"White Night, there's a switch at the back of 'New'. If things get really bad, you can press it, but remember, once you do, you have to take off 'New' within a minute." Yuna explained. The switch she mentioned would activate 'New' to its original form, which would enhance its abilities but also start consuming the user's flesh and blood.
"Got it."
Su Xiao adjusted to the heavy armor he was wearing. Honestly, if it weren't for the urgent situation, he wouldn't want to wear anything at all. Although his strength and defense increased significantly, his speed dropped sharply. In the narrow underground passage, it was manageable, but in other terrains, he could easily be outmaneuvered by enemies.
"Roar."
A blind ghoul lunged at him, resembling a ferocious dog. Its mouth opened wide, and the muscles on its cheeks even tore apart. Su Xiao stood his ground. The weight of the armor changed his fighting style. With agility reduced by 3 points, he was no longer as nimble, but the 3 points of added strength greatly increased his striking power. Since he was less agile, he didn't waste time dodging.
With both hands gripping his sword, Su Xiao swung with all his might. The blow was powerful, combining the sharpness of his blade with the added strength.
"Thud."
Blood erupted as he sliced through the blind ghoul. Its blood was a dark red, giving off a strong, foul smell. In the heat of battle, Su Xiao couldn't care less about the stench; killing the enemy was his priority.
"Bang."
A specially made bullet whizzed past him; it was Yuna, using her ranged abilities to cover him. As a user of 'New', Yuna also had close combat skills. Her weapon could transform between a sniper rifle and a scythe. However, Su Xiao and Arima Takashi's close combat abilities completely outclassed Yuna's.
It wasn't that Yuna didn't want to fight up close; she just didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the two.
The sounds of slashing and gunfire echoed through the passage. The blind ghouls showed no fear of death, even after Su Xiao had killed several. He beheaded one, but another ghoul's tail shot towards his chest. He instinctively tried to dodge, but with his agility reduced, his movements were noticeably slower.
"Clang."
The tail struck 'New', creating a metallic sound. A finger-sized hole appeared on the surface of 'New', blood oozing out. Su Xiao was injured; the ghouls' strength was terrifying. He grabbed the tail tightly, yanked it, and thrust his sword forward, piercing the ghoul's head. It twitched a few times before dying.
The pressure from dozens of blind ghouls was mounting. Thankfully, they were within his capacity to handle, and with Yuna's support, he quickly reduced their numbers.
After ten minutes, only a few blind ghouls remained. Su Xiao's hand trembled as he gripped his sword; he was nearing exhaustion. The earlier attack from primitive ghouls had drained a lot of his energy, and now facing the blind ghouls was pushing him to his limit.
Raising his aching arm, Su Xiao took down the last blind ghoul, a pool of blood forming at his feet—his own blood. Around him lay severed limbs, and the walls were splattered with blood.
"Finally over."
Yuna rushed forward, wanting to support Su Xiao.
"Don't come over, more are coming!" Su Xiao's face paled as he looked into the dark passage ahead.
"What?" Yuna was taken aback.
"Boom, boom..."
The sound of heavy footsteps approached. Clearly, the battle wasn't over yet.
"There are more, this is a mistake!" Despair flashed across Yuna's face.
"Yuna, can 'New' exhaust my stamina?" The situation was dire, but Su Xiao refused to give up; as long as he was alive, there was still a chance to fight back.
"It can, but..."
Su Xiao ignored Yuna's further words and pressed the switch on the back of his neck.
"Click."
As soon as he activated 'New', he felt it begin to change. A blood-red glow appeared on its surface, and it started to come alive, transforming into writhing red tentacles. 'New' changed from its original dark color to a bright red, matching the color of the ghouls' attacks.
"Grrr..."
As it moved, Su Xiao felt it consuming his blood, even trying to bite into his flesh.
"This thing is really fierce."
After three seconds, 'New' stopped moving and reverted to a dark red armor.
"Whoosh."
A black-red mist spread around Su Xiao.
"Here they come!" His voice was heavy, his eyes glowing red. 'New' formed a helmet, leaving only his eyes visible. His vision turned a light red, and his attributes surged.
[The 'New' you are wearing has been activated, status changed: Strength +5, Agility +5, Constitution +5, losing 2% health per second. (Temporary state; after removing 'New', the benefits or reductions will disappear.)]
A surge of power rushed through him. Su Xiao estimated there were over sixty blind ghouls ahead.
"Cover me, I’m going in!" He pushed off the ground.
"Boom."
Dirt flew as he became a red blur.
"Thud, thud..."
Blue blade lights connected as he charged into the blind ghouls. In that moment, Yuna even forgot to pull the trigger on her weapon, staring in awe.
"'New' is really this strong?"
Shaking her head, she finally pulled the trigger, providing fire support for Su Xiao. His vision grew redder, his heartbeat quickened, and he silently counted down.
30 seconds, 31 seconds, 32 seconds.
When the timer hit 40 seconds, Su Xiao groaned; 'New' was no longer satisfied with just consuming his blood and began to gnaw at his skin.
"Ah!"
He swung his sword one last time, killing five blind ghouls in front of him. After that strike, he felt dizzy and weak; he was too exhausted to continue fighting.
In front of him were still a dozen blind ghouls. Just when he felt hopeless, a slender figure dashed past him and stood in front.
It was Yuna, wielding a large scythe, spinning it to fend off a blind ghoul that lunged at Su Xiao.
"What tough skin! White Night, I need 'New'."
Su Xiao pressed the button on the back of his neck again, feeling the activation of 'New' begin to decrease. Normally, 'New' should have detached from his body, but it clung on stubbornly.
He planted his sword in the ground and pulled at 'New' with all his strength.
"Snap, snap..."
Several tentacles broke as he forcibly removed 'New'. He tossed the still writhing 'New' to Yuna, vowing never to wear that cursed thing again.
In another 20 seconds, 'New' would have consumed all the flesh on his body, and in one minute, it would have turned him into a pile of bones.
(End of Chapter)