Chapter 98 - Close Contact
The reasons why Bai Zemin decided to help Shangguan Bing Xue were varied.
One of the reasons was because she still had his Bronze Bell in her hands. The Bronze Bell was a very important Magic grade Treasure for Bai Zemin as it was currently his safest defense and he could not afford to lose such an item casually as he did not know if he would be able to obtain another one anytime soon.
In fact, the only reason he lent the Bronze Bell to Shangguan Bing Xue at that time was because his breakthrough to First Order and the acquisition of his Blood Berserker job depended largely on whether she succeeded in pinpointing the location of a First Order creature.
That way, he would be able to prepare his strongest attack from a distance great enough for his killing intent to be sensed by his enemy or he might end up failing miserably... and if he failed even he would have to flee poorly or be killed by the army of First Order creatures.
As for the other reason he decided to help her was to make her owe him a favor just as he owed her in the past.
Shangguan Bing Xue had mysterious origins and even if the world had changed her family had not necessarily collapsed. She was a proud woman and would certainly do her best to return the favor of saving her life even if he did not ask for it.
Besides, she was currently an important asset to the group of survivors as there was no way Bai Zemin's eyes and arms could cover nearly five hundred people; he needed survivors or else the difficulty of reaching his family would become a thousand times harder!
In the current group of survivors, not only Fu Xuefeng, Cai Jingyi, Zhong De, and Kang Lan had the courage to fight. In fact, there were several male and female students who joined later who had enough courage to fight as long as they were given a appropriate weapon.
When they finally left the university, things would be completely different than they were now and Bai Zemin wanted to take advantage of that.
* * *
Arriving at the edge of the forest practically covered by burning crimson flames, Bai Zemin stopped and frowned under contemplation.
If he had his Bronze Bell it would be a simple task to exit and enter the place since with his current Agility he could definitely travel several kilometers in about one minute. But without proper protection, even if he had evolved to become a First Order existence he would definitely be injured and might even die.
After all, even powerful beasts with high defense like the Blazing Beetle and the Jiao-Lao Snake were forced to flee from the flames, let alone him.
After considering the problem for several seconds, he finally gritted his teeth and pulled out several bottles of blood before starting to spray his entire body from head to toe.
In a few blinks of an eye he had become a red person and only the color of his eyes differed. The rancid smell of blood was truly foul but his options were too tight at this point.
Bai Zemin activated his Blood Manipulation skill and the blood on his body shimmered under the stimulus of the Mana. Soon, the blood that constantly collated hardened forming a thin insulating layer that separated him from his surroundings.
"Just close your eyes and move forward, I will guide you." Lilith appeared beside him and patted his shoulder lightly.
Bai Zemin nodded and wordlessly stomped hard on the ground beneath his feet, lunging forward and stepping into the sea of flames.His current speed with an Agility of over 190 points was equivalent to almost 20 times faster than a person before the apocalypse! This meant that at his maximum he could overtake a supercar with ease before the arrival of the Soul Record on Earth!
Bai Zemin's body flashed through the flames under the guidance of Lilith, who followed closely unaffected by the surroundings.
The embracing heat seemed intent on devouring his existence completely and the solidified blood covering his body would have long ago evaporated already if it weren't for Bai Zemin constantly feeding the layer of blood with Mana.
However, even with his over 300 Mana points it was a terrifying expenditure that he could not sustain for too long.
After all, the crimson flame was the remnant of a Third Order skill! While it wasn't as strong now after the skill was cast, it still wasn't something that some blood of a First Order beast could casually endure!
Knowing that time was running against him like every passing second since the beginning of the apocalypse, Bai Zemin focused on Lilith's guidance and exploiting his speed to the maximum extent possible.
The muscles in his legs tightened to the point where if it weren't for his high Stamina and Health they would have been torn long ago.
About half a minute later, Lilith's voice sounded magically in his ears, "Right in front of you is a lake. That woman is inside."
Bai Zemin didn't even think about it and jumped in, entering the water that was evaporating at terrifying speeds. He canceled his Blood Manipulation skill and the blood on his body was immediately washed away by the water.
When Bai Zemin finally opened his eyes under the crystal clear water, the first thing he saw was the beautiful Shangguan Bing Xue submerged underwater, looking at him with her blue eyes wide open; it was as if she was asking him what he was doing there and why he had come.
Too bad, Bai Zemin couldn't talk underwater and neither could she or else he would have told her, "Nothing, I just came shopping."
He approached to her and saw that her face was starting to get redder and redder as a result of the lack of air. Holding her breath for a minute or two was fine since even if she didn't possess high physical stats she wasn't weak either.
The problem was that considering the time of the explosion and release of the flames so far, a couple of minutes had already passed and she had been forced to hide under water!
Bai Zemin quickly pointed to the Bronze Bell and fortunately she seemed to understand what he meant as she immediately nodded and passed it to him.
Fortunately there was still some power left inside the bell before the treasure lost its energy and had to be recharged for a whole day.
He naturally had no intention of kissing her like in romantic movies to share his oxygen with her. Bai Zemin turned around and pointed to his back while looking into her eyes, indicating her to jump up on his back.
Shangguan Bing Xue secretly gritted her teeth and did not hesitate as she climbed on his back, riding him like a horse. Moreover, to his surprise, she did not doubt to wrap both arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, easing the burden on him immensely.
Bang!
Bai Zemin stepped onto the bottom of the lake fiercely and taking advantage of the momentum jumped upwards. While normally it would be difficult for a human's strength to fight against the pressure of the water on the body, for him it was a matter of effort.
In just an instant his body together with Shangguan Bing Xue, who clung to him tightly, broke the surface of the lake that was struggling uselessly against the crimson flames.