two vehicles lifted off to cross the broken bridge, chased by relentless ground howlers leaping after them.
Flames surged, propelling them skyward.
The howlers on the opposite side charged their attacks in unison, preparing a devastating barrage that would wipe them out if they were hit.
“Feixue, there are explosives near them!” Luo Ke warned urgently over the comms.
“Understood,” Feixue replied coolly, filled with admiration for Luo Ke’s keen observation under such pressure.
She fired her rifle steadily, muttering softly, “You can always trust Luo Ke.”
Bang—
Bullets tore through the crates, blowing them up and scattering the ground howlers, defusing the crisis.
Luo Ke exhaled deeply. At least the situation had not spun out of control after landing; everything remained under control.
“Yeah!” Cheers erupted over the comms.
“Well done, Luo Ke!” Donny laughed.
“Your blade on your right hand just now looked so cool,” A-Fu said in awe.
The laborers and dust folk following them all stared at Luo Ke in astonishment, especially after noticing the green name tag hanging at his waist, their eyes filled with deep reverence.
In that moment, they realized not all dust folk were the same.
“Luo Ke, what’s going on with your right arm?” Mark hesitated but couldn’t hold back from asking.
Silence filled the channel. Everyone waited eagerly, their curiosity about to burst.
Luo Ke smiled lightly and said with ease, “This world is vast. The lighthouse only lets you see a small part of it. The birth of the Mana ecosystem brought not only Devourers and destruction but also human evolution and choice. Don’t worry—you’ll soon encounter more unbelievable things and people even stronger than me.”
“You mean the surface survivors?” Mark recalled the woman standing atop the Dual-Jaw Beast.
“Surface survivors far beyond your imagination, living freer and more comfortably than you,” Luo Ke said with constant scorn toward the old lighthouse.
Commonly called the Insult Lighthouse.
In Luo Ke’s eyes, the three core laws of Morgan’s Lighthouse were sound at inception, preserving much of humanity’s spark. But human nature and emotions cannot be suppressed indefinitely. The ladder of slaves and nobles would inevitably collapse.
Morgan’s mistake was not daring to move forward, merely clinging to a crumbling system, hesitating at every step.
(End of chapter)